The major benchmarks are modestly higher ahead of the open
Stock futures are on the rise this morning, as investors gear up for a packed week of tech earnings, which will include several FAANG stocks. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are up 20 points at last check, looking to extend the blue-chip index's record close, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) futures are modestly in the black as well.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- What happened in the cannabis sector this past week.
- A look at this produce name ahead of tomorrow's earnings.
- Plus, PINS plummets as deal speculation stops; WHR receives a downgrade; and KMB slips after its third-quarter report.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.8 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 969,958 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.53, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.48.
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Pinterest Inc (NYSE:PINS) is rapidly falling ahead of the bell, down 15.5% at last glance. This drop comes after PayPal (PYPL) stated that it is not looking to acquire the digital pinboard website at this time,
as previously speculated. Heading into today, PINS is down 11.9% year-to-date.
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RBC downgraded Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) to "underperform" from "sector perform," with a price-target cut to $190 from $208. The firm cited several factors, including WHR's loss of market share in North America. On the charts, Friday's rally was capped off by the 80-day moving average. The stock is down 1.4% pre-market.
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Kimberly-Clark Corp (NYSE:KMB) is down 3% in electronic trading, after the paper produce name reported lower-than-expected third-quarter earnings of $1.62 per share, and just slightly better-than-expected revenue. The company noted that inflation and supply chain disruptions weighed on the quarter, and lowered its full-year forecast.
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There is no economic data of note today.
European Markets Mixed Ahead of Earnings Reports
Asian markets were mostly higher on Monday, with the exception of Japan’s Nikkei, which fell 0.7%, as investors eyed rising oil prices and a new outbreak of Covid-19 in China that officials warned could spread further. The Hong Kong Hang Seng tacked on 0.02%, boosted slightly by well-received earnings from HSBC. Meanwhile, investors are still monitoring China Evergrande Group’s shares, which fell slightly after the firm said it was resuming work on over 10 projects. Rounding out the region, China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.8% and the South Korean Kospi rose 0.5%.
Over in Europe, stocks are mixed at midday, with investors focusing on upcoming earnings reports, and concerns about inflation. The German DAX is up 0.3%, rising slightly despite the country’s Ifo Business Climate Index falling to 97.7 from 98.9 this month. Elsewhere, the French CAC 40 is 0.1% lower, and the London FTSE 100 is up 0.4%.