Dow Futures Pointed Sharply Lower as Rising Yields Weigh

Stock futures are pointed lower this morning, as rising 10-year Treasury yields and dismal earnings reports from retailers Gap (GPS) and Nordstrom (JWN) weigh. Also contributing to pessimism is news that Germany is considering a full lockdown and possible vaccine mandate due to rising Covid-19 cases. In turn, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are pointed 176 points lower, while S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) futures are staring at losses as well. 

Investors are also digesting the latest round of economic data. Initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level since 1969 last week, totaling 199,000 as opposed to the 260,000 Wall Street anticipated. Meanwhile, durable goods orders fell a worse-than-expected 0.5% in October.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's take on Black Friday buying strategies.
• Bullish signal flashing for Salesforce.com stock.
• Plus, Gap slashes full-year forecast; Dell beats Wall Street's estimates; and blue-chip energy stock upgraded.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.9 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 1 million put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.53, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.47.
2. Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) stock is plummeting today, last seen down 20.9% this morning, after the retailer reported a third-quarter earnings miss and slashed its full-year forecast. The company attributed the results to higher shipping costs and extended factory closures in Vietnam. In the last six months, GPS has shed 28%.
3. Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL) stock is up 1.8% in electronic trading, after the tech name beat Wall Street's third-quarter earnings estimates. The company cited higher demand for its personal computers and servers, and also raised its current-quarter forecast. Year-over-year, DELL is up 55.8%.
4. Blue-chip concern Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is up 0.2% before the bell, after the company received an upgrade from RBC Capital Markets to "outperform" from "sector perform." The brokerage firm noted the company's stable portfolio compared to its peers. CVX has added 37.7% year-to-date.
5. Today will feature plenty other economic indicators, with personal and real disposable income data, as well as real consumer spending, core inflation, and new home sales data on tap as well.

Asian Markets Mixed as Investors Eye Stateside Data

Markets in Asia finished the day mixed, as traders in the region look ahead to the release of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes, as well as a host of other stateside data. Japan’s Nikkei, fresh off a holiday break, fell 1.6% today to lead losses in the region. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite each rose 0.1%.

European stocks are mixed at midday, as more countries in the region consider increased restrictions and lockdowns amid a surge Covid-19 cases. Germany is being hit particularly hard by the pending decisions, dragging the country’s DAX down 0.7%, at last check. France’s CAC 40 was last seen 0.2% lower, after recording more than 30,000 new daily infections yesterday – its highest count since August. Meanwhile, more data is coming out of the euro zone, like the IHS Markit’s flash composite purchasing manager’s index (PMI), which beat economists’ expectations, helping London’s FTSE 100 to 0.2% pop so far today.