The three major indexes are looking to open lower
Stock futures are pointed lower this morning, after tech stocks roared back yesterday as recession fears eased. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are eyeing a 63-point drop, while futures on both the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are looking to slip into the red well. Weighing on sentiment today are allegations from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russian forces are committing war crimes in a Kyiv suburb, killing and torturing over 300 people.
In other news, Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk will join Twitter's (TWTR) board of directors after taking a 9.2% stake in the social media concern. Wall Street is also looking ahead to foreign trade deficit data, due out later today.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone shares 2 charts to put traders at ease.
- Why investors should avoid this chip stock in April.
- Plus, Carvana stock tumbles after downgrade; Carnival sets new booking record; and Farfetch stock pops on global partnership.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.4 million call contracts traded on Monday, and 716,129 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.48, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.57.
- RBC Capital Markets downgraded Carvana Co (NYSE:CVNA) earlier, noting its current valuation, amid the company's struggles to integrate its recent acquisition of Adesa. Additionally, the analyst in coverage slashed the security's price target to $138 from $155. Last seen down 4% before the bell, CVNA is 49.9% in the last 12 months.
- Cruise concern Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL) is up 4.6% ahead of the open. Today's pop came after the company said it saw its highest ever number of new bookings from March 28 through April 3. Carnival stock maintains a 26.4% year-over-year deficit, however.
- Farfetch Ltd (NYSE:FTCH) is up 3% in the premarket, after the luxury fashion retailer announced a global partnership with Neiman Marcus, and took a $200 million minority stake in the company. Year-to-date, FTCH is still down 48.4%.
- Investors will also keep an eye on the S&P Global (Markit) services purchasing managers' index (PMI), as well as the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) services index, both of which are on tap today.
European Markets Lower as Geopolitical Tensions Brew
Asian markets finished higher today, as investors eyed rising oil prices. Japan's Nikkei added 0.2%, while the South Korean Kospi added 0.05%. China's Shanghai Composite and the Hong Kong Hang Seng were both closed today for a holiday.
European markets are lower midday, with eyes on any updates regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The final composite euro zone purchasing managers index (PMI) reading dropped to 54.9 in March from the previous month's 55.5, which is slightly higher than estimates. The French CAC 40 is leading the losses with a 1.4% drop, while London's FTSE 100 is down 0.1%, and the German DAX has shed 0.4%.