All three major indexes are struggling for direction this morning
Stock futures are once again struggling for direction, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures looking to extend the blue-chip index's seven-day winning streak. The latest batch of corporate reports are in focus as second-quarter earnings season gets busy, as well as this morning's housing data. U.S. housing starts declined 8% in June, while building permits dropped 3.7%.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- A SPX pullback may not last long, says Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- Retail stock flashing bull signal on the charts.
- Plus, Carvana breaks out; Goldman Sachs' earnings; and Cinemark downgraded.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.4 million call contracts and over 1.2 million put contacts exchanged on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.50 and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.65.
- Carvana Co (NYSE:CVNA) is soaring 38.1% premarket, after the car retailer's second-quarter results, as well as news that the company struck a deal with a majority of its term bondholders to reduce its outstanding debt by more than $1 billion. Looking to continue its outperformance, CVNA is up 739.7% year-to-date.
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Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) is down 1.6% before the bell, after the
bank giant reported lower-than-expected second-quarter earnings per share, despite a revenue beat. Year-to-date, GS is below its year-to-date breakeven level.
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Cinemark Holdings Inc (NYSE:CNK) is off 2.7% in electronic trading, after a downgrade from J.P. Morgan Securities to "neutral" from "overweight," with a price-target cut to $18 from $21. Since the start of the year, CNK is up 77.8%.
- Today will bring business inventories and industrial production.
Overseas Markets Enjoy Hot Start to Earnings Season
Asian markets were mostly higher on Wednesday, as investors reacted to upbeat stateside quarterly earnings. Japan’s Nikkei added 1.2%, brushing off the first decline in business sentiment among manufacturers in six months. Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite and South Korea’s Kospi settled slightly above breakeven with 0.03% and 0.02% gains, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.3%.
European markets are also higher, after the U.K. consumer price index (CPI) reading came in at a lower-than-expected 7.9%. Dutch chipmaker ASML’s strong net profit forecast is also in focus. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is up 1.6%, France’s CAC 40 is 0.3% higher, and the German DAX is slightly below breakeven with a 0.08% deficit.