Stock Futures Quiet as Election Week Kicks Off

Stock futures are muted this morning, as investors gear up for a potentially volatile week. The U.S. Presidential election is tomorrow, followed by the Federal Reserve's latest interest-rate decision on Wednesday. According to CME Group's FedWatch tool, Traders are pricing in a 96% chance of a rate cut.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that chip darling Nvidia (NVDA) will replace sector peer Intel (INTC) on the 30-stock Dow by the end of this week. 

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

• Diving into last week's tech earnings. 
• Why Walmart stock could continue higher. 
• Plus, 2 Big Tech giants' quarterly results, and Intel's sunny earnings forecast.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 2 million call contracts and more than 1.4 million put contracts exchanged on Friday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.71 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.63.
2. Peloton Interactive Inc (NASDAQ:PTON) is up 7% in premarket trading, after an upgrade from BofA Global Research to "buy" from "underperform," with a price-target hike to $9 from $3.75. The firm sees growth ahead for the company under new CEO Peter Stern. Coming into today, PTON is up 19% year to date. 
3. Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) is down 1.9% before the bell, after the hotel giant missed third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations and cut its profit forecast. Since the start of 2024, MAR is up 15.5%. 
4. Shares of biotech stock Viking Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:VKTX) are up 3.7% in electronic trading, after the company's weight-loss drug showed positive results in an early-stage trial. The stock is already up 291% this year, and still above its late-February bull gap. 
5. What else is coming up this week on Wall Street. 

China's Parliament Meeting Begins

Asian markets rose across the board, as investors brace for a pivotal week of economic data and geopolitical volatility. The Shanghai Composite added 1.2% as China’s parliament meeting kicks off, with more details about fiscal policy expected later this week. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.8% thanks to a big move from small caps, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tacked on 0.3%. Japan’s Nikkei was closed for a holiday.

Over in Europe, bourses are a mixed bag, with oil & gas stocks leading the gainers after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies' (OPEC+) delayed its output increase by a month. London’s FTSE 100 is 0.5% higher at last check, with luxury stock Burberry a notable gainer. The French CAC 40 and German DAX are off by 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.