Boeing Pressures Dow Futures in Busy Morning
U.S.-China trade relations will remain in focus today
Stock futures are mixed, as fresh trade headlines hit ahead of tomorrow's G-20 summit. Specifically, the Wall Street Journal reported Chinese President Xi Jinping will give U.S. President Donald Trump terms needed for a trade deal, which could include lifting the ban on Huawei. Meanwhile, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are being weighed down by Boeing (BA) after the Federal Aviation Administration found a new risk in the grounded 737 MAX plane, though fellow blue chip Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is set to rise post-earnings. On the data front, weekly jobless claims came in slightly higher than expected, and the final reading for first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) showed growth of 3.1%.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Why these energy stocks could keep rallying. 2 earnings winners you may have missed. How Care.com ended up near the bottom of the NYSE. Plus, 2 names to watch on the earnings front; and Planet Fitness gets another bull.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 896,339 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 599,589 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved up to 0.67, while the 21-day moving average held at 0.64.Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) is trading up 3.8% ahead of the bell after the company's fiscal third-quarter results. Earnings and revenue both topped expectations for the period, thanks to strong sales in the company's pharmacy business. We'll see if the results spark any positive reviews from the brokerage bunch, where the vast majority of those in coverage have "hold" or worse ratings.La Croix parent National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ) is edging lower after earnings, though this comes after the shares have lost half their value since September, touching a 52-week low yesterday. The company's quarterly earnings missed expectations, and FIZZ stock has been hit with three price-target cuts since the release. One notable bull note this morning came for Planet Fitness Inc (NYSE:PLNT), with Raymond James initiating coverage with an "outperform" designation and $80 price target. This comes right after PLNT stock pulled back from the $80 region in recent weeks, though shares of the gym operator have still outperformed significantly in 2019. There will also be the pending home sales index and the Fed balance sheet. On the earnings front, Nike (NKE) and Accenture (ACN) will report.
Trade Buzz Boosts Asian Markets
Markets in Asia were higher today, after the South China Morning Post said a tentative trade truce between the U.S. and China has been formed ahead of Friday's G-20 summit. Hong Kong's Hang Seng saw the biggest jump, up 1.4%, while the Shanghai Composite in China rose 0.7%. The South Korean Kospi was 0.6% higher, boosted by chip stocks after a major win for Micron yesterday. Meanwhile the Nikkei in Japan saw a 1.2% pop, with tech stocks getting lift after the Apple supplier Japan Display surged on a $100 million investment from the iPhone manufacturer.
European markets, on the other hand, are mostly lower at midday, as investors turn a more wary eye to the G-20 meetings. German's DAX is inching 0.1% higher, as a big gain for Bayer offsets a three-year low in eurozone economic sentiment. The French CAC 40 has slipped 0.2%, while London's FTSE 100 dropped 0.3% after potential prime minister candidate Boris Johnson promised that Britain would succeed from the European Union (EU) with a deal, contradicting some of his earlier statements.