Dow Futures Down on More Trade Drama
It's also a busy day on the economic front
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are trading lower as U.S.-China tensions look ready to hold back markets yet again. Coming off their worst week of the year, stocks are set to fall after China released a white paper blaming the U.S. for the fallout in trade negotiations. It's also a big day for economic data, as investors will be greeted with the Markit purchasing managers index (PMI), the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index, and construction spending. Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL) should grab headlines, too, with its annual WWDC event set to kick off today.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Drug news boosted one stock that's more than doubled year-to-date. How options traders speculated on gold during the market dive. Buy signal sounds on Ciena before earnings. Plus, retailer slammed by big downgrade; GOOGL slumps pre-market; and M&A buzz levels Centene stock.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 963,329 call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 795,843 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.83, while the 21-day moving average edged up to 0.70.Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) received a very bearish note out of BofA-Merrill Lynch, which double downgraded the equity to "underperform" from "buy," and slashed its price target to $23 from $45. This comes after the stock hit a five-year low on Thursday, finishing May with a nearly 26% deficit. Google parent Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) will be in focus today, amid news U.S. regulators are preparing an antitrust probe against the search giant. The company's Google Drive service also experience widespread outages on Sunday, and the FAANG stock was hit with a price-target cut at Evercore ISI. GOOGL shares are down more than 3% before the open.Another pre-market loser is Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC), dropping almost 9% before the bell on news Humana (HUM) will not be making a buyout offer for the company. Centene was already active on the M&A front earlier this year. Ascena Retail Group (ASNA) and Box (BOX) will release their earnings reports, and Apple stock could move as the iPhone maker's WWDC kicks off, with the keynote slated for 1 p.m. ET.
Overseas Markets Struggle
Markets closed mostly lower in Asia, with global trade tensions overshadowing better-than-expected Caixin manufacturing data last month in China. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.3% as a result, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.03%, and Japan's Nikkei ended 0.9% lower. South Korea's Kospi was the only gainer, up 1.3%, as big-cap chip stocks Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged.
The bubbling economic turmoil felt in Asia hit European stocks this morning, too. Markets have been able to pare back some of their losses midday, but continue to simmer below breakeven. London's FTSE 100 is 0.1% lower ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's three-day visit, which has sparked controversy within the U.K. The German DAX is off 0.1%, as well, while the French CAC 40 has inched 0.04% lower.