Dow Futures Down with PG, TRV Stocks
It's another big day for earnings on Wall Street
U.S. stock futures are trading below fair value this morning with earnings in focus once again. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) components Procter & Gamble (PG) and Travelers (TRV) are both moving lower in electronic trading following the companies' earnings releases, while other high-profile names like Comcast (CMCSA) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) also revealed their quarterly results. On the data front, traders are considering this morning's jobless claims update, which showed a smaller-than-expected increase in the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
The China stock that keeps slumping. A Dow component hitting fresh highs ahead of earnings. Plus, retail drops on outlook; PayPal inks a new partnership; and PG's pre-market losses.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.51 million call contracts traded on Wednesday compared to 783,164 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved down to 0.52, and the 21-day moving average was 0.51.North Face parent VF Corp (NYSE:VFC) is trading down 4.8% before the open on the company's downwardly revised full-year earnings outlook, and weak quarterly sales. VFC stock is set to open near the round $90 mark this morning, a region that's acted as both support and resistance in the past year. A new partnership with UnionPay International has PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in focus this morning, as the company tries to grow digital payments internationally. PYPL shares on Wednesday touched their highest point since July, and this morning are 1.8% higher before the bell.Looking closer at Procter & Gamble this morning, the shares are off by almost 2% following a surprise quarterly sales miss, which is overshadowing an earnings beat. PG's longer-term uptrend is still firmly in place, as the consumer goods behemoth sports a 39% 12-month advance. Today will bring weekly jobless claims data, as well as the Conference Boards index of leading economic indicators for December. On the earnings docket will be Intel (INTC), American Airlines (AAL), Atlassian (TEAM),E*TRADE Financial (ETFC), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), Huntington Banc (HBAN), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), KeyCorp (KEY), Skyworks (SWKS), and Union Pacific (UNP).
Coronavirus Concerns Weigh in Asia
Markets in Asia took a big hit today, on news that public transportation is suspended in some Chinese cities as the coronavirus death toll continues to rise. China's Shanghai Composite lost 2.8%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave back 1.5%. Japan's Nikkei shed 1%, with Japanese export data falling 6.3% last month - much lower than the 4.2% estimates. Rounding out the region, South Korea's Kospi finished 0.9% lower.
Over in Europe, stocks are in decline on fears over the spreading coronavirus, as well as concerns over U.S. trade talks. At the World Economic Forum, President Donald Trump warned the U.S. would implement "very high tariffs" if a new trade deal with the European Union (EU) is not negotiated. In addition, the European Central Bank (ECB) held interest rates steady ahead of its first strategic review since 2003. London's FTSE 100 is off by 0.4%, the French CAC 40 is down 0.2%, and the German DAX is 0.5% lower, at last check.