The State of the Union will be in focus tonight
U.S. stock futures are modestly higher this morning, though the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) is lagging its peers amid concerns about rising costs for Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) after last night's quarterly report. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading above fair value ahead of earnings from blue chip Walt Disney (DIS) tonight, and traders are also anxiously awaiting President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech this evening. Wall Street will dissect the president's comments ahead of the Feb. 15 deadline to avoid another government shutdown, and prior to a March 1 deadline for a U.S.-China trade deal.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Why a 2011 repeat could play out for stocks, according to Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone.Urban Outfitters just flashed a historic bear signal.Analyst: Apple should buy this speaker maker.Plus, analysts punish Gilead; Estee Lauder earnings impress; and the food stock smacked by a downgrade.
Stocks in Asia were muted, with most markets closedfor the Lunar New Year. Japan's Nikkei, however, gave back early gains and finished 0.2% lower despite a weakening yen. South Korea's Kospi will reopen on Thursday.
Meanwhile, in Europe, markets are surging higher thanks to a slew of upbeat corporate earnings. London's FTSE 100 is up 1.3% at last check, driven by an earnings beat from energy giant BP. Elsewhere, the German DAX and French CAC 40 are both up 1.1%, as investors digest a monthly decline in eurozone retail sales that arrived in line with expectations.