Dow Futures Retreat After Three-Day Surge
Stock futures are swimming in red ink following yesterday's massive three-day rally
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are signaling an over 700-point drop this morning, right on the heels of a massive three-day surge, as concerns over the devastating economic effects of the coronavirus continue to loom large. Globally, the case count has shot up to 542,700 according to Johns Hopkins University, with a large chunk of these being in the U.S. Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are also swimming in red ink this morning.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Why analysts aren't aiming for Target stock. Digging into Micron stock after yesterday's quarterly earnings report. Plus, KBH, LULU enter the earnings confessional; and Morgan Stanley give WW an upgrade.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.29 million call contracts traded on Thursday, and 757,740 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.58, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.85.Homebuilding concern KB Home (NYSE:KBH) is 3.7% higher in pre-market trading after announcing first-quarter profits of 63 cents per share, and $1.08 billion in revenue, both of which exceeding analysts expectations. In light of COVID-19 uncertainty, however, the firm also withdrew its full-year forecast. Lululemon Athletica (LULU), on the other hand, is dropping lower post-earnings. LULU is down 3.9% this morning after reporting a slight slide in sales during the second week of March. The company still posted profits of $2.28 per share and $1.4 billion is revenue, which exceeded analysts expectations. An avalanche of both bull and bear notes have emerged today, with 10 upping their price target, and seven trimming theirs.WW International Inc (NASDAQ:WW) is up 3.3% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the weight loss concern to "overweight" from "equal weight." The analyst thinks that once the COVID-19 dust has cleared there will be a strong focus on health and wellness, which could give WW a big boost. Today investors can expect data on personal income, consumer spending, core inflation, and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey.
European Stocks Lower, Boris Johnson Tests Positive For COVID-19
Markets in Asia were higher today, shaking off the lingering weight of coronavirus on global economies. Japan's Nikkei gained 3.9%, while South Korea's Kospi added 1.9%. China's Shanghai Composite eked out a 0.3% win, with gains capped after the country's industrial profits for January-February plunged 38.3% year-over-year. Rounding out the region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.6%.
Over in Europe though, stocks are falling at midday. European Union (EU) officials could not come up with a unified response to the COVID-19 threat, and granted themselves an additional two weeks to work out details. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) ditched its cap on bond-buying from a single euro zone nation, hinting at an unlimited money-printing policy. London's FTSE 100 is down 5.3% at last check, but the big news is that U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tested positive for coronavirus. The French CAC 40 and the German DAX are off by 4.5% and 3.9%, with the former weighed down by Volkswagen's decision to extend its production halt to April 9.