Stock Futures Slip as Dollar Gains; Traders Await Fed Speeches
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are pointed lower this morning, as traders await the onslaught of Fed speeches scheduled for this week. Just today, New York Fed President William Dudley, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari are slated to deliver speeches. Investors will likely be looking for fresh insight into the Fed's much-anticipated unwinding of its massive balance sheet. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar is strengthening against the euro after this weekend's election results out of Germany, with voters ushering in a fractious group of legislators.
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The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 728,184 call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 557,495 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.77 -- the highest since August -- and the 21-day moving average rose to 0.62.General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) stock is up 1.8% in pre-market trading -- and set to open at a new three-year high -- after Deutsche Bank upgraded the car stock to "buy" from "hold," citing optimism for the car maker's commercial deployment of autonomous vehicles. The brokerage firm also raised its price target on GM shares by 42% to $51.Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) are up 3.3% in electronic trading, after J.P. Morgan Securities upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral" and raised its price target to $74 from $65. ROST shares were down 7.2% year-to-date at Friday's close.
Also climbing on upbeat analyst attention is Transocean Ltd (NYSE:RIG) stock, which is trading 4.1% higher before the bell after UBS upgraded the oil concern to "buy" from "neutral." The brokerage firm also raised its price target on RIG by 66% to $15. RIG shares have bounced 29% from their Aug. 18 record low of $7.20.The Chicago Fed National Activity Index and the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey are slated for release today. Ascena Retail Group (ASNA), Carnival (CCL), and Red Hat (RHT) will report earnings.
Overseas Trading
Asian markets ended mostly lower today, with traders weighing weekend election results out of Germany. While Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party held its legislative majority, the European Union (EU) agenda could be impacted by the arrival of the far-right Alternative for Germany party at the Bundestag. Elsewhere, Chinese property stocks took a hit after new regulations were introduced to curb speculation in the housing sector. Against this backdrop, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4%, while China's Shanghai Composite and South Korea's Kospi lost 0.4% each. However, a softer yen helped guide Japan's Nikkei to a gain of 0.5%, as Prime MInister Shinzo Abe called for a snap election to capitalize on his strong standing in opinion polls amid the North Korea crisis.
It's a mixed picture in Europe at midday, as well, with the German DAX adding 0.2% to lead the charge as Merkel looks to form a new coalition in parliament. Brussels will play host to some potentially market-moving developments today, too, as Brexit negotiations continue between U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and EU officials, and European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi prepares to address the European Parliament later in the session. At last check, the French CAC 40 was off 0.3%, and London's FTSE 100 is down 0.2%.