U.S. Stock Futures Dip as Traders Eye Apple, Inflation Data
After finishing yesterday at its highest close ever, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is set to open lower this morning, with Apple stock signaling a negative start after yesterday's big iPhone reveal. Futures are also lower as traders digest the latest round of wholesale inflation data. The producer price index (PPI) rose 0.2% last month, compared to the estimated 0.3% rise, due to higher gasoline prices.Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency upped its estimates for global oil demand this year, lifting October-dated crude futures by 1% to $48.73 per barrel.
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The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 999,284 call contracts traded on Tuesday -- the most since July 28 -- compared to 580,890 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.58, and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.64.Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) stock is up 1.1% in pre-market trading, after Goldman Sachs upgraded MU to "buy" from "neutral" and raised its price target to $40 from $33 -- territory not charted since 2001 -- citing the potential for higher fourth-quarter memory chip prices. The semiconductor stock hit a two-year high of $34.54 yesterday.Shares of Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC) are up 5.4% in electronic trading, after the company announced its plan to buy privately held health insurer Fidelis Care for $3.75 billion, in order to expand its participation in government-sponsored healthcare coverage. As a result, no fewer than four brokerages raised their price targets on CNC stock -- which touched a record high of $91.16 yesterday -- including Piper Jaffray, to $112 from $105. Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) stock is up 6.1% before the bell, after the retailer announced it will partner with Leonard Green in its bid to take the department store private, a plan the company has been exploring since early June. As such, Cowen and Company raised its price target on JWN stock to $53 from $49, and upped the probability of Nordstrom going private to a range of 60% to 70%, from 40% to 50%.Weekly crude inventories update will be released today, along with the Treasury budget. United Natural Foods (UNFI) will also report earnings.
Overseas Trading
It was a mixed finish in Asia today. Markets in Japan and mainland China followed U.S. stocks higher, with the Nikkei rising 0.5% on tailwinds from a cooler yen, and the Shanghai Composite bouncing back from early losses to claw out a 0.2% win. On the other hand, South Korea's Kospi backpedaled 0.2% after newly tightened U.N. sanctions on North Korea elicited heated rhetoric from Pyongyang, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng surrendered 0.3% to break a three-day string of gains.
Mining stocks are setting a bearish tone in London at midday, with the sector succumbing to profit taking amid a 1.7% drop in copper prices. Apple suppliers are also struggling, tracking the lackluster post-event price action in the iPhone parent. London's FTSE 100 is off 0.2% at last check -- but France's CAC 40 has inched up 0.1%, and Germany's DAX is 0.2% higher.