Trump suggested on Twitter the tariffs won't take effect if NAFTA is renegotiated
U.S. stocks could remain under pressure today, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) trading below fair value. Investors are again monitoring threats of a trade war, amid conflicting tweets from President Donald Trump. While Trump tweeted over the weekend about a "Big trade imbalance!" with the European Union, this morning he said the import tariffs announced last week won't affect Canada and Mexico if a "new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed." And ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls report for February, Wall Street will digest a fresh round of Fed speeches -- with Fed Vice Chair Randal Quarles set to speak today -- following last week's testimony from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Analysts are extremely bullish on these 2 drug stocks.
- Morgan Stanley says to buy this blue chip.
- Hasbro stock could be a target for bullish options traders.
- Plus, Valeant snaps back; the latest Apple buzz; and analysts up expectations for a hot drug stock.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.1 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 758,367 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio dipped to 0.71, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.67.
- After selling off last week on a disappointing sales outlook, shares of
Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) are trading up 5.1% in pre-market trading thanks to an upgrade to "buy" at Deutsche Bank. The brokerage firm said the company is doing the right things and was impressed with management's confident sales and earnings forecasts.
- Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is making headline this morning after Bloomberg reported the company is working on noise-canceling headphones to challenge the likes of Bose. AAPL stock is still pointed slightly lower before the open.
- Aimmune Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:AIMT), which last month announced a breakthrough for its peanut allergy treatment, saw its stock receive price-target hikes to $64 at Cantor Fitzgerald and to $47 at Credit Suisse, after the company presented the findings for the drug over the weekend. AIMT shares settled Friday at $34.07.
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The Markit purchasing managers index (PMI) and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) non-manufacturing index will be released today. Earnings are due from Ascena Retail Group (ASNA), Casey's General Stores (CASY), JinkoSolar (JKS), and Navistar (NAV).
European Stocks Rise Despite Italian Election Uncertainty
Asian markets finished mostly lower today, amid ongoing trade war fears and political uncertainty following Italy's weekend election. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.7%, notching a fourth straight loss after touching its lowest point since Oct. 12 on an intraday basis. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell by 2.3%, dragged lower by bank stocks, while the South Korean Kospi closed 1.1% lower. China's Shanghai Composite bucked the regional trend and finished slightly higher, up 0.09%, as China's National People's Congress meeting kicked off. Premier Li Keqiang announced a growth target of 6.5% for 2018, in line with the 2017 forecast, while the budget deficit target was cut to 2.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) from last year's 3%.
Stocks in Europe are higher at midday, despite exit polls in Italy pointing toward a hung parliament after no party won a clear majority in Sunday's election. Elsewhere, retail stocks are rallying, with Tesco's completed takeover of Booker boosting sentiment. At last check, London's FTSE 100 and the French CAC 40 were both marginally higher, up about 0.1%. The German DAX is up 0.9%, despite auto stocks sinking following President Trump's threats of a possible import tax.