Dow Futures Skid as Global Trade Tensions Ramp Up

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are pointed sharply lower on renewed trade tensions. Following last week's threat of steep duties on European auto imports, U.S. President Donald Trump insisted via a Sunday tweet that "all countries that have placed artificial Trade Barriers and Tariffs on goods going into their country, remove those Barriers & Tariffs or be met with more than Reciprocity by the U.S.A." Against this backdrop, the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq are all poised to follow suit with a global stock sell-off.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including: 

• Options traders blast a booming energy stock. 
• Dump this underperforming retailer ahead of earnings.
• Analyst warns of "increased risk" for Intel.
• Plus, Netflix stock falls on an executive departure; Microsoft scores a bullish endorsement; and KR gets cut on valuation concerns.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.02 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 574,349 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio remained at 0.56, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.57.
2. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is down 1.2% in electronic trading after the company announced late Friday that Chief Communications Officer Jonathan Friedland, a seven-year Netflix vet, would be stepping down after "insensitive" remarks made to his team. NFLX has more than doubled its share price in 2018, up 114% year-to-date, with its March and April pullbacks contained by the supportive 50-day moving average. 
3. Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell assumed coverage of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at "overweight" with a $125 price target, boosting the prior analyst's rating of "neutral." In a note to clients, Cordwell expressed high hopes for Microsoft's cloud-computing business. MSFT has been a tear on the charts since its July 2016 lows around $48, up more than 107% as of Friday's close at $100.41. However, the stock is fractionally lower ahead of the bell, tracking early weakness in the broader Dow.
4. Grocery chain Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) is 2.9% lower in pre-market trading after Pivotal Research downgraded the stock to "hold" from "buy." After last week's post-earnings rally in KR, the firm is warning that "the stock has simply gone up too far and too fast from a valuation perspective." The stock has picked up 31% over the past 12 months, as of Friday's close -- with roughly half of that gain racked up just last week. 
5. Today's calendar kicks off the week with new home sales and an earnings report from Carnival (CCL).

Trade Tensions Pressure Asian and European Markets

Fresh trade-related headwinds pressured Asian stock markets lower today. Despite a positive start to the session, China’s Shanghai Composite pulled back to another two-year closing low, finishing with a 1% decline. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng followed suit with a 1.3% slide. The losses came despite stimulus efforts by the People’s Bank of China, which reduced the amount of reserve cash Chinese banks need to hold. Stocks in Japan suffered a similar fate, as the Nikkei fell 0.8%, though South Korea’s Kospi notched a 0.03% win.

Equities are posting broad losses in Europe, too. Regional automakers are some of the most noteworthy decliners, following tariff threats on the industry last week from Trump. Large-cap oil stocks are also underperforming, falling in line with Brent crude prices. Looking at the regional benchmarks, London’s FTSE 100 was the top loser at last check, down 1.4%, followed by a 1.3% drop in Germany’s DAX, while France’s CAC 40 was off 0.8%.