Turkey announced additional tariffs against the U.S.
U.S. stock futures are significantly lower this morning, as the Turkey crisis flares up again, after the country doubled tariffs on imports of several U.S. goods, including alcohol and automobiles. Meanwhile, lower oil prices are weighing on energy stocks, with September-dated crude futures down 1.1% at $66.33 per barrel. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are nearly 150 points below fair value, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are slumping as well. In economic data, retail sales for July rose by 0.5%, beating the consensus estimate. However, the government also downwardly revised June's retail sales growth to 0.2% from 0.5%.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- This VIX signal could point to a stock market rally, per Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- Options bulls are undeterred by JD stock's recent sell-off.
- An upgrade for Boyd Gaming stock sparked heavy call volume.
- Plus, the weed stock set to soar; Sears mulls a big offer for Kenmore; and Western Digital stock slapped with a downgrade.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 920,750 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 609,710 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.66, while the 21-day moving average fell to 0.63.
- Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE:CGC) stock is up a whopping 52% in electronic trading, after spirits producer Constellation Brands (STZ) announced it was investing $4 billion in the Canadian cannabis company. Should today's price action play out, CGC could surpass its June 22 record high of $36.55. Longer term, the shares have more than tripled year-over-year.
- Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) stock is down 4.4% ahead of the bell, after it was revealed that a hedge fund owned by Sears CEO Ed Lampert offered to buy the Kenmore appliances brand for $400 million in cash. On the charts, SHLD shares rallied back in May after an Amazon partnership, only to be turned away by their 160-day moving average. The stock fell to a record low of $1.76 on July 31, and has shed nearly 49% in 2018.
- Shares of Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC) are down 2.8% in electronic trading, after Cowen downgraded the tech concern to "market perform" from "outperform," while slashing its price target to $70 from $100. WDC stock has shed 40% since its mid-March highs near $107 -- exacerbated by weak earnings guidance in late July -- culminating in an annual low of $64.04 on Monday.
-
A busy day for economic data, today will bring the New York manufacturing survey, industrial production numbers, and business inventories. Additionally, the NAHB housing market index, weekly crude inventories report, and Treasury International Capital are expected. Stepping into the earnings confessional will be Cisco Systems (CSCO), Macy's (M), and NetApp (NTAP).
European Stocks Dip Amid Turkish Tensions
Stocks in Asia finished today lower, with the tech and energy sectors weighing heavily. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1.6%, and China's Shanghai Composite took the biggest loss, dropping 2.1%. Meanwhile, markets in South Korea were closed for holiday.
European markets are mostly lower at midday, with London's FTSE 100 pacing toward a fifth straight daily loss on the back of continued tensions out of Turkey. Traders in the U.K. are also digesting data that showed inflation edged higher last month. The index is off 1.1% at last check, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 are off 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively.