Traders are waiting for more details on trade talks between the U.S. and China
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading below fair value this morning, putting stocks' recent hot streak in danger. Wall Street is still mostly considering the same storylines that have swirled all week, namely U.S.-China trade relations and the ongoing government shutdown. On the data front, weekly jobless claims came in strong again, with the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits falling more than expected, while investors also consider weak holiday sales figures from a number of retailers. As such, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are signaling weakness at the open like the Dow.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
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The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.01 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 600,185 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved down to 0.59, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.72.
- Digging into some of the big moves out of the retail sector this morning, Macy's Inc (NYSE:M) is headed south, last seen down 17.5% before the open. The company announced its holiday sales, cutting its same-store sales forecast for the quarter. Such price action would send M shares to levels not seen since February.
- Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) stock is up 0.5% before the bell, after the automaker announced its turnaround plan for Europe, which will include cutting thousands of jobs and exiting poor performing markets. Another positive session would be a fifth straight for Ford stock, though the 50-day moving average is sitting right overhead.
- Travel name American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) is trading 8.6% lower in pre-market action, after the Fort Worth-based company lowered its fourth-quarter unit revenue estimate. This comes just a week after sector peer Delta Air lines (DAL) also sold off for a similar reason.
- Today will feature the Fed balance sheet. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard will speak. Quarterly earnings are expected from Synnex (SNX).
Chinese Data Puts Pressure on Asian Markets
It was a mostly lower finish in Asia today, as traders reacted to fresh signs of a slowdown in China's economy, with both the producer price index and consumer price index rising less than expected in December. This overshadowed news that Washington and Beijing made strides in this week's trade talks, and sent China's Shanghai Composite down 0.4%. Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei fell 1.3% and South Korea's Kospi gave back 0.1%, though Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2% on strength in pharma stocks.
European markets are in the red at midday, with auto stocks selling off on news of massive restructuring efforts from Ford and Jaguar Land Rover. An unexpected drop in French industrial production in November is only stoking bearish headwinds, with France's CAC 40 down 0.5%. And while the German DAX is off 0.1%, London's FTSE 100 is just fractionally lower as retail stocks pop on U.K. grocer Tesco's upbeat holiday sales figures.