Huge earnings, trade talks, and a Fed decision are all in focus today
There is a ton happening on Wall Street today, and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are signaling a strong open as the rush gets underway. For starters, traders are reacting positively to earnings from Apple (AAPL) and Boeing (BA), just two of several high-profile names on the earnings slate today. The quarterly reports from these trade-sensitive names comes as U.S. and China officials meet in Washington, D.C., today for another round of trade talks.
Certainly not to be forgotten, the Fed will release it latest policy update this afternoon, as well, followed by a press conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, though the central bank is largely expected to keep rates unchanged.
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 850,592 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 575,534 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved down to 0.68, and the 21-day moving average was 0.63 again.
- Close attention was being paid to earnings out of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) following Nvidia's (NVDA) huge sell-off. Many were expecting a similarly weak report from the chipmaker, however AMD shares are set to rise almost 10% at the open, with traders cheering strong 2019 revenue guidance.
- Also looking to gain after earnings is Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), though it's up just 1.9% before the opening bell. Options traders were lining up bearishly ahead of the Chinese company's quarterly report, but for now the shares are seemingly set to overcome a slight miss in quarterly revenue.
- As for notable earnings losers, AT&T (NYSE:T) is set to sink, down 2.8% in pre-market trading, after the company added fewer wireless customers than expected. The stock had a terrible 2018, and continues to trade below a number of key levels.
- The ADP employment report, the weekly crude inventories report, and data on pending home sales are also scheduled. Dow members McDonald's (MCD), Microsoft (MSFT), and Visa (V) will also step into the earnings confessional, as well as Facebook (FB), Tesla (TSLA), Mattel (MAT), PayPal (PYPL), Qualcomm (QCOM), and U.S. Steel (X).
FTSE 100 Pops After Brexit Vote
It was a mixed finish for Asian markets today. Stocks slipped in mainland China as traders kept a cautious eye trained on the trade talks set to begin today in Washington, with the Shanghai Composite losing 0.7%. Likewise, Japan's Nikkei gave up 0.5% as the yen attracted a safe-haven bid. Elsewhere, strength in real estate stocks helped Hong Kong's Hang Seng end the day up 0.4%, while a post-earnings rally for steelmaker Posco propelled South Korea's Kospi to a gain of more than 1%.
European stocks are also looking for direction at midday, as investors remain hesitant ahead of the start of U.S.-China trade talks and today's expected policy outlook from the Federal Reserve. U.K.-listed equities are outperforming on the heels of Tuesday's latest Brexit vote; the FTSE 100 has popped 1.7% against the backdrop of a weaker pound, with miners and commodity stocks among the standouts. Meanwhile, luxury goods giant LVMH is up 7.2% in Paris after its earnings were bolstered by healthy demand out of China during the final quarter of 2018. At last look, the French CAC 40 is up 0.7%, and the German DAX is off 0.3%.