The 2018 trade deficit rose to a 10-year high
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are below fair value this morning, as Wall Street awaits updates on U.S.-China trade talks. A Bloomberg report indicated President Donald Trump is pressuring officials in Washington to reach a deal soon in the hopes of boosting the stock market. Investors are also digesting the latest ADP employment report, which showed the U.S. added 183,000 private sector jobs in February, just below the consensus estimate, while January's total was upwardly revised to 300,000 from 213,000.
Then there's the latest trade data to digest. A Commerce Department report showed the U.S. trade deficit climbed to a 10-year high of $621 billion in 2018. For December, it rose 18.8% to a seasonally adjusted $59.8 billion, higher than anticipated. Oil prices are also pulling back, with April-dated crude futures down 1.1% at $55.92 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- This S&P signal just flashed for the fourth time ever, according to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- Cowen pumped the breaks on EA's "Apex Legends."
- Call buyers placed bets during Revlon's sell-off.
- Plus, VMware pulls back after downgrade; Abercrombie & Fitch set to soar on earnings beat; and GE cash flow problems spur price-target cut.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
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The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.02 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 681,959 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio remained at 0.67, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.60.
- VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) stock is down 2.8% in electronic trading, after Goldman Sachs downgraded the virtualization name to "sell" from "neutral." VMW nabbed a record high of $183.40 on March 1 after an earnings beat, and today's pullback could find support at its 20-day moving average.
- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) is up 14.8% before the bell after the retailer's fourth-quarter earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations. Same-store sales also topped estimates. ANF is set to trade at its highest point since a late-August bear gap and could topple the $22 level, recent resistance that's currently home to its 200-day moving average.
- Shares of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) are down 6.8% in electronic trading, after the company's CEO Larry Culp yesterday warned on this year's cash flow. BofA-Merrill Lynch has responded with a price-target cut to $12 from $13, while J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Stephen Tusa called his $6 GE price target "generous." GE has added 36% year-to-date, with the stock gapping higher after GE sold its biopharmaceutical business last month, but has encountered stiff resistance at its 200-day moving average.
- Data on mortgage applications, weekly crude inventories, and the Fed's Beige Book are all out today. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester will speak. Quarterly earnings from Baozun (BZUN), Dollar Tree (DLTR), and Yext (YEXT) are also due.
Shanghai Composite Touches Nine-Month High
Trading was mixed in Asia today. It was another positive session for China’s Shanghai Composite, thanks mostly to the new stimulus efforts announced by the country on Tuesday. The index rose 1.6% to its highest point in nine months, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng also got a win, adding 0.3%. On the other hand, Japan’s Nikkei retreated 0.6%, and South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.2%.
Major European benchmarks are muted so far today, weighed down by broad losses in automakers and bank stocks. London’s FTSE 100 is again the exception, last seen 0.3% higher. In Germany, the DAX is down 0.2%, while France’s CAC 40 is also slightly below breakeven, giving back 0.1%.