All eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech this Wednesday
Dow futures are signaling another drop today, as Wall Street exercises caution ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Wednesday testimony, with hopes of a rate cut weakened by last week's strong jobs data. In addition, 3M Company (MMM) stock is weighing on the Dow, following an analyst downgrade, and Cisco Systems (CSCO) is lower on big M&A news.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- The contrarian take on S&P 3,000, courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone.
- This Warren Buffett-backed stock might be in trouble, if past is precedent.
- How this shoe stock celebrated a World Cup win.
- Plus, Cisco buys Acacia; Piper Jaffray's merger; and the White House shuns FB.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
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The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 840,533 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 529,644 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio landed at 0.63, while the 21-day moving average is 0.62.
- Dow component Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) just announced it is purchasing Acacia Communications Inc (NASDAQ:ACIA) in a $2.8 billion cash deal. CSCO stock is down slightly, trading 1% below breakeven at $55.63, while the latter is surging, up 38.8% at $66.45 in pre-market trading.
- Investment firm Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC) just announced a $485 million merger deal with Sandler O'Neill. The deal will nearly double PJC's fixed income business revenues. Despite this, Piper Jaffray stock is down 1.5% at $72.78 in electronic trading.
- Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) said the White House did not invite the FAANG name to its July 11 social media summit, with some suggesting the lack of invitation is due to President Donald Trump's claims of political bias. FB stock is down 0.5% ahead of the bell.
- The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) is due out today, while speeches from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Fed Vice Chair Randal Quarles will also be in focus. Soda giant PepsiCo (PEP) will report earnings.
Deutsche Bank Buzz Continues to Pull Europe Lower
It was another risk-off session in Asia, where investors kept their attention on lowered expectations for a rate cut in the U.S. Traders in China are also monitoring a large number of companies set to go public this week, while others could be cautious due to a heavy dose of economic data scheduled for the coming days. Regardless, the Shanghai Composite shed 0.2% on the day, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.8%. Japan’s Nikkei closed down 1%, and South Korea’s Kospi ended 0.6% in the red.
Stocks are also lower in Europe halfway through the day. Looking at individual equities, the Deutsche Bank drama continues, with the lending giant moving forward with the jobs cuts it announced on Sunday. Chemicals company BASF is also in focus due to the German firm’s profit warning. Against this backdrop, the FTSE 100 in London is right near breakeven, and the German DAX and French CAC 40 are sporting respective losses of 1% and 0.4%.