Dow Futures Signal a Sharply Lower Start

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are signaling a triple-digit drop for the blue-chip index this morning, as geopolitical tensions in Asia weigh on Wall Street. In addition to lingering trade tensions with China -- including a round of tariff tweets from President Donald Trump over the weekend -- escalating protests in Hong Kong have fueled concerns of a possible global recession. Overnight, Hong Kong International Airport cancelled all departures for the remainder of the day in wake of the unrest.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including: 

• 2 stocks that hit record lows on Friday.
• Shorts cheered after Nektar Therapeutics stock plummeted.
• This weed stock could be volatile later in the week.
• Plus, Humana upgraded; Icahn gains board seats on Cloudera; and BlackRock takes a big stake in Authentic Brands.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 874,906 call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 594,070 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio climbed to 0.68, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.66.
2. Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) stock is up 1% in electronic trading, after Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded the health insurer to "overweight" from "neutral." The analyst in coverage praised the company's recent quarterly report and Medicare Advantage business.  HUM typically outperforms in August, and has added 32% since its April 17 bottom near $225.
3. Cloudera Inc (NYSE:CLDR) stock is up 2.3% ahead of the bell, after the data analytics company agreed to appoint two of Carl Icahn's associates to their board. Icahn disclosed an 18.4% stake in the company on Friday. CLDR gapped lower in early June after a dismal quarterly report, bottoming at $4.90 on June 11. This quarter, though, the shares are up 33%. 
4. The shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) are down 2.6% in electronic trading, after the investment giant took a majority stake in Authentic Brands Group for $875 million. The deal values Authentic Brands Group at more than $4 billion. At last Friday's close, BLK was up 8.5% year-to-date.

5. The week's economic calendar will kick off with the Treasury budget. Barrick Gold (GOLD), HUYA (HUYA), Sysco (SYY), and Tencent Music (TME) are all scheduled to report earnings. 

Tech Stocks Prop Up China; Hong Kong Protests Hit Europe

It was a mixed finish in Asia today. China's Shanghai Composite had the best session, surging 1.5% as tech stocks popped on reports of Huawei's new operating system for smartphones and financial shares jumped after the government eased margin financing regulation. South Korea's Kospi also ended higher -- gaining 0.2% -- though Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave back 0.4% amid rising protests. Markets in Japan were closed for holiday.

European markets are lower at midday, rattled by Hong Kong protests and Trump's trade tweets. At last check, London's FTSE 100 and the French CAC 40 are each flirting with 0.4% losses, while the German DAX is down 0.2% on weakness in auto stocks.