JPMorgan's earnings were particularly strong
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading above fair value this morning, pointing to a strong start to earnings season. It's been a good morning for blue chips on that front, with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and UnitedHealth (UNH) all set to rise after their quarterly reports. While trade buzz is still lingering in the background, the positive earnings updates have futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) higher, as well.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone breaks down the VIX levels to watch this week.
- 2 Wall Street rookies expected to pop.
- Puts pick up with Turkey ETF facing worst month in a year.
- Plus, JPMorgan's earnings details; analyst sees big upside for healthcare stock; and hemp farming in Hawaii.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 753,716 million call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 463,698 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved to 0.62, while the 21-day moving average was 0.69.
- Looking closer at JPM's earnings results, the company's third-quarter earnings per share came in at $2.68, trouncing expectations of $2.45, while revenue of $30.1 billion for the period was the most ever. This has the shares of the banking giant up 1.9% before the open, putting them on pace to test their record highs near the $120 level.
- Outside of earnings, eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) just received a big bull note from Raymond James, which began coverage with an "outperform" rating and $90 price target. This comes after EHTH stock yesterday notched its lowest close since January, with the shares falling from a July peak of $112.22 to $53.12 yesterday.
- Arcadia Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:RKDA) stock had a big day on Monday, jumping 24.8%. The shares of RKDA are set to add another 4% today, rising on news the company is expanding its hemp farming operations in Hawaii.
- The Empire State manufacturing index comes out, and there will be speeches from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly. For corporate earnings, BlackRock (BLK), Citigroup (C), J.B. Hunt (JBHT), Wells Fargo (WFC), and United Airlines (UAL) will report.
Mixed Trading in Overseas Markets
Markets in Asia were a mixed bag today, as investors remain cautious about the specifics of a U.S.-China trade deal. Chinese markets are monitoring a 69.3% surge in pork prices last month, stemming from an outbreak of African swine fever. This sent the consumer price index up to a six-year high of 3%, exceeding consensus expectations.
Overall, China's Shanghai Composite shed 0.6%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave back 0.07% in the final hours of trading. South Korea's Kospi finished fractionally higher, while Japan's Nikkei led the region with a 1.9% gain.
Over in Europe, London's FTSE 100 is nursing a 0.3% loss, after U.K.'s unemployment rate rose to 3.9% this past summer as Brexit fears hit the labor market. But elsewhere, stocks are mostly higher after European Union (EU) negotiator Michel Barnier expressed optimism that a Brexit deal was still possible at a summit later this week. At last check, the French CAC 40 was up 0.4%, while the German DAX has a 0.3% lead.