Cyber Monday is expected to ring up north of $9 billion in sales today
Fresh off the market's best month since June, stock futures are muted to start December. Trade talks between the U.S. and China remain in focus ahead of the Dec. 15 tariff deadline, especially after Chinese state media reiterated over the weekend that the rollback of existing tariffs remains a key focus for Beijing in phase one talks. President Donald Trump also made headlines this morning by tweeting he'll restore duties on metal imports from Brazil and Argentina. Elsewhere, Wall Street will also be eyeing the retail sector today, with Adobe forecasting $9.4 billion in online sales as Cyber Monday kicks off.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Calls surge on this brick & mortar giant ahead of Cyber Week.
- Behind Deere stock's miserable post-earnings trading session.
- Plus, red-hot Splunk upgraded; Fiat Chrysler reaches deal with United Auto Workers Union; and WYNN tries to shake off weak Macau data.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 539,757 call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 320,997 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio edged up to 0.59, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.58.
- The shares of Splunk Inc (NASDAQ:SPLK) are up 2.5% in electronic trading, after Goldman Sachs upgraded the software concern to "buy" from "neutral," while hiking its price target to $180 from $147. After a post-earnings bull gap on Nov. 22, SPLK nabbed a record intraday high of $151.26 just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, and is up 42.3% year-to-date.
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) is in focus this morning, after the automaker over the weekend struck a tentative four-year labor deal with the United Auto Workers union. FCAU has taken a 9% haircut since its Nov. 12 annual high of $16.25, ceding support at its 30-day moving average in the process.
- Casino stock Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) is fractionally lower in electronic trading after data showed Macau casino revenue sliding by 8.5% in November -- worse than October, but a slimmer decline than analysts expected amid simmering trade tensions and ongoing Hong Kong protests. WYNN is down about 40% from its first-half 2018 highs around the $200 mark, but has recently regained a foothold above its uptrending 40-day and 80-day moving averages.
- Today's economic calendar will feature Markit's purchasing managers manufacturing index (PMI), the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index, and construction spending data. In addition to earnings from Conn's (CONN), retail names will be in focus on the Cyber Monday shopping holiday.
Asian Markets Lifted By Upbeat Data; European Stocks Pivot Lower
Stock markets in Asia were able to overcome fresh trade uncertainty, thanks to upbeat economic data out of China, to close mostly higher. The country’s manufacturing PMI for November was 50.2, exceeding expectations. The Shanghai Composite added 0.1% in response, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed up 0.4%. Japan’s Nikkei had an even better day, closing up 1%, and South Korea’s Kospi managed to add 0.2%.
The major European bourses began the day in positive territory thanks to Asia’s strength, but have since gone negative. London’s FTSE 100 has seen one of the largest reversals, rising as high as 0.7% early on, but checking in 0.03% lower at last glance. France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX, meanwhile, are down 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.