U.S. stock indexes will try to gain again today
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are pointing to a positive open for stocks this morning after the historic two-day coronavirus-inspired sell-off. However, traders will likely remain on edge throughout the session, given how quickly equities gave up early morning gains on Tuesday. What's more, President Donald Trump has said he will be holding a press conference on coronavirus this evening. Investors in the meantime will be digging through a number of quarterly releases this morning.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.27 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 1.02 million put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved to 0.80, and the 21-day moving average was 0.56.
- Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is set to open down 1.7% after co-CEO Keith Block stepped down from his role. The company also announced it's buying cloud software firm Vlocity, and it reported earnings per share of 66 cents, topping analysts' expectations of 56 cents.
- The shares of Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) are trading down 4% this morning, with traders focusing on the company's disappointing full-year profit outlook. Same-store sales and earnings per share both topped estimates for the last quarter, though.
- Set to make a much bigger post-earnings move this morning is SmileDirectClub Inc (NASDAQ:SDC), as the stock is pacing for a 24% drop at the open. The company's quarterly loss has sparked a wave of bear notes, including a downgrade to "hold" from "buy" at Jefferies.
- New home sales are on the schedule, as well as quarterly reports from Etsy (ETSY), L Brands (LB), Lowe's (LOW), Monster Beverage (MNST), Papa John's (PZZA), and SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS).
Asian Equities Keep Falling
Asian markets finished lower as the coronavirus continues to spread on a global level. The Shanghai Composite and the Japanese Nikkei both shed 0.8%, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.3%. Rounding out the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7%, after the city revealed its $15.4 billion budget.
Over in Europe markets are also struggling, as the virus continues to spread throughout Italy and now France, with the latter reporting its second coronavirus-related death today. At last check, the French CAC 40 has lost 0.4%, the London FTSE 100 is down 5%, and the German DAX is off 0.6%.