Stocks are set to get rocked again
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are pointing to another day of substantial losses for stocks. More countries have reported their first cases of the coronavirus, and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned the virus could spread all across the globe. Meanwhile, more businesses are lowering their yearly outlooks because of the outbreak, pushing traders to a risk-off approach. As such, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is well on its way to closing out its worst week since the financial crisis.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.44 million call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 1.24 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved to 0.86, and the 21-day moving average was 0.58.
- The shares of VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) are trading down more than 8% before the open due to the company's weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. This price action will put VMW shares at 52-week lows, which could hurt many traders, as long calls were popular at the major exchanges in recent weeks.
- One earnings winner this morning is Trade Desk Inc (NASDAQ:TTD), rising 7.2% in electronic trading. A number of price-target hikes have come through on TTD, as well, including targets of $310 from D.A. Davidson and Stephens.
- Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) is getting hammered today after the company gave a weak outlook due to the effects of the coronavirus. The shares are trading down 34.5% before the open, putting them on pace to open at a decade-plus low.
- Investors will digest the Markit manufacturing PMI, the ISM manufacturing index, data on construction spending. For earnings, reports from Maxar Technologies (MAXR) and Tilray are on tap.
Asian Equities Fall Sharply
Asian markets sank deep into the red on Friday, with China’s Shanghai Composite leading these losses on a 3.7% drop amid fears that the coronavirus could become a global pandemic. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.4%, the South Korean Kospi shed 3.3%, and the Nikkei in Japan took a 3.7% haircut despite a smaller-than-expected decline in retail sales. The latter two have now fallen into correction territory.
European stocks are also entering correction territory today amid worldwide COVID-19 fears. The London FTSE 100 is down 3%, dampened by the sinking airline sector and brushing off a big post-earnings jump from Rolls-Royce,. Elsewhere in the region, the French CAC is off 2.7%, at last check, while the German DAX has lost 3.2%.