The U.S. State Department abruptly ordered China to close its Huston consultate
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are choppy this morning, trading almost 50 points below fair value after the U.S. State Department's abrupt order for China to close its consulate in Houston reignited tensions between the two superpowers. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) are also below fair value, though Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are attempting to reverse their luck in pre-market trading.
Wall Street is also sifting through another influx of earnings, including reports from Snap (SNAP) and United Airlines (UAL), both of which missed analysts' expectations. Meanwhile, on the COVID-19 front, the U.S. government just gave Pfizer (PFE) the go-ahead to produce millions of doses of vaccines.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White breaks down the decade-high gold/silver ratio.
- Unpacking Tesla stock's huge 2020 ahead of earnings tonight.
- Plus, BIIB posts earnings beat; BBY's online sales triple; and IRBT stumbles despite impressive Q2 report.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange
(CBOE) saw 1.5 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, and 614,108 put
contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio slipped to 0.39, and the
21-day moving average fell to 0.48.
- Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) is up 2.2% in electronic trading, after the drugmaker reported a second-quarter earnings and revenue beat. The biotech firm cited $100 million in accelerated sales thanks to the pandemic, but rolled back its full-year forecast slightly. Biogen stock is set to face off with its year-to-date breakeven level today.
- Tech retailer Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) said its sales have jumped over 15% since its mid-June reopening, while its current-quarter online sales have tripled. Ahead of the open, BBY is up 4.7%, set to take aim at its Feb. 20 record high of $91.99.
- The shares of iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ:IRBT) are stumbling ahead of the bell, despite a significant second-quarter earnings beat and reported revenue that also topped analysts' estimates. iRobot cited strong sales of its Roomba vacuum cleaner, and lifted its revenue forecast. The stock is down 2.7% in electronic trading, but IRBT's 20-day moving average is stepping up as support.
-
Overseas Stocks Retreat Amid Alarming COVID-19 Spike
Stocks in Asia closed mostly lower today, after the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) said the number of coronavirus cases in some states is likely higher than what has been reported. Nonetheless, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed down 2.3%, Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.6%, and South Korea’s Kospi ended flat.
Across the pond, stocks are also retreating, as optimism surrounding the European Union’s (EU) recovery fund deflates due to an increasing number of coronavirus deaths and cases in the U.S. At last check, France’s CAC was down 0.9%, London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.7%, and the German DAX was down 0.3%.