Tesla stock is surging in electronic trading, while MSFT is taking a breather
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are treading water this morning. Wall Street was initially looking at outsized gains, but lost momentum after the latest weekly jobless claims data came in higher than expected at 1.42 million -- marking the 18th consecutive week the number has rose more than 1 million.
Investors are also weighing quarterly reports from household names Microsoft (MSFT) and Tesla (TSLA). The former is losing traction ahead of the open despite a mostly positive quarterly report, while the latter is surging on much better-than-expected fiscal four-quarter results. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) are just barely above fair value, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) is trading marginally higher.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- This semiconductor stock is all the rage among options bulls.
- Behind Biogen's big earnings beat.
- Plus, Twitter's impressive user growth; LVS bites the dust; and Berkshire Hathaway's bank pick.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange
(CBOE) saw 1.4 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, and 678,673 put
contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.49, and the
21-day moving average stayed at to 0.48.
- Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is up 6.7% in pre-market trading after the social media company posted a 34% year-over-year rise in key metric monetizable daily active users. Meanwhile, Twitter's second-quarter revenue fell short of analysts' estimates and it reported a loss for the quarter. TWTR is up 29% in the last three months.
- Casino name Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) also stepped into the earnings confessional with a second-quarter loss of $1.05 per share, which fell below expectations. Its revenue also missed the mark, due to coronavirus-related troubles at its Las Vegas and Macau operations. Ahead of the bell, LVS is down 0.3%, and is staring at a 32.1% year-to-date deficit.
- Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) just lifted its stake in Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) by 0.4% to 11.3%. The broker bought the new shares for an average price of $23.99 per share. Ahead of the bell, BAC is up 1.2%, but has still taken a 31% haircut in 2020.
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Today,
American Airlines, AMZN, AT&T (T), Dow Inc (DOW), Fifth Third (FITB), Intel (INTC), Southwest Airlines (LUV), and T-Mobile US (TMUS) will all throw their hats into the
earnings ring.
Asian Stocks Mixed as U.S.-China Tensions Rise; European Markets Wrapped Up in Earnings Season
Stocks in Asia were mixed today, after the U.S. State Department ordered China to close its consulate in Houston to allegedly protect intellectual property, further escalating tensions between the two countries. Meanwhile, South Korea reported its lowest GDP since 1998, and has entered a recession due to a steep fall in exports. As a result, South Korea’s Kospi ended down 0.6%, while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.2% lower. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8%, and Japan’s Nikkei was closed for a public holiday.
In Europe, stocks are inching higher, lifted by some upbeat earnings reports and a growth in German consumer confidence. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.7%, the German DAX was up 0.6% and France’s CAC was up 0.5%.