S&P 500 Futures Point to More Record Highs, Nasdaq Takes Breather

After another record-setting session on Wall Street yesterday, stock futures are mostly higher this morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) up over 150 points above fair value, thanks to bubbling optimism surrounding the decrease in newly confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. Investors are also eyeing a major shake-up to the blue chip index, with Salesforce.com (CRM), Amgen (AMGN) and Honeywell (HON) joining the benchmark -- effective Aug. 31. 

Meanwhile, S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are poised for another big move, after closing above 3,400 for the first time ever on Monday. Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are flat, however, taking a breather after notching its second-consecutive closing high yesterday. 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including: 

• Options bears are targeting this middling mobile phone stock.
• Schaeffer's Senior Market Strategist Todd Salamone asks two "money questions."

• Plus, J M Smucker's earnings beat; a look at Apple's Fortnite drama; and Zoom Video is back up and running.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.6 million call contracts traded on Monday, and 676,282 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.42, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.47.
2. J M Smucker Co (NYSE:SJM) is up 4% ahead of the bell, after the food producer reported fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that came in well above analysts' estimates. The company also raised its full-year forecast amid strong demand for some of its products, especially coffee.
3. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is making headlines after a judge blocked its removal of an Epic Games tools used to run offerings from hundreds of app makers. The ruling is part of an ongoing dispute that concerns Apple blocking Epic's Fortnite for iOSs users. AAPL is down 0.5% in pre-market trading as a result. 
4. Service has been restored for Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ:ZM) after a Monday outage that lasted several hours -- preventing users from joining meetings and signing up for accounts. The shares of Zoom stock are down 1.3% before the open. 
5. Economic data featured today includes the consumer confidence index, Case-Shiller home price index, and new home sales. Earnings will pick up, with Best Buy, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Hormel Foods (HRL), Intuit (INTU), Salesforce.com (CRM), Pure Storage (PSTG) and Urban Outfitters (URBN) all reporting. 

Stocks in Asia ended today’s session mixed, after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin joined a call with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He to discuss the Phase One Agreement between the two countries. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.6%, while Japan’s Nikkei added 1.4%. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3%, while China’s Shanghai Composite backpedaled 0.4%.

In Europe, markets are higher midday, taking a cue from more positive global sentiment. The DAX in Germany is up 0.7%, despite economic data showing its economy shrank by 9.7% in the previous three months. Elsewhere, the French CAC 40 has tacked on 0.9%, and London’s FTSE 100 has gained 0.07%.