All three major indexes are looking to open higher this morning
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are higher this morning, up roughly 200 points despite U.S. Federal Chairman Jerome Powell's comments that the nation's economic outlook remains uncertain, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Meanwhile, futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are also higher, with the rotation out of stay-at-home stocks now on pause. Elsewhere, traders are still digesting stricter social-distancing measures that are being re-implemented in several parts of the country to curb the spread of the virus, such as New York's latest curfews. For the week, the blue-chip index and S&P 500 are both on track to mark weekly gains.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Understanding the basics of a Fibonacci retracement.
- Fossil stock surges on quarterly profit swing.
- Plus, cosmetics stock posts third-straight quarterly loss; Cisco stock beats analysts' estimates; and snack foods name earns post-acquisition upgrade.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.5 million call contracts traded on Thursday, and 835,732 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.52 and the 21-day moving average jumped to 0.50.
- Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV) is down 8.5% in pre-market trading, after the cosmetics company reported third-quarter losses for the third consecutive time, as well as a 20% decline in sales. The company attributed the disappointing results to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Year-over-year, REV is down 49.1%.
- Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is up 7.1% before the bell, after the tech concern reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and a revenue beat. The company says demand for its products is growing as more people continue to work remotely. Year-over-year, however, CSCO remains down 20%.
- The shares of Utz Brands Inc (NYSE:UTZ) are up 3.2% in electronic trading, after the company received an upgrade from Piper Sandler to "overweight" from "neutral." The analyst in question cited a focus on the salty snacks category, which is growing after the company acquired tortilla chip brand On The Border. Year-over-year, UTZ is up 78.4%.
- The week comes to an end with the producer price index (PPI) and consumer sentiment data.
Asian Markets Drop as U.S. COVID-19 Cases Add Pressure
After starting the week strong, Asian stocks closed out Friday mostly lower. The cause can likely be chalked up to COVID-19 cases piling up in the U.S. The shares of Hong-Kong-listed Chinese tech giant Tencent surged over 4%, helping keep a lid on the marginally lower Hang Seng in Hong Kong, which fell 0.1%. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively. Rounding out the region, South Korea’s Kospi managed to notch a win, rising 0.7%.
European stocks, on the other hand, are mostly higher, as investors unpack news that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden secured he battleground state of Arizona. Meanwhile, in Europe, plenty of economic data, including third-quarter unemployment and an estimate for gross domestic product (GDP) are due out today. London’s FTSE 100 has so far shed 0.6%, while France’s CAC 40 and the DAX in Germany are up 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively.