Bank stocks are in focus after all passed the Fed's stress test
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are eyeing an upbeat open this morning, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are struggling for direction. Though a resurgent tech sector took home the headlines yesterday, bank stocks are in focus now, after all 23 major banks passed the Fed's stress tests, prompting dividend hikes from Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase, and others. Elsewhere, investors will be keen to unpack home prices and consumer confidence data that is due out later today.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's V.P. of Research Todd Salamone on how the market handled an expiration week setback.
- Options bulls eye more gains for Roblox stock.
- Plus, HLF rises on fresh coverage; FDS' mixed quarterly report; and TXT receives an upgrade.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.1 million call contracts traded on Monday, and 929,936 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.42 and the 21-day moving average dropped to 0.43.
- B. Riley Securities initiated coverage on Herbalife Nutrition Ltd (NYSE:HLF) with a “buy” rating and $70 price target. The firm cited the company as a leader in weight management supplements, and noted its increased presence in sports and fitness. HLF is up 2.6% in pre-market trading, and has added 11% in 2021.
- FactSet Research Systems Inc (NYSE:FDS) is up 0.7% before the bell. The financial information name reported slightly worse-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings, but revenue came in above estimates amid strong sales of analytics as well as content and technology products. FDS is now eyeing its fourth-straight daily gain.
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Textron Inc (NYSE:TXT) received an upgrade from Morgan Stanley to “overweight” from "equal weight” alongside a price-target hike to $87 from $49, due to the growing electric aircraft market. TXT is up 3.5% in electronic trading. Another session win would mark five straight for the aerospace name.
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Today will bring data from the consumer confidence index.
Economic Sentiment Skyrockets in Europe
Markets in Asia slipped today, led by the Hong Kong Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite in China, both of which lost roughly 0.9%. Elsewhere, the Nikkei in Japan fell 0.8%, and the South Korean Kospi dropped 0.5%. Investors were eyeing yesterday’s mixed trading over in the U.S., as well as the new outbreak of the Covid-19 Delta variant in the region, while several areas have imposed more lockdown measures.
Markets in Europe, meanwhile, are on the rise, while the bourses eye labor data over in the U.S. – due out later this week – as well as a discussion among European Central Bank policy makers on the potential tapering of its massive emergency bond buying program. Meanwhile, a better-than-expected reading out of the euro zone showed economic sentiment surged to a 21-year high of in June. At last check, the French CAC is up 0.4%, the German DAX is 0.9% higher, and the London FTSE 100 is sporting a 0.3% lead.