All three major indexes are pacing for weekly losses
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are staring at an 88-point drop this morning, while futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) are firmly in the red as well, as the two major benchmarks pace for their worst week since June. Meanwhile, futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are slightly above breakeven, though the index is still eyeing its biggest weekly drop since May. This negative price action is linked to fears the Fed may soon taper off stimulus, despite the economy slowing down due to the Covid-19 delta variant.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- This blue-chip stock earned a pre-earnings bull note.
- Kohl's stock popped after beating Wall Street's estimates.
- Plus, Spotify board approves stock buyback; Foot Locker stock surges on quarterly beat; and upgrade boosts Petco stock.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.7 million call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 1 million put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.61 and the 21-day moving average rose to 0.54.
- Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT) is up 2.4% in electronic trading, after the company's board approved a $1 billion stock buyback. This demonstrates the music streaming name's confidence in long-term growth opportunities, according to Chief Financial Officer Paul Vogel. The security has been trending lower since June, and has shed 42.2% in the last six months.
- The shares of Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) are surging, last seen up 7.1% ahead of the bell. This positive price action came after the retailer beat analysts' second- quarter earnings estimates, thanks to a better-than-expected jump in comparable store sales. Today's pop could help the equity overcome pressure at the 40-day moving average. Year-over-year, FL is up 97.8%.
- Pet retailer Petco Health and Wellness Company Inc(NASDAQ:WOOF) is up 3.4% before the open, after the security earned an upgrade from Credit Suisse to "outperform" from "neutral." The firm said it is more optimistic toward the company after its strong quarterly report. Longer term, WOOF remains down 10.8% year-to-date.
- There is no relevant economic data on tap today.
Government Regulations Weigh Heavy on Asian Markets
Anxieties over government regulations in China are cropping up again, and weighing heavily on markets in Asia. China-based were on blast after Chinese regulators issued a draft of new rules aimed at snuffing out anticompetitive practices. Separately, China also left it’s one-year loan prime rate (LPR) and five-year LPR unchanged at 3.85% and 4.65%, respectively. The Hong Kong Hang Seng took the biggest hit, dropping 1.8%, while the Shanghai Composite in China and the South Korean Kospi trailed close behind, shedding 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei took a nearly 1% haircut.
Over in Europe, stocks are also in the red, with spreading Covid-19 fears and concerns about monetary policy weighing on investors. The German DAX was last seen down 0.3%, the London FTSE 100 is off 0.2%, and the French CAC 40 is 0.3% lower.