All three major benchmarks are sinking in premarket trading
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down 334 points before the open, while Nasdaq-100 (NDX) and S&P 500 (SPX) futures sit firmly in the red as well, as the recent market rally further dissipates. Investors are looking ahead to a handful of corporate earnings reports this week, though earnings season is dying down, while eyeing comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the annual Jackson Hole economic symposium on Friday.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.80 million call contracts traded on Friday, and over 1.33 million put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.74, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.67.
- RBC Capital downgraded DocuSign Inc (NASDAQ:DOCU) to "sector perform" from "outperform," with a price-target cut to $65 from $80, citing the near-term challenges and current CEO search. DOCU is down 3.9% before the bell, and looking to extend its 56.7% year-to-date deficit.
- Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is making headlines, after CEO Elon Musk said an updated version of its Full Self Driving software will lead pricing to rise to $15,000 in September. The $950 region has pressured shares so far this month, but quarter-to-date TSLA is up 32.2%. In the premarket, though, the security was last seen down 1.9%.
- Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is down 2.8% in electronic trading, after a jury on Friday awarded $1.7 billion in a case against the company involving a fatal crash in an older version of its Super Duty pickup truck. Year-to-date, the equity is down 23.5%.
- Today will bring the Chicago Fed national activity index
European Stocks Fall Amid Interest Rate Concerns
Asian markets were mostly lower on Monday, with the exception of the Shanghai Composite in China, which added 0.6% amid news that the country lowered its benchmark lending rates. Meanwhile, other major indexes across the region are following the lead of the global market, with the Hong Kong Hang Seng shedding 0.6%, the South Korean Kospi dropping 1.2%, and the Nikkei in Japan losing 0.5%.
In Europe, markets are having similar issues, with the German DAX last seen down 2%, the French CAC 40 off 1.4% so far today, and London FTSE 100 taking a 0.2% haircut. Traders are fretting over even more interest rate hikes from both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB), especially after Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel urged the ECB to continue to raise interest rates. This was pushed as recession risks in Germany become more apparent, just ahead of the central bank’s policy meeting minutes, which will be put out on Thursday.