Stocks are muted before the bell
Stocks are fairly muted this morning, as investors continue to unpack earnings. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are inching lower following yesterday's 11th-straight daily win, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) is flat, and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are pointed modestly higher. Meanwhile, the S&P Case-Shiller home price index is due out later today, as well as several Big Tech quarterly reports after the close.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.8 million call contracts and over 944,771 put contacts exchanged on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.50 and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.65.
- 3M Co (NYSE:MMM) is up 2.8% before the bell, after the company posted strong second-quarter results and lifted its full-year forecast, despite taking a hit from its $10.3 billion settlement related to water pollution claims. Year-to-date, the Dow member is down 13.1% heading into today.
- General Electric Co (NYSE:GE) posted a second-quarter beat-and-raise as well, with help from strong demand for its aerospace unit. The stock is up 3.8% premarket and is eyeing a fresh 5-year high, should these gains hold.
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Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) is up 1% in electronic trading, after Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral," with a price-target hike to $210 from $145, citing subsiding grocery inflation.
Walmart stock is up 12.3% since the start of the year.
- Aside from the S&P Case-Shiller home price index, today will bring consumer confidence data.
Beijing Pledges Economic Support
Asian markets were mostly higher on Tuesday, as China promised to bolster economic growth after last week’s lackluster indicators, including supporting its struggling property sector and elevating stable employment. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 4.1% as electric vehicle (EV) names surged, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 2.1%. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.3% on gross domestic product (GDP) advance estimates for the second quarter, and Japan’s Nikkei settled slightly below breakeven with a 0.06% drop.
European markets are also higher, as investors await the European Central Bank’s (ECB) interest rate decision on Thursday and monitor the earnings docket, with the latest reports coming from Adidas, LVMH, and Unilever. At last check, France’s CAC 40 sports a 0.3% lead, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.2%, and the the German DAX is 0.1% higher.