Stock Futures Higher on Shaky Ground

Stock futures are cautiously higher this morning, although we've seen all month how that can be fools gold with this August drawdown. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) eyeing a modest open, as investors unpack the latest round of retail earnings, with Foot Locker's (FL) dismal results weighing on the sector. Elsewhere, Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are higher as well, ahead of a critical earnings report from chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) after the close today.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including: 

• Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White found 9 stocks with room to run.
• This Netflix put option doubled subscribers' money.
• Plus, Peloton a penny stock; vaccine optimism for NVAX; and Kohl's earnings. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.2 million call and 829,835 put contracts exchanged on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.68 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.65.
2. Peloton Interactive Inc (NASDAQ:PTON) stock is 29% lower before the bell, after the fitness equipment maker's steeper-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter loss, as well as first-quarter revenue guidance that fell way short of estimates. PTON is poised to open at a record low, and even before today was 39% lower year-over-year. 
3. Novavax Inc (NYSE:NVAX) stock is 1.9% higher ahead of the open, after the drugmaker announced its new Covid-19 vaccine is effective against the surging Eris variant. NVAX is up 23.2% this quarter, but still off by 10% year-to-date.
4. The shares of Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS) are up 1.1% in electronic trading, after the retailer's second-quarter earnings topped estimates. A revenue miss may keep gains in check today. Kohl's stock is battling its year-to-date breakeven level today.
5. Today will feature new home sales, the S&P flash U.S. services purchasing managers' index (PMI), and the S&P flash U.S. manufacturing PMI.

European Data Weighs on Bourses

Japan’s Nikkei climbed for a third-straight day, adding 0.5%, after the country’s flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 54.3 compared to the previous month’s 53.8, showing a faster expansion. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also rose, adding 0.3%, while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1.3%, and the South Korean Kospi dropped 0.4%. 

Investors are unpacking a host of disappointing economic data out of Europe. The euro zone flash PMI fell to a 33-month low of 47 from July’s 48.6, with anything below 50 marking a contraction. Manufacturing output declined for a fifth-straight month, and services fell for the first time since December. Meanwhile, Germany’s business activity fell at its steepest rate since May 2020 with a PMI reading of 48.5, while France’s remained in contraction territory as well. Still, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.8% at last check, while the French CAC 40 sits flat, and the German DAX is 0.1% higher.