Stock Futures Rise to Kick Off Final Week of August

Stock futures are pointed higher to start the final trading week of August, after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks helped the benchmarks turn in a win on Friday. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are all well above fair market value, though it will take a miracle for the indices to turn in monthly wins. 

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

• Chewy stock's pre-earnings bear note.
• Analyst thinks Netflix stock can add 20%.
• Plus, 3M's $5.5 billion settlement; CRWD's bear note; and Xpeng moves to buy new business.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.4 million call and 1.4 million put contracts exchanged on Friday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.97 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.65.
2. Shares of 3M Co (NYSE:MMM) are 6.1% higher premarket. According to Bloomberg News, the blue-chip conglomerate tentatively agreed to a more than $5.5 billion settlement -- around 330,000 lawsuits -- related to defective earplugs. In 2023, MMM is down 17.5%.
3. Morgan Stanley downgraded cybersecurity concern CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) to "equal weight" from "overweight," citing potential revenue growth in its upcoming earnings report. Down 2.4% in electronic trading, CRWD still sports a 42.1% year-to-date lead.
4. Xpeng Inc (NYSE:XPEV) is up 148% over the last nine months, and looking to add to this impressive gain. The stock is 5.4% higher before the bell, after the China-based electronic vehicle (EV) firm announced plans to by Didi's smart EV business in a $744 million deal.
5. There is nothing of note on the docket today.

Stocks in Asia Follow Stateside Lead

Asian stocks started the trading week off on the right foot, with tailwinds coming from the Chinese government as stamp duty on stock trades was trimmed. The Shanghai Composite added 1.1%, brushing off an 87% collapse from Evergrande Group, instead boosted by the government halving its stamp duty on stock trades. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1%. Rounding out the region, the South Korean Kospi rose nearly 1% and Japan’s Nikkei tacked on 1.7%.

European bourses are also higher, brushing off Powell's hawkish comments. At last check, the German DAX and French CAC are 0.6% and 0.9% higher, respectively, while London’s FTSE 100 is closed for holiday.