Dow Futures Point to Strong Start for Pre-Holiday Session
The stock market will close early today ahead of the Fourth of July holiday
Stocks are eyeing a strong open to today's abbreviated session, with U.S. markets set to close at 1 p.m. ET in advance of the July 4 holiday. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading 137 points above fair value, and S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) futures are higher, too, as tech stocks look set to extend Monday's strength. Despite the early close, traders will still have economic data to digest in the form ofmotor vehicle sales and factory orders.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 reasons to watch S&P 2,700, according to Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone. JD.com, Alibaba call options still hot despite trade tensions. Don't bet on a Finisar stock comeback. Plus, why Facebook stock is set to tumble, and two streaming stocks gaining on bullish analyst notes.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 648,123 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 375,428 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio slid to 0.58, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.57.Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is trading more than 1% lower before the open, following a Washington Post report that the federal investigation into the Cambridge Analytica scandal has expanded to involve multiple agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). FB shares have stormed back since the controversy, which had them breaching the $150 mark back in late March, with the stock last seen at $197.36. Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) could enjoy a positive open today, thanks to a price-target hike to $8 from $6 at Morgan Stanley. The bull note comes as shares of the streaming music provider have gained momentum on the charts, closing Monday at $7.99 -- up 63.4% year-to-date. We could see more Pandora bears abandon their positions going forward, too, since short interest remains very elevated and most analysts still rate the stock a "hold" or "sell." Switching from streaming music to streaming TV, Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU) also notched a bullish analyst note this morning. Oppenheimer upped its opinion on ROKU stock to "outperform" from "perform," and set a $50 price target. The shares were recently rejected by the $48 mark, about two times their IPO-day close from September, but could now be finding support from the 20-day moving average. The stock closed Monday at $43.29, and is trading up 5.4% in pre-market action. Acuity Brands (AYI) is scheduled to unveil quarterly earnings.
European Markets Climb on Migration Compromise
It was a mixed finish in Asia today. Stocks in Hong Kong returned from the long holiday weekend to pent-up selling pressure, with the Hang Seng giving back 1.4%. Japan's Nikkei also closed lower, shedding 0.1%, while South Korea's Kospi eked out a 0.05% gain. China's Shanghai Composite, meanwhile, added 0.4%, after two officials from the People's Bank of China suggested the central bank could offer supportive measures for the yuan.
European markets are higher at midday, as news that a compromise over migration between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her interior minister has helped avert a government collapse offsets a flat reading on the eurozone's May retail sales. At last check, the German DAX is up 1.4%, the French CAC 40 is 1% higher, and London's FTSE 100 has added 0.8%, even as Glencore shares sink on reports the mining firm has been issued a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice.