Dow Futures Fall on Trade Worries, Hong Kong Protests
Continued uncertainty over the lingering Beijing-Washington trade standoff are pressuring stocks this morning
Stock futures are set to retreat from last week's record wins, as growing concerns over U.S.-China trade plague Wall Street. This souring sentiment comes afterPresident Donald Trump on Friday tempered expectations for a mutual tariff rollback. An upsurge of violence in Hong Kong protests over the weekend is also weighing on investor sentiment. Dow futures are trading more than 134 points below fair value, with news that American Airlines (AAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) have both removed the Boeing 737 MAX from their flight schedules until early March sending blue-chip BA stock down 0.7% ahead of the bell.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Behind big moves for these 2 drug stocks. Why SHOP stock could surge in the next few months. Plus, an AMZN senior vice president resigns; CHWY stock get a bull note; and AAPL stock slips on algorithm allegations.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.23 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 732,145 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved up to 0.59, while the 21-day moving average came in at 0.62. FAANG stock Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is inching lower ahead of the bell after a senior vice president of 20 years, Steve Kessel, announced his resignation. The stock has dropped 0.2% in electronic trading. Credit Suisse initiated coverage on online pet retailer Chewy Inc (NYSE:CHWY) with an "outperform" rating and a $29 price target, noting that the company is "well positioned amid a robust pet care industry." The security is up 2% in pre-market trades. Tech giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is losing steam after last week's all-time-highs, off 0.7% in electronic trading after co-founder Steve Wozniak joined other online critics in asserting that the company's algorithm for its new Apple Card appears to be doling out higher credit limits to men than women. Apple's partner Goldman Sachs (GS), in a statement, said the algorithm does not factor in gender when determining credit limits.The economic calendar is bare today, but earnings from Amicus Therapeutics (FOLD), Flotek Industries (FTK), and Tidewater (TDW) are due.
Heightened Hong Kong Tensions Sink Asian Markets
It was a rough start to the week for Asian markets, with heightened tensions in Hong Kong impacting the entire region. The Hang Seng shed 2.6%, when protesters were injured after police opened fire amid mass demonstrations. China's Shanghai Composite gave back 1.8%, after data showed sharp declines in the consumer and producer price indexes last month. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.6%, and Japan's Nikkei gave back early gains to end down 0.3%.
Over in Europe, stocks are also lower as investors await the latest U.S.-China trade headlines. London's FTSE 100 is down 1.1%, despite upbeat third-quarter gross domestic product and hiring plans numbers. Rounding out the region, the French CAC 40 is down 0.1% at last check, while the German DAX is off 0.4%.