Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Point to Another Cautious Day of Trading
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are signaling a lower start, as caution sets in ahead of some market-moving events slated for later in the week. Oil futures remain in focus today, with the July-dated crude contract down 0.4% at $47.21 per barrel amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East. But as Wall Street's appetite for riskier assets cools, gold is poised to benefit from its safe-haven status, with August-dated gold futures trading up 0.9% at $1,294.40 an ounce. Another down day for the Dow would make it two in a row, following Monday's modest losses for U.S. stocks.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone pinpoints the June SPY strike bulls need to watch.How options traders played Bank of America's short-lived bounce.This booming drug stock could get an assist from short sellers.Plus, another exec splits at J. Crew; GM braces for a big shareholder vote; and G-III spikes ahead of the bell.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.01 million call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 512,819 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.51 -- its lowest reading since Dec. 8 -- and the 21-day moving average dropped to 0.62.Roughly two months after announcing the departure of its president and executive creative director, privately held retailer J. Crew said Mickey Drexler will be stepping down as CEO. Drexler will be succeeded by West Elm exec James Brett.General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) shareholders will vote today on whether to split its stock into two classes -- one for growth, and one for dividends. The proposal comes from Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn, who is also expected to nominate three members to the automaker's board. GM stock is trading 0.2% lower ahead of the bell.Unlike the apparel stock's last post-earnings move, shares of G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GIII) are up almost 28% in pre-market trading following this morning's earnings report. The retailer reported a narrower-than-expected adjusted first-quarter loss of 18 cents per share on $529 million in sales, and said it expects its Donna Karan division to turn profitable in the second half of the year.The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) will be released this morning. Ambarella (AMBA), Canadian Solar (CSIQ), Fred's (FRED), HD Supply Holdings (HDS), Michaels Companies (MIK), Oxford Industries (OXM), and Sigma Designs (SIGM) will report earnings.
Overseas Trading
It was a somewhat subdued trading session in Asia, with major stock indexes closing mixed. Starting in Japan, the Nikkei dropped 1%, falling back below the 20,000 level in the face of a strengthening yen -- often seen as a "safe haven" asset. Chinese bourses managed modest gains, however. The Shanghai Composite moved up 0.4%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5%, thanks to a strong showing from China-based property developers. The South Korean stock market was closed for a holiday.
Caution is also the theme in Europe, pressuring major stock indexes. This comes ahead of several potential market-moving events, such as Thursday's European Central Bank (ECB)meeting and the general election in the U.K. Traders are also considering the diplomatic rift between Qatar and a handful of Middle Eastern countries, which has Brent crude prices trading lower once again. Germany's DAX is struggling the most, dropping 0.9% so far, with France's CAC 40 down 0.7%, and the London FTSE 100 losing 0.2%.