Markets Mixed Ahead of the Open

First Look

Markets are mixed ahead of the bell Tuesday. The Peoples Bank of China is launching the Loan Prime Rate, in an effort to lower borrowing costs. Analysts expect China's central bank to set lending rates to 4.25%. The U.S. will extend a set of exceptions that allow American companies to do some business with Chinese tech company Huawei. The extension is to allow U.S. companies time to find alternative sources for parts and services after Huawei was blacklisted over national security concerns. Federal regulators are considering changes to the Volcker Rule, which was enacted after the Financial Crisis to limit banks from trading with their own money. The revamp will not lift bans on prop-trading but will simplify the rules and reduce the types of investments the rule targeted. The S&P 500 is up 0.05%, the S&P 500 is up 0.05%, the Dow Jones is up 0.04%.

Today's Sentiment

Quote of the Day

Given the yield curve's excellent forecasting track record, it seems truly remarkable that so many corporate executives chose to ignore its strong recessionary warning signals leading up to the 2001 downturn.
Peter Navarro

Stocks on the Move

Medtronic PLC (MDT), Kohl's Corporation (KSS) and Home Depot Inc (HD) are moving higher this morning, while HP Inc (HPQ), Kraft Heinz Co (KHC) and Netflix Inc (NFLX) are headed lower. Beyond Meat Inc (BYND), Chemours Co (CC) and AbbVie Inc (ABBV) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while HP Inc (HPQ), MCCORMICK & CO /SH NV (MKC) and Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) were downgraded.

International Markets

Stocks in Asia are mixed. The Australia ASX All Ordinaries is up 1.17%, the Nikkei 225 is up 0.55%, the Shanghai SE Composite Index is down -0.11% the Hang Seng is down -0.13% and the Mumbai Sensex is down -0.2%. In Europe stocks are mixed. The FTSE 100 is up 0.31%, the CAC 40 is up 0.09%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is down -0.01% and the DAX is down -0.1%.

Futures & Currencies

Energy futures are down today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is down -0.25 at 55.96 per barrel. Brent crude is down -0.13 at 59.61 per barrel. Natural Gas is down -0.01 at 2.2. Precious metals are mixed this morning. Gold is up 8.86 at 1504.78 per ounce. Platinum is down -0.6 at 851.26 while silver is up 0.06 at 17. The dollar is mixed compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is up against the euro, down against the Yen and up against the Pound.

Put/Call Ratio

Yesterday, 1,076,910 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 589,277 put contracts. The single-session put/call was 0.55 while the 20-day moving average is now at 0.72.

Today's Economic Calendar

Earnings Expected Today