Markets Point Higher as China Eases Yuan Concerns

First Look

Stocks are slightly higher in the pre-market Thursday. The Nasdaq is leading the major indices. China's central bank set the yuan's daily fixing stronger than analysts expected Thursday, in what is potentially an attempt to ease growing concerns about a global currency war. The yuan's daily reference rate was set to 7.0039 per dollar, which is the first time since 2008 that it was fixed weaker than 7. President Trump continued calls for additional interest rate cuts in a series of tweets, saying that the " Federal Reserve that is too proud to admit their mistake of acting too fast and tightening too much". Crude oil fell to seven-month lows yesterday. The Nasdaq is up 0.41%, the S&P 500 is up 0.23%, the Dow Jones is up 0.13%.

Today's Sentiment

Quote of the Day

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.
Mark Twain

Stocks on the Move

Symantec Corporation (SYMC), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) and Perrigo Company PLC (PRGO) are moving higher this morning, while Monster Beverage Corp (MNST), Centurylink Inc (CTL) and Intel Corporation (INTC) are headed lower. LYFT Inc (LYFT), Walt Disney Co (DIS) and Dollar General Corp. (DG) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK), Centurylink Inc (CTL) and Match Group Inc (MTCH) were downgraded.

International Markets

Stocks in Asia are up. The Mumbai Sensex is up 1.74%, the Shanghai SE Composite Index is up 0.93%, the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is up 0.82% the Hang Seng is up 0.48% and the Nikkei 225 is up 0.37%. In Europe stocks are up. The CAC 40 is up 1.2%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 1.03%, the DAX is up 0.78% and the FTSE 100 is up 0.25%.

Futures & Currencies

Energy futures are up today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up 0.96 at 52.05 per barrel. Brent crude is up 0.66 at 56.89 per barrel. Natural Gas is up 0.03 at 2.11. Precious metals are down this morning. Gold is down -10.2 at 1509.4 per ounce. Platinum is down -4.8 at 859.92 while silver is down -0.17 at 17.03. 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, 883,268 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 685,729 put contracts. The single-session put/call was 0.78 while the 20-day moving average is now at 0.68.

Today's Economic Calendar

Earnings Expected Today