Morning Update: Stocks Point Lower Friday

First Look

Stocks are again pointed lower ahead of the open Friday morning. Tariffs on roughly $250 billion worth of goods imported from China increased to 25% from 10% at midnight. President Trump tweeted that the process to tariff the $325 billion in Chinese goods not currently subject to duties has begin. China said it will be forced to retaliate, but has yet to announce what form that action will take. Uber Inc. is set to begin trading today after pricing its IPO after yesterday's close. The Dow Jones is down -0.41%, the Nasdaq is down -0.53%, the S&P 500 is down -0.54%.

Today's Sentiment

Quote of the Day

You can't arrest me, I'm a rockstar.
Sid Vicious

Stocks on the Move

Ford Motor Company (F), Centene Corp (CNC) and Mylan NV (MYL) are moving higher this morning, while Symantec Corporation (SYMC), Estee Lauder Companies Inc (EL) and Wynn Resorts, Limited (WYNN) are headed lower. Ford Motor Company (F), UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH) and Whirlpool Corporation (WHR) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while Yelp Inc (YELP), Verastem Inc (VSTM) and Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC) were downgraded.

International Markets

Stocks in Asia are mixed. The Shanghai SE Composite Index is up 3.1%, the Hang Seng is up 1.01%, the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is up 0.25% the Mumbai Sensex is down -0.26% and the Nikkei 225 is down -0.27%. In Europe stocks are up. The DAX is up 0.74%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.45%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.45% and the FTSE 100 is up 0.34%.

Futures & Currencies

Energy futures are up today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up 0.28 at 61.98 per barrel. Brent crude is up 0.54 at 70.93 per barrel. Natural Gas is flat at 2.59. Precious metals are up this morning. Gold is up 1.33 at 1285.41 per ounce. Platinum is up 7.5 at 856.59 while silver is flat at 14.76. The dollar is down compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is down against the euro, down against the Yen and flat against the Pound.

Put/Call Ratio

Yesterday, 1,023,761 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 716,578 put contracts. The single-session put/call was 0.7 while the 20-day moving average is now at 0.61.

Today's Economic Calendar

Earnings Expected Today