Rally Continues Thursday Morning

First Look

Stocks are again rising Thursday in pre-market trading. China and the U.S. announced plans to lower tariffs next Friday under the terms of the phase one trade deal signed last month. The Nasdaq is up 0.3%, the Nasdaq is up 0.3%, the S&P 500 is up 0.27%.

Today's Sentiment

Quote of the Day

Common sense is not so common.
Voltaire

Stocks on the Move

Twitter Inc (TWTR), Cardinal Health Inc (CAH) and Estee Lauder Companies Inc (EL) are moving higher this morning, while Becton Dickinson and Co (BDX), Xylem Inc (XYL) and Paycom Software Inc (PAYC) are headed lower. Cummins Inc. (CMI), VMware, Inc. (VMW) and Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while W. R. Grace & Co (GRA), Kansas City Southern (KSU) and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) were downgraded.

International Markets

Stocks in Asia are up. The Hang Seng is up 2.54%, the Nikkei 225 is up 2.38%, the Shanghai SE Composite Index is up 1.72% the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is up 0.96% and the Mumbai Sensex is up 0.4%. In Europe stocks are up. The DAX is up 0.69%, the CAC 40 is up 0.68%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.53% and the FTSE 100 is up 0.29%.

Futures & Currencies

Energy futures are mixed today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up 0.09 at 50.82 per barrel. Brent crude is down -0.23 at 55.05 per barrel. Natural Gas is down -0.02 at 1.84. Precious metals are mixed this morning. Gold is up 10.09 at 1566.11 per ounce. Platinum is down -5.12 at 978.7 while silver is up 0.18 at 17.78. The dollar is mixed compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is down against the euro, up against the Yen and up against the Pound.

Put/Call Ratio

Yesterday, 1,599,022 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 808,826 put contracts. The single-session put/call was 0.51.

Today's Economic Calendar

Earnings Expected Today