First Look
Stocks in the U.S. are lower ahead of Thursday's opening bell. The number of new cases of covid-19 in China's Hubei province fell yesterday, but the country has made another change to the way it counts those cases. South Korea reported an increase in new cases, while there were new deaths in both Japan and Iran. Shares of Etrade (ETFC) are up sharply this morning on news that the company will be acquired in an all-stock deal by Morgan Stanley (MS). The Dow Jones is down -0.19%, the S&P 500 is down -0.22%, the Nasdaq is down -0.25%.
Today's Sentiment
NeutralQuote of the Day
The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.
Vince Lombardi
Daily Action Trade
Stocks on the Move
Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC), Mosaic Co (MOS) and Albemarle Corporation (ALB) are moving higher this morning, while ViacomCBS Inc Class B (VIAC), Copart, Inc. (CPRT) and L Brands Inc (LB) are headed lower. Ternium SA (TX), La-Z-Boy Incorporated (LZB) and Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), Tivity Health Inc (TVTY) and Centurylink Inc (CTL) were downgraded.
International Markets
Stocks in Asia are mixed. The Shanghai SE Composite Index is up 1.84%, the Nikkei 225 is up 0.34%, the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is up 0.25% the Hang Seng is down -0.16% and the Mumbai Sensex is down -0.37%. In Europe stocks are mixed. The FTSE 100 is up 0.02%, the DAX is down -0.17%, the CAC 40 is down -0.18% and the Euro Stoxx 50 is down -0.33%.
Futures & Currencies
Energy futures are mixed today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up 0.49 at 53.78 per barrel. Brent crude is up 0.37 at 59.49 per barrel. Natural Gas is down -0.2 at 1.95. Precious metals are mixed this morning. Gold is up 5.45 at 1617.15 per ounce. Platinum is down -8.66 at 999.05 while silver is up 0.02 at 18.34. The dollar is up compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is up against the euro, up against the Yen and up against the Pound.
Put/Call Ratio
Yesterday, 1,596,563 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 717,581 put contracts. The single-session put/call was 0.45.
Today's Economic Calendar
| No. | What's Happening? | Period | Release Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Initial Claims | 02/15 | 08:30 |
| 2 | Continuing Claims | 02/08 | 08:30 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Fed Index | Feb | 08:30 |
| 4 | Leading Indicators | Jan | 10:00 |
| 5 | EIA Natural Gas Inventories | 02/15 | 10:30 |
| 6 | EIA Crude Oil Inventories | 02/15 | 11:00 |
