First Look
Major indices moved higher ahead of the open Thursday after China signaled it may not immediately retaliate against the U.S. over the latest round of tariff increases. Chinese officials said the country has many ways to strike back against new U.S. tariffs, but would prefer not to do so. Officials said they would rather seek de-escalation of the trade war by finding ways to remove additional duties instead of imposing more. White House officials said in-person talks between U.S. and China are still expected in Washington next month, but expectations are low that a deal will be reached in the short-term. The 30-year U.S. Treasuries hit a record lows of 1.90% Wednesday. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said 50- and 100-year bonds are under consideration by the White House, adding that interest in long-term bonds are unrelated to the recent decline in shorter-term bond yields. The Nasdaq is up 1.15%, the Dow Jones is up 0.99%, the S&P 500 is up 0.91%.
Today's Sentiment
NeutralQuote of the Day
Correction does much, but encouragement does more.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Daily Action Trade
Stocks on the Move
Dollar General Corp. (DG), Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) are moving higher this morning, while Best Buy Co Inc (BBY), Centurylink Inc (CTL) and Newmont Goldcorp Corp (NEM) are headed lower. Hilltop Holdings Inc. (HTH), Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE) and Jabil Inc (JBL) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while Box Inc (BOX), Bank of America Corp (BAC) and Wintrust Financial Corp (WTFC) were downgraded.
International Markets
Stocks in Asia are mixed. The Hang Seng is up 0.34%, the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is up 0.07%, the Nikkei 225 is down -0.09% the Shanghai SE Composite Index is down -0.1% and the Mumbai Sensex is down -1.02%. In Europe stocks are up. The CAC 40 is up 1.38%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 1.34%, the DAX is up 1.12% and the FTSE 100 is up 1.07%.
Futures & Currencies
Energy futures are up today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up 0.41 at 56.19 per barrel. Brent crude is up 0.31 at 60.47 per barrel. Natural Gas is up 0.01 at 2.23. Precious metals are mixed this morning. Gold is down -2.01 at 1537 per ounce. Platinum is up 23.24 at 925.11 while silver is up 0.15 at 18.61. The dollar is mixed compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is up against the euro, up against the Yen and down against the Pound.
Put/Call Ratio
Yesterday, 773,692 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 492,053 put contracts. The single-session put/call was 0.64 while the 20-day moving average is now at 0.73.
Today's Economic Calendar
| No. | What's Happening? | Period | Release Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adv. Intl. Trade in Goods | Jul | 08:30 |
| 2 | Adv. Retail Inventories | Jul | 08:30 |
| 3 | Adv. Wholesale Inventories | Jul | 08:30 |
| 4 | GDP - Second Estimate | Q2 | 08:30 |
| 5 | Initial Claims | 08/24 | 08:30 |
| 6 | Continuing Claims | 08/17 | 08:30 |
| 7 | Pending Home Sales | Jul | 10:00 |
| 8 | EIA Natural Gas Inventories | 08/24 | 10:30 |
