Stock market futures are trending down after a week of big gains as investors are exercising caution about a second wave of coronavirus infections with states and countries reopening economies, plus stocks to watch today in the Money & Markets Opening Bell.
The Top Story
Both Germany and South Korea reported a surge in coronavirus infections after easing lockdowns in those two countries.
Oil prices started to fall again as a result, pushing energy giants Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) down more than 1% in premarket trading.
Battered cruise operators and airlines including Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH), American Airlines Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AAL) and United Airlines Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: UAL) were also among the early decliners.
Hopes of a pickup in business activity powered a Wall Street rally last week, with the Nasdaq recouping all its losses for 2020 as investors looked past dire economic data, including a historic 20.5 million rise in jobless claims in April.
However, the benchmark S&P 500 is still more than 13% below its February record high and analysts have warned of another selloff as macroeconomic data worsens, foreshadowing a deep and lasting global recession.
After financial markets began pricing in negative U.S. interest rates for the first time ever last week, all eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s outlook on the economy at a webcast event on Wednesday.
As of 9:20 a.m., Dow Jones futures were down 1%. S&P 500 futures were off by nearly 1% while Nasdaq futures were down 0.7%.
Stocks to Watch Today
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) — Reports suggest the Leawood, Kansas-based movie theater chain could have an interested buyer in Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN). That has pushed shares of AMC up nearly 42% in premarket trading.
Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) — It was a big weekend for Tesla as the company reported a 64% drop in Model 3 sales in China and CEO Elon Musk threatened to move the company out of California unless the state was reopened. Shares of Tesla were down 2.5%.
Coty Inc. (NYSE: COTY) — The American beauty company surged nearly 14% after reporting it has reached a deal with KKR to sell a majority stake in its Wella and Clairol brands for $4.3 billion.
China Will Fall Short of Phase One Purchases, Think Tank Projects
American think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies believes China will only spend around $60 billion on American goods in 2020 — well short of the $186.6 billion it agreed to.
The CSIS said the figures in its report were a “worst-case scenario,” but that the Chinese will still fall short of the phase one trade deal conditions, regardless of when or if the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
In the first quarter of 2020, U.S. goods exports to China fell by 10% year over year, according to CSIS senior advisor Scott Kennedy.
Small Firms Rush to Return Bailouts After Rules Revisions
Publicly traded companies have returned 48 Payroll Protection Program loans worth more than $350 million, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Now even smaller public companies are rushing to beat a May 14 deadline to return bailout money or face added scrutiny and even legal trouble. The moves come after the Department of the Treasury issued revisions to PPP guidelines stating that public companies that could get funding on the market would not be eligible for bailout funds.
Latin American Airline Becomes Another COVID-19 Victim
An international airline based in Columbia has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Southern District of New York on Sunday.
Avianca Holdings SA (NYSE: AVH) said it fell victim to the “unforeseeable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The airline, part of Star Alliance, was founded in 1919 and is the third-largest airline in Latin America.
What We’re Reading
Take Advantage of Volatility to 10X Your Profits With Adam O’Dell (Money & Markets)
Musk Threatens to Exit California Over Virus Restrictions (USA Today)
Sizemore: How Do I Invest My Own Money? An Expert’s Guide (Money & Markets)
Earnings Report
Here are the companies releasing earnings reports today:
Avaya Holdings Corp. (NYSE: AVYA)
Caesars Entertainment Corp. (Nasdaq: CZR)
Cornerstone OnDemand Inc. (Nasdaq: CSOD)
Logitech International SA (Nasdaq: LOGI)
Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA)
Check back each morning before the opening bell for stocks to watch today with Opening Bell, here on Money & Markets.
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