If futures are any indication, it could be another record day on Wall Street, plus stocks to watch today in the Money and Markets Wall Street Wake-Up.
The Market Open
The U.S. markets were a bit mixed during Friday’s open.
As of 10 a.m. Eastern Time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.02%, but the S&P 500 was down 0.06% and the Nasdaq was off 0.2%. U.S. 10-year Treasurys were also down 0.03% in early Friday trading.
Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) continued to build off its Thursday climb with shares up 0.7% early Friday. Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was also up early — 0.5%.
The Opening Bell
U.S. stock index futures were all up early Friday, pointing to another strong day in the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up nearly 100 points shortly before 9 a.m. EST, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were also trading higher early Friday morning.
Thursday was a record day for the Nasdaq, which hit 9,000 for the first time while, according to CNBC, the S&P 500 is close to posting its best year since 1997.
Stocks to Watch Today
Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) — Ahead of the launch of its Peacock streaming service, the Wall Street Journal reported Comcast is in “advanced talks” to buy video-streaming company Zumo LLC. Terms of the potential deal were not disclosed.
Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: APPL) — Shares of Apple were up 0.6% in premarket trading Friday after news it and Japan’s Sharp Corp. are looking into an $820 million purchase of Japan Display’s primary smartphone screen factory, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.
Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) — The electric automaker plans to deliver its first cars from its Shanghai plant (see below) on Monday. It was also confirmed the company has agreed to a $1.29 billion loan with Chinese banks for its Shanghai gigafactory.
In the News
Despite a rough start to December, Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) rebounded nicely Thursday by posting a stock gain of more than 4%.
It was the best day for the stock since Jan. 30 of this year, spurred largely by an early morning news release touting the company’s strong holiday sales.
Global Markets Close Week With Mixed Results
Global stock markets were mixed Friday as U.S. markets posted strong gains Thursday.
Markets in Frankfurt, Paris and Hong Kong were up in early trading while London and Shanghai were flat and Tokyo markets were down, according to the Associated Press.
Tesla to Deliver First Cars in China Monday
Company employees of Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) will be the first to receive the company’s China-built cars, according to Bloomberg.
On Monday, the first 15 Model 3 sedans built at Tesla’s Shanghai plant will be delivered to company employees.
Other Morning Reads
3 Problems Dooming Social Security’s Future (Money & Markets)
China’s Industrial Profits Grown at Fastest in 8 Months, but Sustained Recovery Uncertain (Reuters)
Wall Street 101: How to Invest in an ETF (Money & Markets)
Earnings Report
Here are the companies releasing earnings reports today:
Bridgeline Digital (Nasdaq: BLIN)
Chart of the Day
According to data from the U.S. National Science Foundation, there were 2.55 million science and engineering articles published globally in 2018. That is nearly 1 million more than 10 years ago.
The data also showed China published the most peer-reviewed journals with 528,000 compared to the United States, which published 422,000.
India was third with 135,000 while the European Union accounted for nearly a quarter of the global publication total.
Check back each morning before the opening bell for stocks to watch today with the Wall Street Wake-Up, here on Money and Markets.
