U.S. stock market futures retreated as investors prep for President Donald Trump’s response to the Chinese government passing national security legislation for Hong Kong, plus stocks to watch today in the Money & Markets Opening Bell.
The Top Story
President Donald Trump is expected to make an announcement later today regarding China’s approval of legislation tying Hong Kong closer to Beijing.
That response could include taking away some of the economic privileges that the special administrative region enjoys with the U.S.
Stock indexes sold off late in Thursday’s session as worries about souring relations between the world’s two largest economies and an expected executive order related to social media companies weighed on investor sentiment.
While investors have kept a close eye on the rise in U.S.-China tensions in recent weeks, Wall Street’s main indexes are set to end May with a second straight month of gains on the belief that the economy will rebound quickly from the coronavirus-led downturn.
As of 9:20 a.m. EDT, Dow Jones futures were 0.9% lower. S&P 500 futures were down 0.6% and Nasdaq Composite futures were off by 0.1%.
Stocks to Watch Today
Costco Wholesale Corp. (Nasdaq: COST) — The membership-only warehouse operator posted $283 million in coronavirus expenses in the last quarter. Its adjusted earnings fell 7.5% from last year. However, its group revenue jumped by 7.3%. Shares of Costco were down 2.1%.
Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) — Shares of the social media company were down 0.3% early but starting to rebound after it removed a tweet from Trump regarding the unrest in Minneapolis. Twitter said the tweet violated its policy by “glorifying violence.”
Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) — The software company reported a slight beat of Wall Street’s revenue and earnings expectations. The company posted earnings of $0.70 per share on $4.87 billion for the last quarter. However, light guidance pushed shares down 3.3% in premarket trading.
Consumer Spending Likely to Crater in April
Economists expect consumer spending to drop by nearly 13% in the month of April as shoppers significantly scaled back purchases.
If true, it would be the largest decline in consumer spending since 1959 and further dash investors’ hopes of a quick economic recovery.
According to The Wall Street Journal, personal income is also expected to take a hit in April — to the tune of a 5% decline — but some of the loss will be offset by income from unemployment benefits.
Peet Coffee Nets $2.5 Billion from IPO
Thus far, it is the largest initial public offering this year. The investment firm behind Peet Coffee is targeting a price range for the IPO that values the company at $17.3 billion.
JDE Peet has already sold around 71.4 million shares at more than $33 per share, raising $2.5 billion in the sale, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The stock started trading on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange Friday and jumped up 11% right out of the gate.
Airlines Not Tapping Into Relief Fund Money
While all four major U.S. airlines have applied for a special federal pandemic relief loan program, only one has actually said they plan to use it.
American Airlines Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AAL) said it will use part of a $29 billion Treasury Department fund, according to Bloomberg. Other airlines are likely to wait until after the summer travel season to decide whether to take out a loan or not.
What We’re Reading
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Earnings Report
Here are the companies releasing earnings reports today:
Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG)
Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE: CGC)
Edison Nation Inc. (Nasdaq: EDNT)
LATAM Airlines Group SA (NYSE: LTM)
Mogu Inc. (NYSE: MOGU)
Check back each morning before the opening bell for stocks to watch today with Opening Bell, here on Money & Markets.