For Nov. 30, 2015, here are your stock market futures, earnings reports, top stock market news, and stocks to watch...
Stock Futures Today
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average today (Monday) slipped 28 points ahead of today's big e-commerce shopping event "Cyber Monday." Investors will be watching shares of Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) as the nation's top e-commerce site takes center stage. Investors are also excited about news that the company has unveiled its most recent prototype of drones that it plans to deploy as part its Prime Air service.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 19 points in a short day of trading. Seven out of 10 major S&P sectors were on the rise Friday. The energy sector slipped 0.7%, while media and retail stocks slipped 0.4% on concerns about consumer spending. Shares of Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) saw gains of more than 1% as the company cited "unprecedented" results through its online sales portal and said that it had large crowds during its Thanksgiving hours.
Top News in the Stock Market Today
The Stock Market Today: On Monday, global leaders are meeting in Paris to kick off the COP21 climate conference. Meanwhile, the retail sector will be in focus after last week's Black Friday event. Online companies will look for big sales gains during today's Cyber Monday. On the data side, keep an eye out for the Chicago PMI report, the pending home sales index, and the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey.
Stopping Shorts: The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSE Arca: EEM) fell on Friday as traders kept a tight eye on events in China. On Friday, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 5.5% after news the China Securities Regulatory Commission is investigating a number of local brokerages to prevent short selling and speculation.
Oil Outlook:Oil prices were mixed this morning as traders prepare for a critical OPEC meeting where energy ministers will discuss policy as the global market experiences a supply glut. January WTI prices added 0.1% to hit $41.64 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil crude - priced in London - slipped 0.4% to hit $44.65.
Earnings Outlook: BLOX, SCVL, FSC, WUBA
Earnings Report No. 1, BLOX: After the bell, Infoblox Inc. (Nasdaq: BLOX) will report fiscal first-quarter earnings. The IT company is expected to report earnings of $0.07 per share on top of $87.9 million.
Earnings Report No. 2, SCVL: After the markets close, retail firm Shoe Carnival Inc. (Nasdaq: SCVL) will report fiscal third-quarter earnings. The shoe apparel company is expected to report an EPS of $0.48 on $265.85 million.
Additional companies that will report earnings include Fifth Street Finance Corp. (NYSE: FSC) and 58.com Inc. (NYSE ADR: WUBA).
Stocks to Watch: VLKAY, DIS, AIG, TPUB, NWSA, FOX.A
Stocks to Watch No. 1, VLKAY: Shares of Volkswagen AG (OTCMKTS ADR: VLKAY) were off 1% on Friday after the company announced roughly $2 billion in cuts in order to pay fines associated with its ongoing emissions scandal. The firm is facing fines and investigations from government regulators around the world.
Stocks to Watch No. 2, DIS: Shares of Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) fell roughly 2% after the media company announced in a regulatory filing that the company's ESPNsports network saw a 3% decline in subscribers compared to last year.
Stocks to Watch No. 3, AIG: Shares of American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) were up marginally on news that activist investor Carl Icahn is pushing the firm to divest assets in order to boost shareholder value.
Stocks to Watch No.4, NWSA: Rupert Murdoch, co-chairman of both News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSA) and 21st Century Fox (NYSE: FOX.A), announced over the weekend he expects that a private equity firm is likely to purchase the newspaper division of Tribune Publishing Co. (NYSE: TPUB). Murdoch also said that the Los Angeles Times is set to be spun-off and purchased by a group of investors that includes Eli Broad.
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.
