The Dow Jones Industrial Average projected a small gain in pre-market hours. Markets continue to worry about ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China, while geopolitical and economic woes accelerate in Britain, France, and Japan.
Markets are also concerned about last week's yield inversion in the bond markets, which could signal that a recession is looming.
Here are the numbers from Friday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Tensions between the United States and China hit new heights over the weekend. Chinese foreign ministers summoned U.S. and Canadian ambassadors over the detention of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, an arrest that China considers "lawless, reasonless, and ruthless." The arrest of a leading Chinese tech executive, who is facing extradition to the United States from Canada, has limited any optimism about the trade war ending.
Are we on the verge of facing a global recession? A troubling economic report emerged from Japan this morning. The nation's economy contracted at a stunning rate of 2.5% in the third quarter. That comes despite the Japanese central bank's relentless efforts to pump money into its markets. The figure was well below the consensus estimate that its economy had retracted by 1.2%. Japan is the third largest economy in the world.
Brexit may be in the news, but the real story about Europe's future is happening in France. French President Emmanuel Macron will address the country today as he faces a fourth straight week of violent protests over gasoline taxes and economic uncertainty. Ongoing economic challenges caused the nation's central bank to cut its own quarterly GDP estimates.
Stocks to Watch Today: TSLA, TVTY, NTRI, FB
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk took at a shot at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Sunday over his $20 million fine and ruling that forced him to relinquish his role of chair. The ruling came after Musk tweeted non-public information about the possibility of taking Tesla private and having the funding to do so. But the bigger story was that Musk said he has considered buying the idled manufacturing plants of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM). The Detroit auto company recently announced plans to halt manufacturing at plants around the United States and lay off 15,000 employees. Although GM admitted that Americans aren't buying the cars produced in those plants, the announcement sent off a wave of anger at the White House.
Tivity Health Inc. (NASDAQ: TVTY), a health and fitness program developer, has agreed to buy weight-loss champion NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRI) for $1.3 billion in stock and cash. The deal sent shares of NutriSystem surging 30% in pre-market hours.
Shares of Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) added 1.5% in pre-market hours after the firm announced it would buy back more of its stock. The social media giant will add another $9 billion to help bolster the stock, adding to its 2017 plan to buy $17 billion in stock.
Look for earnings reports today from Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR) and Stitch Fix Inc. (NASDAQ: SFIX).
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.