Stocks have slumped a bit as China is threatening retaliation following the Senate's passage of a bill expressing support for Hong Kong's autonomy. Next up, the House will vote on the measure, which could complicate trade talks with China. The trade tensions are overshadowing a pair of positive reports from big-name retailers that raised their forecasts in a bit of a surprise following disappointing reports from rivals yesterday.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., Fed Governor Lael Brainard, speaking in a CNBC interview, noted the central bank has taken out insurance against risks of a trade conflict, adding that she's seen some slowing in growth, but as expected. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's last rate setting meeting will be released later today.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Target (TGT) have jumped 12% after the retailer reported better than expected sales and profits for the third quarter and raised its full-year forecast ahead of the critical holiday quarter. Discussing the results, chairman and CEO Brian Cornell touted that Target is "seeing industry-leading strength across multiple metrics, from the top line to the bottom line."
Home improvement retailer Lowe's (LOW) is also rising 4% following its own "beat and raise" third quarter report, with CEO Marvin Ellison attributing the "strong" earnings per share growth to the company's "improved execution
General Motors (GM) filed a lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in Detroit alleging Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) got an unfair business advantage by bribing officials of the United Auto Workers union, Tom Krisher of Associated Press reported . The suit alleges that Fiat corrupted the bargaining process with the UAW in the 2009, 2011 and 2015 union contracts to gain advantages over GM. Shares of Fiat Chrysler were down 2.5% immediately following the AP's report, while GM was down 2%.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Kiniksa (KNSA), which rose 27% after it announced Breakthrough Therapy designation for rilonacept. Also higher was Intelsat (I), which gained 15% after Raymond James analyst Richard Prentiss upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform.
Among the notable losers was Urban Outfitters (URBN), which slid 14% after reporting quarterly results. Also lower after its quarterly report was China's Pinduoduo (PDD), which fell 21%
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 76.87, or 0.28%, to 27,857.15, the Nasdaq was down 7.11, or 0.08%, to 8,563.54, and the S&P 500 was down 5.53, or 0.18%, to 3,114.65.
Target
+13.49 (+12.17%)
Lowe's
+4.34 (+3.83%)
General Motors
-0.81 (-2.23%)
Ticker changed to STLA
-0.405 (-2.60%)
Kiniksa
+1.7 (+24.36%)
Intelsat
+0.98 (+16.12%)
Urban Outfitters
-3.98 (-13.85%)
PDD Holdings
-8.95 (-21.98%)