Futures were edging higher as Wall Street looks to close the books on another tumultuous week of volatile trading, plus stocks to watch today in the Money & Markets Opening Bell.
The Top Story
Bargain hunters were making a return to equities, pushing market futures higher as stocks experienced a volatile week.
The S&P 500 ended slightly lower on Thursday as a report raised doubts about a potential treatment for the coronavirus, and as data confirmed a near halt in business activity.
Despite some gains, indexes are pointing to losses after opening the week with a massive sell-off thanks to oil prices tanking before rebounding.
The Dow Jones is down 3% for the week — eyeing its first negative week in three. The S&P 500 is down 2.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite is off 1.8% through Thursday.
With the outbreak wiping out all the U.S. jobs created since the global financial crisis in 2008, investors are tracking comments from corporate America for signs of a revival in production as some states start easing lockdown measures.
Denting expectations, a report said Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was planning to cut its 787 Dreamliner output by about half and it will announce job cuts in its first-quarter earnings report next week.
Analysts expect a 14.1% decline in S&P 500 Q1 earnings after a mixed bag of reports from U.S. banks and consumer discretionary firms so far.
As of 9:20 a.m. EDT, Dow futures were up 0.8%. S&P 500 futures moved 1% higher, while Nasdaq futures were moving 0.7% higher.
Stocks to Watch Today
Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) — The California-based technology company reported strong Q1 earnings and revenue but said its Q2 earnings would be lower than projections. Its Q1 revenue was up 23% year over year and its earnings were up 51%. Shares of Intel were off 5%.
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) — Shares of the financial services corporation were up 2% in premarket trading after it reported topping Q1 earnings. It also announced it set aside $2.6 billion to guard against potential card losses.
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE) — The media and entertainment company reported a 60% jump in revenue for Q1 and earned $0.31 per share, compared to a $0.11 loss per share a year ago. Shares of WWE were up 13.2%.
Mortgage Forbearance Jumps 9% in a Week
Nearly 500,000 mortgages were put into forbearance in one week, bringing the total number to just over 3.4 million, according to mortgage data and analytics firm Black Knight.
The forbearances represent $754 billion in unpaid principal and include 5.6% of loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, along with 8.9% of all FHA/VA loans.
Most of the latest forbearances were done through a program aimed at giving relief to holders of government-backed mortgages, part of the COVID-19 stimulus package passed by Congress last month, according to CNBC.
Google Slashes Marketing in Half
Google — whose parent company is Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) — plans to cut its marketing budgets by as much as half.
Internal materials viewed by CNBC also included a new hiring freeze for new and contract employees across the company.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Google had expected to increase its marketing spend from the prior year — this included advertising as well as compensation for employees in sales and marketing.
J.C. Penney in Advanced Talks for Bankruptcy Financing
The coronavirus shutdown is poised to have another victim as J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE: JCP) is in discussions with Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BOC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) for bankruptcy financing.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the loan package would be between $800 million and $1 billion, and would keep the department store chain’s operations funded during court-supervised bankruptcy.
What We’re Reading
Unemployment Benefits Hike the ‘Dumbest Idea in the History of Congress’ (Money & Markets)
Instacart hired 300,000 Workers in a Month and Plans to Hire 250,000 More (CNN Business)
Cooperman Warns of Nasty COVID-19 Side Effect: ‘Taxes Have to Go Up’ (Money & Markets)
Earnings Report
Here are the companies releasing earnings reports today:
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP)
Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B)
Sanofi SA (Nasdaq: SNY)
Triton International Ltd. (NYSE: TRTN)
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ)
Check back each morning before the opening bell for stocks to watch today with Opening Bell, here on Money & Markets.