It was a very sleepy session in the stock market today. Monday’s trading volume was well below average, as we failed to see much action. With earnings starting to pick back up though, it’s possible we will start to see some movement in the indices later this week.
Monday’s quiet session gave investors an opportunity to filter out some of Friday’s noise. The latter was one of four quadruple witching days in the year and that always makes it a bumpy trading session.
On Monday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) and PowerShares QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) were all within 6 basis points of flat.
The morning started off with concern, as the German manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index for the month of September rang in at just 41.4. This was a decline from the prior month and signals a huge warning sign about both Europe and Germany’s economy at the moment.
Earnings This Week
On Tuesday, investors expect to hear from Nio (NYSE:NIO), AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), Carmax (NYSE:KMX) and Jabil Circuit (NASDAQ:JBL) before the open. After the close, Nike (NYSE:NKE) leads the reports, with Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) also reporting.
On Wednesday, Pier One (NYSE:PIR) and KB Home (NYSE:KBH) will report earnings.
On Thursday, expect quarterly results from Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD), Accenture (NYSE:ACN) and Conagra Foods (NYSE:CAG) before the open. After the close, Micron (NASDAQ:MU) and Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) will report.
Movers in the Stock Market Today
For the second straight week, the United Auto Workers protest continues against General Motors (NYSE:GM). The latter laid off another 1,200 workers on Monday as the strike persists, shutting down factories and warehouses across the U.S.
Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) global expansion goals continue to grow. The company entered Europe with the Model 3 this year and hopes to begin production in China later this year. Now, CEO Elon Musk says Tesla is hoping to expand into Eastern Europe in early 2020.
Speaking of Tesla and Musk, the board must defend the latter’s multi-billion pay package in trial, according to a recent ruling. The plan consists of stock options that will be awarded upon certain milestones by the automaker. While the company valued these options at $2.6 billion in 2018 (Musk did not receive compensation as Tesla’s milestones were not hit) they could be worth more than $50 billion if they’re all hit. The goals are tough, though.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed higher by 0.45% at $218.72. The move comes after its first weekend of new iPhone sales. It also comes on reports that Apple will keep its Mac Pro production in the U.S., after 10 of the company’s 15 requests for tariff exclusions related to Mac Pro parts were approved.
Heard on the Street
Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) stock rallied almost 1% in the stock market today, but certainly did not climb with the enthusiasm that some investors were hoping for when the stock received a $100 price target. Given that the new target from Morgan Stanley implies about 50% upside, bulls likely thought it would have had a larger impact.
Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) jumped 3.1% on the day after Piper Jaffray analysts assigned a new $227 price target. To get there, LULU would have to move significantly above its current high of $204.44, although it does have some momentum at its back.
(BBY and LULU were two stocks on InvestorPlace’s Top Stock Trades List).
Slack (NYSE:WORK) stock slipped 4.7% on Monday after Bernstein analysts warned of management’s forecasting style. The analysts currently maintain a market perform rating and a $28 price target, which is actually about $4 higher than the current price.
Shares of Slack hit a new 52-week low in the session.
Finally, After FedEx (NYSE:FDX) reported dismal earnings results last week, one analyst is out to defend United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS).
UPS should be insulated from the same woes that are plaguing FedEx at the moment, the latter of which hit new 52-week lows in the session. That’s according to UBS, which says the read-through UPS looks favorable to FedEx.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long AAPL.