10 things you need to know before the opening bell
It's jobs day. The consensus is calling for the US economy to have added 225,000 jobs in July, which would be up slightly from the 223,000 jobs created in June. Expectations are for the unemployment rate to hold steady at 5.3%. Non-farm private payrolls, hourly earnings and average workweek numbers will also be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is unchanged at 2.22%.
The first Republican presidential debate is in the books. There were a few highlights from the debate. Fox mediator Megyn Kelly questioned Donald Trump over him calling women pigs and he responded with, "Only Rosie O'Donnell." Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had one of the more notable exchanges as they debated the National Security Agency's bulk telephone metadata collection program. The next Republican debate is Wednesday, September 16.
The Bank of Japan stood pat. Japan's central bank held its stimulus package at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($640 billion)."Depending on movements in crude-oil prices-particularly oil futures prices-I think it is possible that we will achieve the goal a little earlier or later," Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said at the accompanying press conference. According to the Wall Street Journal, consensus among economists is the Japanese economy contracted at an annual rate of close to 2% last quarter and inflation could turn negative. The Japanese yen is unchanged at 2.22%.
China has more money ready to support stocks. Shanghai Securities News says Beijing has 1 trillion yuan of "ammunition" ready if stocks should need further support. The announcement follows yesterday's report China Securities Finance Corp. wants a 2 trillion yuan package at its dispense. Today's announcement propelled the Shanghai Composite to a gain of 2.3%. The index is still down 28% from its June 12 high.
German industrial production tanked. June production fell 1.4% month-over-month, which was well shy of the 0.4% gain economists were expecting. Friday's reading was the weakest for the German economy in 10 months. Germany's 10-year yield is lower by 0.4 basis points at 70.3 basis points.
Nvidia beat on the top and bottom lines. The chipmaker announced earnings of $0.34 per share, which was well ahead of the $0.20 that Wall Street was expecting. Revenue rose 4.5% to $1.15 billion, beating the $1.01 billion that was anticipated. The company forecasts revenue to fall to $1.16 billion to $1.20 billion from a year ago's $1.23 billion, but that is ahead of the $1.10 billion analysts are forecasting. The stock was up close to 10% in after-hours trade.
Zynga beats, but users decline. The game maker announced a loss of $0.01 per share, which beat analyst estimates by a penny. Revenue surged 30.7% to $199.90 million, topping the $187.84 million that analysts were anticipating. However, the company announced daily users cratered 23% from a year ago to 21 million. The stock was down as much as 10% in after-hours action.
McDonald's cut corporate jobs. The fast-food giant laid off 135 employees at its corporate headquarters and another 90 overseas. According to Reuters, the job cuts are part of a $300 million savings initiative CEO Steve Easterbrook announced in May.
Stock markets around the world are mixed. China's Shanghai Composite (+2.3%) led most of Asia higher while Australia's ASX (-2.4%) lagged. In Europe, Germany's DAX (-0.4%) paces the decline. S&P 500 futures are down 2.25 points at 2077.25.
Earnings reports continue to flow. Cablevision, Hershey Foods and JD.com highlight the names scheduled to report ahead of the open. Berkshire Hathaway will release its quarterly results following the closing bell.