Stocks are slightly up ahead of the bell Thursday. European Leaders have agreed to extend the Brexit deadline from April 12 to October 31. There will be a Brexit review of progress in June. The extension does not resolve any of the long-running issues or put the U.K. on any clearer path toward a resolution. The extension will likely increase pressure on British Prime Minister Theresa May, as the likelihood of no Brexit at all continues to increase. President Trump said that the U.S. and China are nearing a trade deal following the recent high-level negotiations in Beijing and Washington. White House Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told CNBC Wednesday that both sides have agreed to open “enforcement offices” as a way of ensuring both parties live up to agreements made in any future deal. China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported that leaders are discussing the text of a possible agreement that covers issues ranging from intellectual property protections and technology transfers to services, agriculture, trade balance and ways of enforcing these policies. The Dow Jones is up 0.14%, the S&P 500 is up 0.1%, the Nasdaq is up 0.07%.
Symantec Corporation (SYMC), Fastenal Company (FAST) and Expedia Group Inc (EXPE) are moving higher this morning, while Monster Beverage Corp (MNST), Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO) and Waste Management, Inc. (WM) are headed lower. Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (HA), Five Below Inc (FIVE) and Equity Residential (EQR) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while United States Steel Corporation (X), Eli Lilly And Co (LLY) and Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) were downgraded.
Stocks in Asia are mixed. The Mumbai Sensex is up 0.11%, the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is down -0.35%, the Nikkei 225 is down -0.55% the Hang Seng is down -0.93% and the Shanghai SE Composite Index is down -1.3%. In Europe stocks are up. The CAC 40 is up 0.84%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.44%, the DAX is up 0.32% and the FTSE 100 is up 0.16%.
Energy futures are mixed today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is down -0.57 at 64.04 per barrel. Brent crude is down -0.62 at 71.11 per barrel. Natural Gas is flat at 2.70. Precious metals are down this morning. Gold is down -8.29 at 1299.7 per ounce. Platinum is down -1.59 at 901.25 while silver is down -0.19 at 15.05. The dollar is up compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is up against the euro, up against the Yen and up against the Pound.
Yesterday, 830,752 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 515,616 put contracts. The single-session put/call was 0.62 while the 20-day moving average is now at 0.61.