JakeNovakNews.com
STOCKS/ECONOMY
-Stock futures are higher after all three major indices broke their recent losing streaks Tuesday. The Dow closed 140-points higher, the S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent, and the Nasdaq gained 1.7 percent.
-The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond is steady at 0.67 percent, with the 2-year yield 54 basis points behind at 0.13 percent.
-The homebuying and refinance markets are heating up again. Applications for mortgages to buy a home rose 3 percent last week from the previous week, but are up 25 percent from a year ago. Refinance activity rose 9 percent from the week before, but is up 86 percent from last year.
-Gold is down and at the $1,887 per ounce level. That's the first time gold has been below the $1,900 mark since late July. Bitcoin is at the $10,400 level.
-Asian markets closed flat today. Shanghai's Shenzhen composite rose 0.2 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.1 percent, and Japan's Nikkei fell 0.1 percent.
OIL/ENERGY
-U.S. crude prices are mostly flat and at the $39 a barrel level.
-Gasoline prices are up to $2.19 a gallon, national average.
CORONAVIRUS LATEST
-President Trump told a Detroit local TV interviewer that the U.S. will not impose another major economic lockdown like the U.K. is doing in response to that country's rise in COVID-19 cases. Airline and cruise line stocks are up in the premarket on the news.
-Johnson & Johnson has become the fourth drug maker backed by the Trump administration's "Operation Warp Speed" initiative to enter late stage/phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trials. J&J shares are up 2 percent in the premarket.
-The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to soon announce new, more stringent standards for an emergency authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine, lowering the chances that one might be cleared for use before the Nov. 3 election.
NIKE NUMBERS
-Nike posted much better than expected quarterly profits and revenues that were 15 percent higher than expected. Online sales soared 82 percent compared to a year ago. Nike shares are up 13 percent in the premarket.
TESLA PROMISES
-At Tesla's annual shareholder meeting that took place mostly after Tuesday's trading, founder and CEO Elon Musk promised a 30-40 percent increase in vehicle deliveries this year and spoke of battery production advancements that should lower costs. But investors are still cooling off on the stock, as Tesla shares are down 7 percent in the premarket after falling 6 percent Tuesday.
BUDGET BATTLES
-The House has passed a stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded into December. The vote passed with strong bipartisan support and now goes to the Senate.
TIKTOK TUMMULT
-Once again, China's state-controlled media is weighing in on the TikTok-Oracle/Walmart deal. The China Daily newspaper wrote today that Beijing has no reason to approve the "dirty and unfair" deal. Oracle shares are down 1 percent in the premarket, Walmart shares are slightly higher.
WATER WORLD
-CME Group and Nasdaq are planning to launch a futures contract later this year that will allow farmers, speculators and others to wager on the price of water.