It’s Monday and the start of a brand new trading week.
Here are the four things you need to know before the opening bell rings in New York:
1. Banking bonanza: Investors are expressing their dismay after the European Central Bank revealed that 25 financial firms failed an extensive health check. Shares in about a dozen European banks are tanking Monday morning, with Ireland’s Permanent TSB bank tumbling by 24% and Italy’s Banca Carige falling 18%.
However, shares in the Greek bank Eurobank are rising by about 10%, even though it also failed the tests — investors were expecting even more dire results for this particular firm.
“[The ECB] gave the European banking system a reasonably clean bill of health,” said Kit Juckes, a market strategist at Societe Generale. “The ECB [is] observing [that] only a smallish number of banks have to raise a modest amount of capital. It’s either a reassuring or a naive picture of the banking system, depending on how you want to read it.”
Most major European markets were declining by about 0.5% in early trading.
2. Market moves: U.S. stock futures were barely budging from their Friday closing levels.
At the close of trading last week, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped up by 0.8%, the Nasdaq rose by 0.7% and the S&P 500 added 0.7%.
Gold prices were declining slightly and oil prices were up a touch.
3. Earnings: There will be plenty of quarterly results to sort through Monday.
Allergan, Merck and Citizens Financial Group will be reporting earnings before the open.
After the close, we’ll hear from Twitter, Buffalo Wild Wings, Crocs and Denny’s.
4. Economics: At 10 a.m. ET, the government will release data on September pending home sales.
