Earnings season is officially underway, with fast food company Yum Brands getting pummeled after reporting that its Chinese business continued to struggle. Retailers are closely watching Chinese consumers for signs of weakness.
That miss doesn’t seem to be hurting the overall markets in the U.S., though, which are holding onto solid gains in the early trading session. The S&P 500 is up 11 points to 1,991, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 100 points to 16,891 and the Nasdaq added another 28 points to 4,776.
Asian markets closed higher after the Bank of Japan said it wasn’t making any changes to its monetary policy. European indices were also trading higher across the board even though German Industrial Production for August dropped 1.2 percent.
Kering stock got a lift after naming Demna Gvasalia as the new artistic director of Balenciaga. The stock jumped over 2 percent to $157.40 as investors seemed pleased to see a successor to Alexander Wang. Gvasalia is the founder of the edgier label Vêtements, which is expected to remain open with no mention of Kering taking over the label or taking a stake in it. Gvasalia’s first show will be in March.
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Hanesbrands was named one of the top discretionary stocks in the apparel and footwear category by Credit Suisse analyst Christian Buss. He wrote that he sees the company as a “strong and steady cash flow generator.” Hanesbrands stock moved higher by 8 cents in early trading to $29.11. Costco was named as the top stock in the Retail, Broadlines & Department Stores category. Analyst Michael Exstein wrote that the company was “one of the few conventional retailers that continues to deliver positive traffic, market share gains and a validated model for international expansion.” Costco stock added 48 cents to trade near $148.89.
Nu Skin saw its value slashed by 15 percent to $39.50 after the skin care company cut revenue guidance for the third quarter. Following the market close on Tuesday, Nu Skin said that foreign currency headwinds had negatively affected its revenue by $60 million. Third-quarter revenue will now be in the range of $570 million to $573 million and the company will deliver its earnings after the market closes on Nov. 5.
At 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today, the consumer credit report will be released. The focus in this report is the revolving credit number, with some investors believing that if that figure increases then it means consumers are feeling good about the economy because they are willing to charge more. Revolving credit is the credit card debt component. The number doesn’t normally sway the market, but it is worth watching. The market expects $19.5 billion, which is higher than the previous month’s $19.1 billion.