Daily Market Preview: Bitcoin's Big Day & Netflix's New Twist

Martin Baccardax talks European markets, Bitcoin, Netflix, JC Penney and previews the opening of trading on Wall Street

Author:: Edward Hardy
Publish date:: Aug 14, 2017 7:14 AM EDT

This is what you need to know before the bell:

1. European bank stocks booked solid early gains Monday as regional markets rebounded and the single currency rose against the U.S. dollar amid solid growth prospects and renewed speculation of near-term European Central Bank tightening

2. Bitcoin prices surged to a fresh record high Monday as cash continues to pour into the cryptocurrency after a major exchange raised $100 billion in new funds and new rules look to speed transaction processing times.

3. It's shaping up as a battle royale between Netflix (NFLX) - Get Report and Disney (DIS) - Get Report, after the streaming service poached one of ABC's top showrunners. Netflix has signed a multi-year deal with Shonda Rhimes, the creator Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, the group said early Monday, after Disney last week said it won't pull its content from the service.

4. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (JCP) - Get Report shares plunged nearly 20% Friday to an all-time low after the department store reported earnings far short of expectations. For the quarter ending July 29, J.C. Penney reported sales of $2.96 billion, up 1.5% from the year-ago period, with same-store sales down 1.3% year-over-year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected sales of $2.84 billion, with a same-store sales decline of 1.2%. However, J.C. Penney's adjusted net loss of 9 cents a share was well above the consensus estimates of 4 cents a share.

5. U.S. stock futures were higher on Monday, Aug. 14, following European market gains, as investors returned to riskier assets after a week of losses. Last week, tensions escalated between North Korea and the U.S. after Trump warned of "fire and fury like the world has never seen" if North Korea continued to issue threats. North Korea then said it was assessing a potential missile attack on U.S. territory Guam.

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