U.S. stock futures are ticking higher. Many European markets are rallying by about 2% in early trading and Asian markets ended Monday with solid gains.
Here are 4 tips for today's trading. This will help you decide where you should invest and what to look for:
1. Market movers
Volkswagen, Tesla, American Apparel: Shares in Volkswagen (VLKAY) are dropping by another 4% to trade around a four-year low. The stock has fallen by about 40% since mid-September after the company was caught cheating on emissions tests. Analysts at Credit Suisse recently forecast that in a worst case scenario the scandal could cost the company as much as $87 billion. The company has to detail its proposed fix for 11 million vehicles by Wednesday.
Shares in Tesla (TSLA) could be on the move after the electric car company reported solid quarterly sales of its Model S sedan. Third quarter sales were flat compared to the second quarter, but were up by 49% compared to the same period a year earlier.
American Apparel's (APP) stock is set for another drop after the embattled clothing company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday. The move is far from a surprise since American Apparel said in August it had "substantial doubt" that it would stay in business. Shares in the business have fallen by nearly 90% since the start of 2015.
2. Google = Alphabet
2. Google = Alphabet
Google is officially becoming Alphabet today on the stock market after the company announced a shake-up to its corporate structure. Alphabet is now the parent company of Google and other tech business units.
Shareholders in Google will now own Alphabet class A (GOOGL, Tech30) or Alphabet class C (GOOG) shares. The ticker symbols -- GOOGL and GOOG -- remain unchanged.
3. Earnings and economics
3. Earnings and economics
There's only one earning report to watch Monday. The Container Store (TCS) will post quarterly results this afternoon.
On the economic front, the U.S. Institute for Supply Management will post monthly data about the performance of the service industry at 10 a.m. ET. Growth in services scaled back slightly in August after an unusual boost in July.
4. Weekly market recap
4. Weekly market recap
Last week ended with a bang as all the major indexes shot higher despite a weak jobs report that raised questions about the health of the U.S economy and the timing of the first Fed rate hike in a decade.
The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 closed the week with a 1% gain. The Nasdaq was up by 0.5% by the end of the week after taking a sharp drop on Monday.
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