Stock market live updates: Stocks flat, American Airlines declines, Walmart higher

U.S. equities started the week in negative territory on Monday, dragged down by investor worries about a resurgence in coronavirus cases. Banks, industrials and energy dragged down the major averages. The technology sector rose, helped by gains in mega-cap technology darlings Apple and Microsoft.

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President Donald Trump’s top economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, said Monday that a second wave of the coronavirus “isn’t coming” and categorized recent upticks in new cases as isolated events in regional hot spots. His comments came after the U.S. reported more than 30,000 new infections on Friday and Saturday, the highest daily totals since May 1. Peter Navarro, one of Trump’s top trade advisors, said Sunday that the White House was, in fact, preparing for another wave of the disease. Kudlow also said Monday that House, Senate and White House leaders will likely have another stimulus package in the weeks following Congress’s July recess. — Franck

U.S. stocks have seemingly been able to bat away most negative news items in recent weeks, but Citi’s Tobias Levkovich warns this doesn’t mean the market is impervious to another downturn. “The notion that the market advance cannot falter because of corporate bond buying programs was shown to be inaccurate when the S&P 500 plunged” on June 11, said Levkovich. Despite its recent hiccup, the S&P 500 remains up more than 40% from its March 23 low amid unprecedented economic support from the Federal Reserve and U.S. lawmakers. “There is this persistent sense that nothing can derail equities, including possible second COVID infection waves, election concerns, China-India clashes, North Korean incitement or even disappointing economic data,” adds Citi’s chief U.S. equity strategist. “Hence, this Teflon market is letting no negative news stick … until it does.” —Imbert, Bloom

Wall Street firm B. Riley FBR said Vista Outdoor, a marketer of outdoor sports and recreation products, should see “continued firearms/ammo demand strength.” Analyst Eric Wold said the company will get a boost as the presidential election nears and consumers resume outdoor activities in the wake of the coronavirus. The firm raised its price target on the stock to a Street high $16 from $13. Shares are up over 1% in early trading. – Bloom

Shares of Virgin Galactic rose as much as 14% in early trading after the company announced it signed an agreement with NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The company will be able to train astronauts for trips to the International Space Station, as well as look to buy seats on flights to the ISS. – Sheetz

• Cowen raised its price target on Apple to $400 from $335.
• Stifel raised its price target on Peloton to $62 from $55.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Gap to overweight from underweight.
• UBS upgraded Walmart to buy from neutral.
• UBS downgraded American Express to sell from neutral.
• JPMorgan initiated Nikola as neutral.
• Barclays upgraded Marriott and Hilton to overweight from equal weight.
• Jefferies initiated DraftKings as buy.
• Jefferies upgraded Campbell Soup and Conagra to buy from hold.
• B. Riley FBR downgraded Foot Locker to neutral from buy.
• Benchmark upgraded Western Digital to buy from hold.

Pro Subscribers read more here. — Fitzgerald

U.S. equities started the week in the red, as an uptick in cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. and abroad worried investors about the economy reopening successfully. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 75 points, or 0.35%. The S&P 500 was 0.26% lower. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite was flat, helped by gains in Microsoft and Apple. — Fitzgerald

Minutes before the opening bell, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 100 points, or 0.5%, but the 30-stock benchmark was set for an opening loss of about 100 points. The gap between the direction of futures and the “implied open” is partly due to futures expiration on Friday. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively, implying a flat open for both indices. —Li

Cowen said Apple is primed for the 5G upgrade cycle when it begins later this year. “We are raising our iPhone shipment forecasts based on our latest field work and revising our P/E valuation multiples for the iPhone business ahead of the 5G upgrade cycle, and for the Services segment on expanding recurring revs and peer multiples,” analyst Krish Sankar said. “We remain bullish on Apple’s stock and view it as a defensive name with a stock multiple-enhancing Services segment that continues to benefit from the work from home & distance learning environment, & a cash flow generating iPhone business that should accelerate as we enter a 5G upgrade cycle,” he added. Shares are up 0.53% in premarket trading. —Bloom

Shares of Sherwin-Williams rose more than 2% during Monday’s premarket trading after the company increased its sales guidance for the current quarter. The company now expects net sales to decrease year-over-year by a mid-single digit percentage, compared with prior estimates of a low to mid-teens percentage drop. “We are raising our second quarter sales guidance given our ability to capture and serve greater than expected demand in our North American architectural businesses,” said chairman and CEO John Morikis. Shares of the paint producer have gained 41% in the last three months. – Stevens

JPMorgan initiated coverage on shares of battery-electric and hydrogen-powered truck maker Nikola on Monday with a neutral rating. The firm’s $45 target implies a more than 30% drop ahead for the stock, which has nearly doubled since the company went public through a reverse merger on June 4.

CNBC PRO subscribers can read more here. — Stevens

Shares of popular consumer technology companies rose in premarket trading with Microsoft and Apple up 0.7% each. Investors have bought into the resilient technology shares over the last few months amid the coronavirus pandemic. E-commerce hub Amazon rose 0.5% before the opening bell while Zoom Video added 1.3%. Online payment companies Mastercard, PayPal and Visa gained about 1%, 0.7% and 0.35%, respectively. — Franck

Some big-name retail stocks rose in premarket trading Monday after being upgraded by Wall Street analysts. Gap jumped more than 5% after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to overweight from underweight, saying the market undervalued the company’s Athleta brand and calling the stock “a compelling risk/reward.” Walmart rose 0.7% after being upgraded to buy from neutral by UBS. Other rising retailers include Dollar General and Bed Bath & Beyond. — Pound

Dow futures were up 150 points in early trading Monday, but the moves indicated an opening loss of about 60 points. The big gap between the direction of futures and the “implied open” is due to futures expiration on Friday, as well as recent market volatility. “The futures are trading a lot higher this morning, but that is very misleading…because they fell significantly on Friday between 4:00 (when the cash market closed) and 4:15 (when the futures closed),” Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, said in a note. “Therefore, most of this morning’s bounce in the futures is merely taking back what it lost after the close of trading on Friday.” — Li

American Airlines announced on Sunday that it’s looking to secure $3.5 billion in new financing to improve its liquidity as it copes with travel restrictions introduced by the coronavirus. American plans to raise $1.5 billion through sales of equity and convertible notes due in 2025, the company said in a statement. Meanwhile, the airline said it will offer another $1.5 billion in senior secured notes and that it’s seeking a $500 million term loan facility due 2024.

American shares fell 8.5% in premarket trading, while United, Delta and Southwest dropped 4%, 2.6% and 2%, respectively. — Franck

Recent data show that coronavirus cases in the U.S. and abroad are increasing. The largest single-day increase in global coronavirus cases was recorded on Sunday, according to the World Health Organisation, after more than 183,000 new cases were reported worldwide. The U.S. saw more than 36,000 new cases reported on Sunday after more than 30,000 new cases were reported on both Friday and Saturday. Nevada, Florida, California and Arizona have reported record-high single-day infections as their economies attempt to open from the shutdown. Widespread testing is contributing to the uptick in reported cases. — Fitzgerald

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were higher by about 100 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures were also slightly higher. Major U.S. stock averages are coming off their fourth weekly gains in five weeks. Gains were capped on recent upticks in new coronavirus cases. — Franck

— CNBC’s Jesse Pound and Pippa Stevens contributed reporting.

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