Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are pointed higher ahead of the bell, with the bulls looking to extend yesterday's upward momentum."Tuesday resumed with more subdued volatility, but the Dow managed to close above the 14,000 level, led by a strong financial sector," said Schaeffer's Senior Options Strategist Tony Venosa, CMT. "Today, markets will get to digest last night's State of the Union address, as well as retail sales for January."

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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are 27 points above fair value.

Market Statistics

Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 925,067 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 561,136 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio jumped to 0.61, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.65.

From the Trading Floor

"CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) options for February will expire today," Venosa noted. "Keep an eye out for possible market weakness, as there has been this tendency in the past."

Currencies and Commodities

• The U.S. dollar index is hovering about 0.3% south of breakeven this morning, with the greenback last seen near 79.87.
• Crude oil is pointed 0.3% higher, with the front-month contract lingering near $98.39 per barrel.
• Gold futures, meanwhile, are down 0.2%, with the April-dated contract at $1,646.70 an ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

Retail sales for January hit the Street today, along with import/export prices, business inventories, and the regularly scheduled crude inventories report. Companies stepping up to the earnings plate include Cisco Systems (CSCO), Whole Foods Market (WFM), Applied Materials (AMAT), Avis Budget Group (CAR), Comcast (CMCSA), NetApp (NTAP), NVIDIA (NVDA), TripAdvisor (TRIP), Angie's List (ANGI), MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR), Deere & Co (DE), MetLife (MET), Zillow (Z), Duke Energy (DUK), Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM), Dean Foods (DF), Weight Watchers (WTW), Equinix (EQIX), and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS).