The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is on pace to extend Wednesday's Federal Reserve-induced sell-off, with futures on the blue-chip barometer sitting solidly in the red. Investors will have a glut of data to digest in today's session, including weekly jobless claims, existing home sales, and the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index.

Meanwhile, "We failed to hold 1,525 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) yesterday, so that's a level for the bulls to retake now," informed Schaeffer's Senior Trading Analyst Bryan Sapp. "The next areas to watch are 1,514 to the north, and 1,500 to the south."

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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are more than 41 points below fair value.

Market Statistics

Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 910,664 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 659,947 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio surged to 0.72, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.64.

From the Trading Floor

"There were some intermarket nuances on Wednesday, with everything selling off in unison, including stocks, metals, and bonds," continued Sapp. "Plus, there was a big spike in the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX), so caution is definitely warranted here. As the old saying goes, 'Be cautious when correlations go to one.'"

Currencies and Commodities

• The U.S. dollar index has moved 0.4% higher ahead of the bell, with the greenback last seen near $81.39.
• Elsewhere, crude oil is looking to extend Wednesday's losses, with April-dated crude 1.3% lower at $93.97 per barrel.
• Gold futures are pointed south as well, with the front-month contract down 0.3% to trade at $1,573.80 an ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

Today brings us the regularly scheduled report on weekly jobless claims, along with the consumer price index (CPI), existing home sales, the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index, and the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators. Earnings reports continue to roll in, with quarterly results due out from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), Agrium (AGU), American International Group (AIG), Aruba Networks (ARUN), Chesapeake Energy (CHK), Marvell Technology Group (MRVL), Nordstrom (JWN), and OfficeMax (OMX).