Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are hovering on the south side of breakeven, with the blue-chip barometer eyeing a second straight week in the red. Global currency will be in focus today, ahead of this weekend's meeting in Moscow of financial leaders from the Group of 20 (G-20). The state of the Japanese yen is expected to demand the lion's share of attention at the summit. Elsewhere, "Markets hugged the flatline again on Thursday, as worse-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) readings out of Europe showed a contraction in every quarter," observed Schaeffer's Senior Options Strategist Tony Venosa, CMT. However, he notes, it wasn't all bad: "Energy and financials saw some solid strength."
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are sitting roughly four points below fair value.
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1,009,032 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 624,707 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio fell to 0.62, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.64.
From the Trading Floor
"Today is options expiration before a three-day weekend," Venosa remarked. "I would expect some early morning volatility as positions get unwound, followed by afternoon consolidation as traders head home early for a long weekend."
Currencies and Commodities
Earnings and Economic Data
The week concludes with the Empire State Manufacturing Index, the University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters preliminary consumer sentiment reading for February, industrial production, and capacity utilization. Campbell Soup (CPB), V.F. Corp (VFC), J.M. Smucker (SJM), and Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) will wrap up the week's slate of quarterly earnings.
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