The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is poised to erase Tuesday's small gains, with the blue-chip barometer pointed moderately lower ahead of the bell. "Look for the market to get its cue from the financial sector, with a slew of companies reporting today," informed Schaeffer's Senior Options Strategist Tony Venosa, CMT. "JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) are a few of the names Wall Street will be focusing on."

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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are nearly 71 points below fair value.

Market Statistics

Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 868,787 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 582,208 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio rose to 0.67, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.64.

From the Trading Floor

"December retail sales came in better than expected yesterday, and this was likely the primary driver for the broader markets," continued Venosa. "The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA:XRT) was the leading industry, finishing up more than 2%. Meanwhile, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was once again a drag on the Nasdaq. The shares were hit hard, and gave back more than 3% on the day."

Currencies and Commodities

• The U.S. dollar index is down 0.2% in pre-market trading, with the currency last seen near $79.66.
• Conversely, crude oil has edged 0.2% higher ahead of the bell to trade at $93.86 per barrel.
• Elsewhere, gold futures are looking to cut into yesterday's gains, with February-dated gold down 0.3% at $1,678.20 an ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

Today's glut of economic data includes the consumer price index (CPI) and core CPI, industrial production and capacity utilization numbers for December, weekly crude inventories, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) housing market index, and the Fed's Beige Book. Meanwhile, JPM, Bank of New York Mellon (BK), eBay (EBAY), GS, and USB will step up to the earnings plate.