The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is eyeing a slow start, with futures on the blue-chip barometer trading modestly lower ahead of the bell. With little in the way of economic data for investors to chew on, all eyes will be on the most recent round of corporate earnings. Among notables, Dow component Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) and online gamer Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) are both pointed higher after their respective results beat analysts' expectations. Meanwhile, "We're right near last week's highs of 1,514 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX)," noted Schaeffer's Senior Trading Analyst Bryan Sapp. "This is a key level for bulls, with 1,525 overhead. Going forward, 1,500 should continue to act as support. Also, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) bounced off $440 on Tuesday, making $460 the next hurdle."
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are more than 11 points below fair value.
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 943,144 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 558,877 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio dropped to 0.59, while the 21-day moving average fell to 0.65.
From the Trading Floor
"Schaeffer's Senior Technical Strategist Ryan Detrick, CMT, wrote an article yesterday about how a number of media outlets are referring to the 'Great Rotation' out of bonds and into equities," continued Sapp. "However, this is not yet the case. Both bonds and equities continue to see inflows. This shows persistent disbelief toward the equity rally, and should the major rotation finally occur -- where there are actually outflows from bond funds -- then we could see a serious move in stocks."
Currencies and Commodities
Earnings and Economic Data
Today features the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) mortgage index, as well as the weekly crude inventories report. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), Visa (V), Akamai Technologies (AKAM), Allstate (ALL), Cummins (CMI), CVS Caremark (CVS), DeVry (DV), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), Marathon Oil (MRO), NetEase (NTES), News Corp (NWSA), O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY), QuickLogic (QUIK), Ralph Lauren (RL), Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG), Time Warner (TWX), USG (USG), and Yelp (YELP) will each take turns in the earnings confessional.
Mid-Caps Nearing a Triple of March 2009 Lows