The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is eyeing a higher start in pre-market trading, despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding budget talks in Washington. Commenting on recent Wall Street activity, Schaeffer's Senior Options Strategist Tony Venosa noted: "Wednesday was a digestion-type session after strong upside gains from Monday and Tuesday. FedEx (NYSE:FDX) reported better-than-expected earnings, sending the transportation average to its highest point in six months." Venosa continued, "Thursday will be rather busy, as plenty of economic reports will be released, including jobless claims, real GDP, the Philly Fed Index, existing home sales, and a look at leading indicators."

• Although December options expiration is imminent, eleventh-hour options players converged on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
• Options traders ramped up their positions on these three big-name stocks.
• Why Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and other names set to be kicked out of the Nasdaq-100 should say good riddance, courtesy of Senior Technical Strategist Ryan Detrick's "Study of the Week."

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are 47 points above fair value.

Market Statistics

Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 892,004 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 568,462 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio rose to 0.64, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.63.

Currencies and Commodities

• The U.S. dollar index is hovering 0.1% below breakeven, with the currency last seen near $79.17.
• Crude oil has pulled back this morning, with the front-month contract churning near $89.92 per barrel.
• Elsewhere, gold futures are on the mend, with the malleable metal up 0.1% to trade near $1,669.60 an ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

Investors will be bustling today, as weekly jobless claims, existing home sales, the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) Housing Price Index, and the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators hit the Street. Plus, the final report on third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) will be released ahead of the open. American Greetings (AM), CarMax (KMX), Carnival Corporation (CCL), Cintas, (CTAS), ConAgra Foods (CAG), Darden Restaurants (DRI), Discover Financial (DFS), KB Home (KBH), Micron Technology (MU), Nike (NKE), Red Hat (RHT), Research in Motion (RIMM), Rite Aid (RAD), and TIBCO Software (TIBX) will all take turns in the earnings confessional.