The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is eyeing a fourth straight win, as traders cheer a round of positive earnings announcements from tech heavyweights Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM). The quarterly results continue to roll in today, with all eyes on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which steps into the confessional after the close. Wall Street will also be keeping an eye on Washington today, as lawmakers meet to vote on a three-month extension to the debt ceiling. Elsewhere, Schaeffer's Senior Trading Analyst Bryan Sapp noted, "Tom DeMark, founder and CEO of Market Studies, LLC, called a top on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) at 1,492. I could see some resistance here, as many people listen to him. Above that, 1,500 is the next layer of psychological resistance, with the previous highs of 1,474 below as potential support."
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are nearly 47 points above breakeven.
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 929,497 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 635,146 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio jumped to 0.68, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.64.
From the Trading Floor
Sapp continued, "Yesterday was pretty interesting, as the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) was up over 6% at one point, even with the indexes flat. It eventually closed just fractionally lower, but the intraday spike shows continued fear, even as we rally to multi-year highs on the major indexes."
Currencies and Commodities
Earnings and Economic Data
Housing data continues to roll in today, with the latest Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) mortgage index and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) housing price index both set for release. Meanwhile, AAPL, MCD, NFLX, United Technologies (UTX), Allegheny Technologies (ATI), Altera (ALTR), Amgen (AMGN), Baker Hughes (BHI), Check Point Software (CHKP), Coach (COH), F5 Networks (FFIV), General Dynamics (GD), LSI (LSI), Motorola (MSI), Quest Diagnostics (DGX), Raymond James Financial (RJF), SanDisk (SNDK), Symantec (SYMC), and Western Digital (WDC) are all on tap to reveal their quarterly results.
Mid-Caps Nearing a Triple of March 2009 Lows