"To say the markets responded bullishly to the Federal Reserve's QE3 announcement would be an understatement," commented Schaeffer's Senior Options Strategist Tony Venosa. "Every sector closed firmly in the green and near their respective highs of the day, and some of the bigger indices saw multi-year highs, for that matter. In today's session, markets will have the chance to digest a slew of important economic reports." The optimism has yet to subside, however, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) sitting solidly in the black in pre-market trading.

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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are more than 45 points above fair value.

Market Statistics

Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1,629,619 call contracts traded on Thursday -- the highest since May 9 -- compared to 884,695 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio dropped to 0.54, while the 21-day moving average fell to 0.65.

Currencies and Commodities

• The U.S. dollar index has shed 0.5% in pre-market trading, with the currency last seen near $78.90.
• Crude oil is looking to topple the century mark for the first time since early May, with the front-month contract 1.8% higher at $100.42 per barrel.
• Gold futures are eyeing additional gains, as well, with December-dated gold up 0.2% at $1,776 an ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

The week wraps up with the latest retail sales and business inventories, industrial production data, the consumer price index (CPI), and the mid-September Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index. There are no major earnings reports on the schedule for today.