The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is pointed just north of breakeven ahead of the bell, with stocks poised for another session of consolidation. "Monday kicked off the week with an overall flat session, where energy and gold names were the big outperformers," observed Schaeffer's Senior Options Strategist Tony Venosa, CMT. "Since there are no economic reports scheduled for release this morning, it appears the market is in a holding period until Wednesday, when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Congress about the economic outlook."

• Schaeffer's contributor Adam Warner examines the sluggish movement of the CBOE Market Volatility Index (INDEXCBOE:VIX).
• One skeptical strategist used front-month options to initiate a a short call spread on Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C).
• Speculators have been buying puts over calls on International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) by a margin of about 2-to-1 lately.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are roughly 12 points above fair value.

Market Statistics

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1,035,030 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 540,534 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio rose to 0.52, while the 21-day moving average slipped to 0.58.

Currencies and Commodities

• The U.S. dollar index is up 0.4% ahead of the bell to trade at 84.07.
• Crude oil is off 0.6% at $96.37 per barrel.
• Gold futures are poised to open lower, with gold for June delivery down 0.5% at $1,376.80 an ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

No notable economic reports are scheduled for today. Wall Street can expect quarterly earnings reports from The Home Depot (HD), Best Buy (BBY), NetApp (NTAP), Analog Devices (ADI), AutoZone (AZO), Compuware (CPWR), Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS), Intuit (INTU), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB), Saks (SKS), and The TJX Companies (TJX).