The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is on track to extend Tuesday's losses, with futures on the blue-chip barometer sitting modestly below breakeven. "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) made a comment Tuesday that Congressional leaders are not making much progress on fiscal-cliff resolutions, and that sent markets lower," said Schaeffer's Senior Trading Analyst Bryan Sapp. There will be more fiscal-cliff fodder to ponder in today's session, as a glut of Wall Street CEOs head to Washington to discuss the looming issue with President Barack Obama.

Elsewhere, "The 1,400 level on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) looks pretty sticky," noted Sapp. "We finished just below 1,400 yesterday, so 1,385 is the next level of support, with 1,410 and 1,425 as resistance overhead."

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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are roughly 24 points below fair value.

Market Statistics

Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 768,798 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 444,521 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio fell to 0.58, while the 21-day moving average dropped to 0.69.

From the Trading Floor

"Schaeffer's Quantitative Analyst Chris Prybal routed this index put/equity call graph around yesterday," continued Sapp. "Option sentiment appears to be turning slightly less bearish, and at times in the past when this graph has rolled over, it has signaled an upward move by equities."

Currencies and Commodities

• The U.S. dollar index has moved 0.2% higher ahead of the bell to trade at $80.53.
• Crude oil is on pace to add to Tuesday's losses, with January-dated crude 0.7% lower at $86.55 per barrel.
• Gold futures are down, as well, with the commodity shedding 0.2% in pre-market trading to hover near $1,740.70 an ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

Today's docket brings us the regularly scheduled crude inventories report, new home sales for October, and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book. On the earnings front, Wall Street will hear results from Aeropostale (ARO), Ann (ANN), Express (EXPR), Fresh Market (TFM), JA Solar (JASO), rue 21 (RUE), TiVo (TIVO), and Yingli Green Energy (YGE).