Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker is unsure whether he'll support an interest rate hike at the central bank's June meeting
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is following its European peers into the green ahead of the bell, just one day after
dropping 1%. While the economic lineup is relatively bare, traders will keep an eye on a fast-rising dollar and cooling bond yields. Meanwhile, speculation over the timing of the central bank's planned interest rate hike also remains at the forefront. Along those lines, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said last night that he remains undecided on whether to vote in favor of a June liftoff, explaining, "I am going to wait and see what the data reveals."
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
And now, on to the numbers…
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are more than 56 points above fair value.
Market Statistics
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 731,884 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 538,147 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.74, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.63.
Currencies and Commodities
- The U.S. dollar index is just 0.02% higher at 97.32.
- Crude oil has gained 0.5% to trade at $58.29 per barrel.
- Gold has slipped 0.1% at $1,186.40 per ounce.
Earnings and Economic Data
There are no notable economic reports scheduled for today. Stepping up to the earnings mic are Chico's (CHS), Costco Wholesale (COST), DSW (DSW), Michael Kors (KORS), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Tiffany & Co. (TIF), Tilly's (TLYS), and Toll Brothers (TOL). To see what else is on this week's agenda, click here.
Overseas Trading
Stocks in Asia finished mixed, as traders reacted to a lackluster day on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei muscled up 0.2% to a 15-year closing high as blue chips capitalized on a weaker yen, despite the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) deflation concerns. China's Shanghai Composite also gained, adding 0.6% on encouraging data from the industrial sector. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi gave back 0.6% and 1.7%, respectively.
European benchmarks are rallying, in spite of mounting concerns Greece will be unable to make its debt payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week. At last check, London's FTSE 100 is up 0.6%, the French CAC 40 has tacked on 0.5%, and Germany's DAX is less than 0.1% higher.
Unusual Put and Call Activity
