Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Point to Test of 22K

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are trading near breakeven this morning, suggesting the index could test the newly conquered 22,000 level following the latest round of earnings. Most notably, Tesla stock is poised to rally after the electric car company announced strong quarterly sales. Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims came in lower than expected, with 240,000 people filing for unemployment benefits, compared to a forecast of 242,000. Factory orders and the ISM's non-manufacturing index are due later in the day, as well. Against this backdrop, the Dow will fight for an eighth consecutive win, with futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) pointing toward a mixed open for stocks. 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• The never-before-seen Dow signal.
• This stock could be a tell for GoPro's earnings reaction.
• Activision Blizzard options traders are pricing in a big earnings beat.
• Plus, a video game stock set to surge; Regeneron fights back; and DDD stock signals a major pullback. 

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 942,353 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 708,985 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.75, and the 21-day moving average moved up to 0.63.


2. Among today's pre-market winners are video game stocks Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) and Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI). Shares of TTWO stock are up 12.4% in electronic trading, thanks to strong fiscal first-quarter results and a better-than-expected full-year outlook. This is providing a halo lift to ATVI, which is up 4% before the open. 


3. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) this morning reported earnings that were far better than analysts anticipated, pushing the stock up 3.9% in pre-market action. The drugmaker is already up almost 27% year-to-date, but some analysts had turned bearish on REGN during its recent pullback. 


4. Meanwhile, 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) is set to lose more than 10% when the market opens, due to a disappointing second-quarter earnings report. DDD stock has struggled since peaking at $23.70 in May, resulting in increasingly bearish bets from options traders. 


5. Earnings will be released from Activision, GoPro (GPRO), Etsy (ETSY), Shake Shack (SHAK), Weight Watchers (WTW), Yum! Brands (YUM), and more.  

Overseas Trading

Stocks in Asia settled lower across the board, led by a 1.7% drop for South Korea's Kospi. Seoul's benchmark index settled below its 50-day moving average for the first time in 2017, though it's down just over 2% from its July 24 record closing high. Elsewhere, traders eyed a mild downturn in the Caixin services purchasing managers index (PMI), which pointed to a slower pace of growth in China's non-manufacturing sector during the month of July. With a rising yen and sliding oil prices also weighing on sentiment, China's Shanghai Composite backpedaled 0.4%, while Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng each shed 0.3%.

European markets are mixed at midday. London's FTSE 100 is up 0.5% to lead the region after the Bank of England stood pat on rates,  even after policymakers warned that future rate hikes could come down the pike faster than the market is expecting. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 has edged up 0.3%, while the German DAX is down 0.2%.