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Crude is poised to resume its recent downtrend, while gold eyes a seventh consecutive loss
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) are modestly lower today, following yesterday's record-setting close for the blue-chip barometer. In focus today will be the latest update on weekly jobless claims, which comes ahead of tomorrow's highly anticipated employment report for October. Additionally, a handful of Federal Reserve officials are slated to take the stage, including Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Fed Governor Jerome Powell. Meanwhile, on the earnings front, results from Nasdaq components Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) should garner their fair share of attention.
And now, on to the numbers...
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) are 24 points below fair value.
Market Statistics
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.02 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 638,753 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.63, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.68.
Currencies and Commodities
- The U.S. dollar index has shed 0.2% to trade at 87.24.
- Crude oil is poised to resume its recent sell-off, and was last seen 0.5% lower at $78.26 per barrel.
- Gold is eyeing a seventh straight day of losses, down 0.1% at $1,144.10 per ounce.
Earnings and Economic Data
Weekly jobless claims and productivity and labor costs come out today. Walt Disney (DIS), AOL (AOL), El Pollo Loco (LOCO), FSLR, King Digital Entertainment (KING), Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF), Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL), Monster Beverage (MNST), NVIDIA (NVDA), Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT), Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), SunEdison (SUNE), Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (TKMR), Transocean (RIG), and Zynga (ZNGA) will present earnings.
Overseas Trading
Asian equities finished on both sides of breakeven today, as caution set in ahead of today's European Central Bank (ECB) policy statement. Japan's Nikkei snapped its five-session winning streak amid a round of profit-taking, closing the session down 0.9%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng logged a 0.2% loss. Elsewhere, China's Shanghai Composite and South Korea's Kospi each tacked on 0.3%.
Stocks in Europe are sticking close to the flatline, as traders weigh a weaker-than-expected reading on German industrial orders, as well as the latest policy announcements from both the ECB and Bank of England (BoE). As expected, the central banks chose to keep their benchmark interest rates unchanged. Attention will now turn to ECB President Mario Draghi, who is expected to give a press conference later today. Against this backdrop, London's FTSE 100 is down 0.1%, the German DAX is 0.05% lower, and the French CAC 40 is flirting with a 0.04% loss.
Unusual Put and Call Activity:
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