Dow Jones Industrial Average Higher on Hope for Draghi Clues

Both the ECB and BoE left interest rates at record-low levels

Karee Venema

Mar 5, 2015 at 8:30 AM

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) is poised to snap its two-day losing streak, after the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BoE) opted to leave interest rates at their lowest levels on record. Speculators will now await a press conference from ECB President Mario Draghi -- slated for 8:30 a.m. ET -- for clues on the central bank's recently announced $66 billion bond-buying program. Back on the homefront, weekly jobless claims, productivity and labor costs, and factory orders are all on tap.

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And now, on to the numbers...

Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P and Nasdaq futures

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) are more than 43 points above fair value.

Market Statistics

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 798,636 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 489,223 put contracts. Both the resultant single-session equity put/call ratio and the 21-day moving average arrived at 0.61.

Currencies and Commodities

The U.S. dollar index is up 0.2% at 96.14.
Crude oil is on pace to add to yesterday's gains, up 0.5% at $51.81 per barrel.
Gold, meanwhile, is off 0.03% at $1,200.50 per ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

Weekly jobless claims, productivity and labor costs, and factory orders are set for release today. Canadian Solar (CSIQ), Ciena (CIEN), Costco Wholesale (COST), Diamond Foods (DMND), Finisar (FNSR), Joy Global (JOY), and Kroger (KR) will release quarterly results. To see what else is coming up on this week's agenda, click here.

Overseas Trading

Asian benchmarks settled mostly lower today, after China's uninspiring growth target weighed on investor sentiment. Specifically, the country said it believes gross domestic product (GDP) will reach 7% in 2015 -- its lowest forecast in 11 years. By the close, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off 1.1%, and China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.9%. Japan's Nikkei managed to buck the bearish bias, tacking on 0.3% amid a rally in the healthcare sector, while South Korea's Kospi was nearly unchanged.

Markets in Europe are higher at midday as traders cheer decisions by both the ECB and BoE to keep interest rates at record-low levels. Attention will now turn to ECB President Mario Draghi's upcoming press conference, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET. At last check, the French CAC 40 is up 0.9%, the German DAX is enjoying a 0.7% lead, and London's FTSE 100 has tacked on 0.4%.

Unusual Put and Call Activity:

For an explanation of how to use this information, check out our Education Center topics on Option Volume and Open Interest Configurations.

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