The FOMC will begin its two-day policy-setting meeting today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is on track to extend yesterday's losses, as caution sets in ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) two-day policy-setting meeting, which kicks off today. Also in focus today will be updates on consumer confidence and home prices, although earnings from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) should attract the majority of attention. Shares of the tech heavyweight -- and most recently added Dow component -- are up 2% in electronic trading, after the firm said quarterly results exceeded expectations and announced a dividend hike.
And now, on to the numbers...
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are nearly 36 points below fair value.
Market Statistics
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.05 million call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 685,131 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.65, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.63.
Currencies and Commodities
- The U.S. dollar index is down 0.4% at 96.40.
- Crude oil is off 0.7% at $56.59 per barrel.
- Gold, meanwhile, is 0.1% lower at $1,201.60 per ounce.
Earnings and Economic Data
Today's economic docket features the consumer confidence index and the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. Additionally, the FOMC will kick off its two-day policy-setting meeting. Merck (MRK), Pfizer (PFE), Ford (F), GPRO, Sirius XM (SIRI), Twitter (TWTR), Aetna (AET), AK Steel (AKS), AKAM, Boston Scientific (BSX), BP plc (BP), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), Cirrus Logic (CRUS), Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), Coach (COH), Corning (GLW), Cummins (CMI), Express Scripts (ESRX), Genworth Financial (GNW), Group 1 Automotive (GPI), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Kraft Foods (KRFT), Panera Bread (PNRA), SUPERVALU (SVU), T-Mobile (TMUS), UPS (UPS), U.S. Steel (X), Valero Energy (VLO), Western Digital (WDC), Whirlpool (WHR), Wolverine World Wide (WWW), Wyndham Worldwide (WYN), Wynn Resorts (WYNN), Yamana Gold (AUY), and Yandex N.V. (YNDX) will step into the earnings confessional. To see what else is on this week's agenda, click here.
Overseas Trading
It was a mixed finish in Asia today, with Japan's Nikkei outperforming its peers. Specifically, the index added 0.4% -- and closed above the highly watched 20,000 mark -- as upbeat earnings overshadowed a bigger-than-expected drop in retail sales. Elsewhere, China's Shanghai Composite slumped 1.1% and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.5%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng eked out a 0.03% gain.
European markets are wallowing in red ink at midday, as traders take profits off the table ahead of the FOMC meeting. At last check, the French CAC 40 is off 1.7%, the German DAX is down 1.4%, and London's FTSE 100 is flirting with a 1.1% loss following a lower-than-forecast reading on first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP).
Unusual Put and Call Activity
Due to technical issues, the Unusual Put and Call Activity charts are unavailable today. We apologize for any inconvenience.