GDP and the FOMC are in today's spotlight
After a choppy session on Tuesday, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are pointed lower ahead of the bell. Volatility could pick up steam as the day wears on, with a handful of market-moving events scheduled for release -- including the advance reading on first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) and the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) policy decision. Speaking of volatility, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is down 2% in electronic trading, after plunging 18.2% yesterday afternoon following an early release of the firm's first-quarter earnings.
And now, on to the numbers...

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are more than 19 points below fair value.
Market Statistics
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.1 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 714,654 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio edged down to 0.64, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.63.


Currencies and Commodities
- The U.S. dollar index is 0.1% lower at 95.98.
- Ahead of today's weekly inventories update, crude oil is off 0.6% at $56.73 per barrel.
- Gold, meanwhile, is down 0.5% at $1,207.40 per ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data
Today's packed economic docket includes the FOMC policy announcement, the advance reading on first-quarter GDP, pending home sales, and the weekly crude inventories update. Baidu (BIDU), Anthem (ANTM), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), Garmin (GRMN), Glu Mobile (GLUU), GrubHub (GRUB), Hess (HES), Hologic (HOLX), Humana (HUM), Level 3 Communications (LVLT), Linn Energy (LINE), Lumber Liquidators (LL), Marriott (MAR), MasterCard (MA), Meritor (MTOR), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Northrop Grumman (NOC), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), Shutterfly (SFLY), Spirit Airlines (SAVE), Starwood Hotels (HOT), Suncor Energy (SU), Time Warner (TWX), Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), Waste Management (WM), Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL), and Yelp (YELP) will take their turn in the earnings limelight. To see what else is on this week's agenda, click here.
Overseas Trading
Asian markets finished mostly lower, as caution set in ahead of today's policy decision from the FOMC. Both South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave back 0.2%, while China's Shanghai Composite closed fractionally higher, amid a flurry of reports about the central bank's Pledged Supplementary Lending program. Markets in Japan were shuttered for holiday.
European benchmarks are in the red at midday, as traders digest the latest round of corporate earnings reports and a disappointing bond auction in Germany. At last check, the French CAC 40 is off 0.5%, while London's FTSE 100 and the German DAX are both 0.3% lower.

Unusual Put and Call Activity
Due to technical issues, the Unusual Put and Call Activity charts are unavailable today. We apologize for any inconvenience.