China, JPMorgan Chase Boost Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures

Dow Jones Industrial Average ​​(DJIA) futures are signaling another bullish start, trading above fair value thanks to solid Chinese trade data and an initial positive earnings reaction for Dow stock JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM). This pair of upbeat developments is helping to overshadow disappointing retail sales, which unexpectedly dropped in March. Elsewhere on the economic front, the Labor Department said its producer price index (PPI) -- a key inflation measure watched by the Fed -- slipped 0.1% in March. Against this backdrop, Dow futures are 75 points above fair value.

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

• If the retail crowd is wrong, it may be time to buy stocks, says Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
• The brokerage note that "disappointed" Jim Cramer.
• Pessimism is mounting on volatile Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX).
• Plus... more on China's trade data, a strong start to bank earnings, and Peabody Energy calls it quits.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are 75 points above fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

 

1. Chinese exports swung higher in March for the first time since last year -- boosting global markets.
2. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 726,756 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 526,897 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.72, while the 21-day moving average edged up to 0.70.
3. JPMorgan Chase & Co. posted better-than-expected per-share earnings and revenue, sending the financial stock 2.6% higher in pre-market trading -- which could potentially burn options bears.
4. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) -- which is included on Yahoo! Inc.'s (NYSE:YHOO) long list of potential suitors -- wireline workers hit the picket lines today, after the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers failed to reach a labor agreement. Nevertheless, shares of the telecommunications concern are up 0.3% ahead of the bell.
5. It's the end of the road for Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU), with the coal company saying it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. BTU warned of insolvency in mid-March, amid the stock's epic fall from grace.

 

Earnings and Economic Data

A busy day for economic reports continues with the February business inventories report, the weekly crude inventories update, and the release of the Fed's Beige Book. Earnings from Pier 1 Imports (PIR) are due. To see what is coming up next on this week's schedule, click here. 

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