Earnings, Crude Send Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Soaring

Dow Jones Industrial Average ​​(DJIA) futures are pointed higher this morning, after finishing Monday above the critical 18,000 level for the first time since July. Stocks are reacting to crude futures, which are rising following a post-Doha dip, as an ongoing oil-worker strike prompted Kuwait to reduce crude output. Additionally, the Dow is getting a lift from positive earnings reactions for components Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH). Elsewhere, this morning's report on housing starts showed 1.09 million new homes were added in March -- the lowest level since October.

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

• Where are stocks headed after Doha?
• Why Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) call buyers could be in trouble.
• The risky bet this pre-earnings Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) option trader placed.
• Plus... Oil boosts global stocks, IBM sales slide, and Goldman Sachs continues a trend.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are nearly 60 points above fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

 

1. Global stocks are bouncing back, tracking the rise is crude oil.
2. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 892,475 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 612,637 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio climbed to 0.69, while the 21-day moving average stayed put at 0.68.
3. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has plummeted 8% in pre-market trading, after the streaming service forecast slowing subscriber growth. What's more, the stock was hit with no fewer than seven price-target cuts. Yesterday, NFLX plunged nearly 3% on news of increased competition from Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
   
4. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) reported its worst quarterly sales in 14 years, although Big Blue's top- and bottom-line results arrived above expectations. At least three analysts have raised their price targets on IBM, but the tech stock is set to drop 4% at the open.
5. The latest financial firm to report earnings, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) echoed the results of its sector peers. Specifically, GS said first-quarter earnings per share came in above analysts' expectations, but revenue from trading was significantly lower from this time last year. Shares of GS are down 0.4% ahead of the bell.
   

Earnings and Economic Data

Intel (INTC), Brinker International (EAT), Discover Financial Services (DFS), Harley-Davidson (HOG), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Navient (NAVI), Philip Morris International (PM), TD Ameritrade (AMTD), VMware (VMW), and Yahoo! (YHOO) will also report earnings. To see what is else is coming up on this week's schedule, click here. 

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