Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Dip as Earnings Disappoint

After a disappointing start to the week, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are trading below fair value this morning, with the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) two-day policy meeting set to begin this afternoon. While a decision is due out tomorrow afternoon, it is widely expected that the central bank will not make any policy changes this month.

In the meantime, traders are assessing earnings reports from a number of big-name companies --- including Dow components Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), 3M Co (NYSE:MMM), McDonald's Corporation, (NYSE:MCD), and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), which are all trading lower ahead of the open. This all comes ahead of Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) earnings release, scheduled for after the close today. 

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

• Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone breaks down the "fear ratio" signaling a short-term risk to stocks.
• The seven-layered "sell" rating that crushed AAPL. 
• How put sellers are positioning themselves on this rallying retail stock.
• Plus... Yen surge sinks Japan, Gilead's pre-market beatdown, and the semiconductor stock eyeing 16-year highs. 

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are 9.1 points below fair value. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today
 

1. Stocks in Japan spiraled lower due to the yen's biggest gain in weeks. 
2. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 695,060 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 496,212 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.71, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.64.
3. Biotech stock Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) is looking at a 4% drop at the open, after the company offered a bleak full-year revenue outlook. Needham was one of several analysts to weigh in bearishly as a result, downgrading the stock to "hold" from "buy." There's room for more downgrades, too, since 10 of 17 brokerage firms recommend buying GILD, and none consider it a "sell." 
4. Yet another strong earnings report has semiconductor specialist Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN) booming ahead of the open. The stock is up 7.5% pre-market, putting the shares on pace to top $70 for the first time since August 2000. Meanwhile, bullish analyst attention has poured in, with no fewer than 20 brokerage firms raising their price targets on TXN. 
5. In other earnings news, apparel name Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) has erased early electronic losses to trade fractionally higher ahead of the bell following the company's second-quarter earnings report. The stock is currently battling its 320-day moving average, as it looks to keep its third-quarter hot streak alive. 

Earnings and Economic Data

On tap today are the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, new home sales, Markit's flash purchasing managers index (PMI), and the Conference Board's consumer confidence survey. 
 
Looking to earnings, United Technologies (UTX), AK Steel (AKS), BP (BP), Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), Citrix Systems (CTXS), Edwards Lifesciences (EW), Eli Lilly (LLY), EXACT Sciences (EXAS), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), Illumina (ILMN), JetBlue (JBLU), Juniper Networks (JNPR), Mobileye (MBLY), Panera Bread (PNRA), Reynolds American (RAI), Sirius XM (SIRI), Starwood Hotels (HOT), Twitter (TWTR), and United States Steel (X) will all report. To see what else is coming up on this week's schedule, click here. 

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