Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Jump Ahead of Fed Meeting

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are signaling a higher start, as stock traders anticipate the beginning of two key central bank meetings. The Fed and Bank of Japan (BoJ) meetings will conclude tomorrow, with Fed officials expected to hold interest rates steady through December, and some traders anticipating a deeper cut into negative territory for Japanese interest rates. Meanwhile, August housing starts fell by more than expected, though builder sentiment remains near annual highs.

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

• One option player is betting big as Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) guns for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
• Was Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) stock "artificially inflated"? One shareholder thinks so.
• Why a break of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) 210 is the biggest risk right now, according to Schaeffer's Senior VP of Research Todd Salamone.
• Plus... Asian stocks fall, Lennar reports earnings, and the biotech headed for a 600% gain.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are about 72 points above fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today
 

1. Asian stocks ended mostly down, as the BoJ meeting began.
2. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 931,342 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 520,501 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.56, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.64.
3. Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) is set to open fractionally higher, after announcing earnings that came in ahead of analyst expectations, citing an improving housing market. The housing stock's CEO, Stuart Miller, said that LEN had managed to hit sales and delivery targets despite "a slow, steady, and sometimes, choppy path."
4. Google parent Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last night sent invitations for an event on Oct. 4, where speculators believe the company will reveal new, non-Nexus smartphones and a rival to Amazon.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Echo home assistant. Yesterday, Google unveiled Trips, a new, free app that serves as a trip planner and travel guide. GOOGL is 0.4% higher ahead of the bell. 
5. Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:AGN) is down 0.3% ahead of the bell, after announcing yet another drugmaker acquisition. This time, the biotech revealed a deal to acquire biotech Tobira Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:TBRA) in a deal valued at $1.7 billion. TBRA currently sits up 602% in pre-market trading.

Earnings and Economic Data

FedEx (FDX), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Carnival (CCL), and KB Home (KBH) will report earnings. To see what else is coming up on this week's schedule, click here.