Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Lower; Yellen, Data In the Spotlight

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are just below fair value this morning, indicating a slightly lower start for stocks, after the blue-chip index snapped a seven-day winning streak. Traders are digesting the latest round of economic data, including weekly jobless claims, which fell to a fresh 43-year low. U.S. housing starts, meanwhile, popped to a nine-year high in October. The consumer price index (CPI) saw its fastest rate of growth in six months in October, with higher gas prices mostly responsible for gains, bolstering expectations for a December rate hike. In fact, ahead of a scheduled appearance before Congress this morning, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said a rate hike could be "appropriate relatively soon." Investors will also be eyeing comments from other Fed officials later in the day.

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

• 3 bank stocks bruised by analyst warnings, and why one brokerage firm says to "book gains."
• Why Nordic American Tanker Ltd (NYSE:NAT) was bombarded by option bulls.
• How this "most favorably positioned" semiconductor stock notched another all-time high.
• Plus... First Solar guidance disappoints, Cisco slips, and the shipping stock rally continues.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are 4 points below fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today
  

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 881,406 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 558,848 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio climbed to 0.63, while the 21-day moving average remained flat at 0.66.
2. Alternative energy interest First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) is down more than 10% in pre-market trading, after the company gave downbeat full-year guidance and announced it will cut its workforce by roughly 1,600. The news also earned the stock a round of fresh bearish attention from the brokerage bunch.
3. A disappointing outlook also has Dow component Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) sinking ahead of the bell, last seen down 4.8%. The slip could come as an ugly surprise for some last-minute pre-earnings call players.
4. Shipping concern DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS) is keeping its monster rally alive, set to pop another 64% at the opening bell. Still, as of last night's close at $73.00, the stock is sitting on a 72% year-to-date deficit.
5. New York Fed President William Dudley will speak in the morning, and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is slated to make remarks later in the day. As for earnings, blue-chip WMT will report, as well as Applied Materials (AMAT), Best Buy (BBY), Gap (GPS), JA Solar Holdings (JASO), Marvell Technology Group (MRVL), Ross Stores (ROST), salesforce.com (CRM), and Staples (SPLS).

Asian markets finished mostly higher, even as oil prices fell. Japan's Nikkei finished fractionally higher, after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) unexpectedly announced an unlimited fixed-rate government bond-buying program. China's Shanghai Composite tacked on 0.1%, with South Korea's Kospi also adding 0.1%. Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.1% on the day.

European stocks are mixed, as traders await U.S. Fed Chair Janet Yellen's congressional testimony, and parse over the release of the European Central Bank's (ECB) latest meeting minutes. London's FTSE 100 has added 0.1% so far, helped by strong retail sales. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 is down 0.04%, and Germany's DAX has retreated 0.3%.

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