DJIA futures are trading above fair value, as Trump prepares to take the oath of office
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are trading above fair value -- with the Dow set to
snap its five-day losing streak, and possibly climb
back into positive year-to-date territory -- ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration. Helping boost the blue-chip barometer is a well-received earnings report from Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG), with shares of the Dow stock up more than 3% ahead of the bell. Additionally, in a speech last night, Fed Chair Janet Yellen suggested that delaying a rate hike could cause the central bank to later lift rates at an accelerated clip, and that she considers "it prudent to adjust the stance of monetary policy gradually over time." Meanwhile, oil prices are also trading higher -- with February-dated crude futures up 1.6% at $52.73 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are 55 points above fair value.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 969,284 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 538,164 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.56, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.66.
- International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is poised to extend its long-standing string of negative post-earnings sessions, with the shares down 1.6% ahead of the bell. Big Blue reported a 19th consecutive quarterly decline in revenue, but offered up a stronger-than-expected full-year forecast.
- Fresh off Thursday's M&A rumors, Dow stock General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) is also down in pre-market trading -- off 1.4% at last check -- after the conglomerate took its turn in the earnings confessional. Though reporting a nearly 36% rise in fourth-quarter profit, GE said quarterly revenue slumped 2.4%.
- Following strong late-December trial results, Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc's (NASDAQ:SGYP) constipation drug, Trulance, has been granted approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Nevertheless, after soaring more than 11% earlier, the shares were last seen down 1.4% in electronic trading.
- The week concludes with speeches from San Francisco Fed President John Williams and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker. Kansas City Southern (KSU), Schlumberger (SLB), and SunTrust Banks (STI) will report earnings.
Overseas Trading
Major stock indexes in Asia closed mixed, with traders preparing for today's inauguration speech from incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. Chinese stocks headlined the action, after the country's fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) edged out expectations. However, China's full-year growth rate largely disappointed, at 6.7% -- the lowest reading since 1990. By the close China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.7%, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 0.7%. In Japan, the Nikkei notched a 0.3% win, while South Korea's Kospi ended down 0.4%.
In Europe, stocks are posting modest gains halfway through the session, helped by gains in bank stocks. Aside from Trump's upcoming inauguration, an unexpected drop in U.K. retail sales for December is holding back the FTSE 100, with the London-based index last seen less than 0.1% higher -- though a weakening pound is helping offset some of the losses. Elsewhere in the region, France's CAC 40 is sporting a 0.3% lead, while the DAX in Germany is up 0.1%.
Don't miss the market's next move! Sign up now for Schaeffer's Midday Market Check