Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Fall in Trump Aftermath

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are signaling a lower start, following Friday's inauguration of President Donald Trump. The new POTUS has wasted no time getting to work, either, signing an executive order to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and preparing to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Meanwhile, blue-chip stock McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) is lower after earnings.

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

• Citron Research called this stock the Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) of the aerospace industry. 
• Schaeffer's V.P. of Research Todd Salamone breaks down how traders can maximize their profit potential with leverage ratios. 
• Why this software stock could rally this week. 
• Plus... Halliburton tops earnings estimates, SEC probes Yahoo, and the pharmaceutical buyout in jeopardy.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are more than 37 points below fair value. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today
  

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.1 million call contracts traded on Friday -- the most since Nov. 11 -- compared to 784,988 put contracts, the highest total since June. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.70, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.66.
2. Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) posted better-than-expected earnings, helped by the firm's first quarterly operating profit in North America in a year. However, HAL's revenue came up short of estimates, and it also warned of weakness in international markets. In any case, as we touched on recently, the post-inauguration week has corresponded with strength in the shares, historically speaking. HAL is 1.4% lower pre-market.
3. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly opened a probe into the massive 2013-14 data breaches at Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO). At issue is whether the media concern should have reported the hack to investors sooner.
4. Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE:JNJ) potential purchase of Actelion may have hit a snag, after the latter's hypertension drug missed its primary endpoint in a late-stage study. JNJ could weigh in on the situation tomorrow morning, during its post-earnings call.
5. YHOO will report earnings today, as a busy week of corporate data gets underway. 

Overseas Trading

Asian stocks closed mixed, with traders taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's first full week in office. Japan's Nikkei was in focus, with the index dropping 1.3%, weighed down by a sharp uptick in the yen. Shares of major exporters struggled as a result, while air bag manufacturer Takata Corp. sold off for a third consecutive day on expectations the company may be headed for bankruptcy. Elsewhere, the Shanghai Composite added 0.4% in China, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.1%, even as the country's composite consumer price index rose less than expected for December. In South Korea, the Kospi closed fractionally higher.

In Europe, major indexes are trading in the red at midday, as traders respond to the first speeches and actions from the new U.S. president. Both the euro and the pound are strengthening against a cooling U.S. dollar, with heavy losses from bank stocks also in focus. London's FTSE 100 is so far leading the march lower, down 0.5%, while the German DAX and French CAC 40 are both off 0.4%, at last check. 

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