Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Edge Higher; Apple, Fed in Spotlight

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are above fair value, indicating stocks could be off to a modestly higher start. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) is also pointed higher, and could hit another all-time peak, with investors eyeing a newly released line of products from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). With no major economic reports on the docket, traders are also digesting the latest comments from Federal Reserve officials, including New York Fed President William Dudley, who spoke in London about banking culture this morning, making note of Wells Fargo & Co' s (NYSE:WFC) recent accounting scandal, and saying banks have "a long way to go," but not commenting on the U.S. economy or monetary policy. Still, the central bank will remain in the spotlight today, with Kansas City Fed President Esther George, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren all due to speak before the end of the evening.

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

• Why this bond ETF might be the best post-Fed trade, according to Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone.
• Behind the first "buy" rating for Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP). 
• Why options traders seem overly bearish on Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). 
• Plus, General Mills sales disappoint; Apple's new products; and Facebook eyes a higher high.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are 34 points above fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today
  

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 914,014 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 588,278 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio climbed to 0.64, while the 21-day moving average stayed flat at 0.63.
2. Cereal specialist General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) is down 1.8% ahead of the bell after quarterly revenue fell just short of expectations -- marking a seventh straight quarter of declining sales. The stock closed Monday just below the year-over-year breakeven mark, at $60.26, and analysts have generally been skeptical, with nine out of 11 firms maintaining a "hold" recommendation on GIS.
3. Apple stock is pointed 0.5% higher ahead of the bell, and could hit yet another record high, after the company unveiled a cheaper iPad and special edition iPhones. The stock -- no stranger to analyst love -- is also enjoying a price-target hike to $160 from $140 at Bernstein.
4. Social media giant Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) looks set to open at yet another record high, up 0.7% in electronic trading following an upgrade to "buy" from "neutral" at BTIG. FB shares have been tapping a string of higher highs for weeks, so it's little surprise roughly 90% of analysts recommend buying the stock.
5. Nike (NKE), FedEx (FDX), Lennar (LEN), and Silver Wheaton (SLW) will release earnings today. Plus, several Fed officials are due to take the mic. 

Overseas Trading

Asian markets finished mostly higher, led by South Korea's Kospi, which jumped 1% and hit a nearly two-year high amid hopes that the ouster of impeached President Park Geun-hye will improve investor sentiment. Also ending the session in the black were China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng, each up around 0.4%. However, Japan's Nikkei sat out the regional rally, dipping 0.3% on a stronger dollar, which weighed on exporters and financial stocks.

European bourses are generally drifting higher, boosted by a bounce in crude oil prices. France's CAC 40 has gained 0.4%, while the German DAX has edged up 0.1%. Elsewhere, though, inflation fears are hitting the U.K., after the consumer price index (CPI) accelerated to 2.3% -- the fastest rate since 2013, and above the Bank of England's (BoE) 2% target. As such, London's FTSE 100 is down 0.2%, prompting BoE Governor Mark Carney to urge traders not to "overreact to a single data point."

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