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Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Rise Ahead of Fed Minutes

Why Next Friday Could be Brutal for Stocks

May 24, 2017 at 9:07 AM
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Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are trading slightly above fair value this morning, ahead of a busy day on Wall Street. Traders are awaiting this afternoon's release of the Fed's May meeting minutes, as they try to weigh the chances of a June rate hike. Existing home sales data is also out today, and the weekly update on domestic crude inventories could keep oil prices in focus, as well. For corporate earnings, retail stocks Tiffany and Lowe's are both sharply lower ahead of the open after delivering disappointing quarterly results. As for now, however, the Dow, S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (COMP) are on pace to extend their daily win streaks to five.

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


  • Why next Friday could be a brutal day for stocks
  • The restaurant stock that could be forming a triple-top pattern
  • How options volume exploded amid the Alexion Pharmaceuticals sell-off. 
  • Plus, Intuit jumps after earnings; the steel stock bouncing back; and the FDA news lifting one drug stock. 

stock futures today


5 Things You Need to Know Today
  
  1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 813,357 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 489,108 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio moved up to 0.60, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.63.
  2. Tax specialist Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTUis making a notable post-earnings move ahead of the open, with the shares up over 9% after the company topped analysts' earnings estimates and raised its full-year forecast. INTU stock just hit a record high of $130.10 yesterday, before closing at $129.15 -- up 23% year-over-year. 
  3. After receiving bearish analyst attention on Tuesday, United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) is getting a pre-market lift this morning, thanks to an upgrade to "overweight" from "market weight" at Credit Suisse. X shares hit a 2017 low of $18.55 last week, but recovered to finish Tuesday above the round $20 level. 
  4. Insys Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:INSY) is also eyeing a strong open, thanks to news Syndros -- its anorexia treatment for AIDS patients -- will launch in August 2017, after receiving its final product label from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). INSY stock has been churning out higher lows since mid-March, and at $13.18, already boasts a year-to-date gain of 43.3%. The shares are up 5% in electronic trading. 
  5. Advance Auto Parts (AAP), Chico's (CHS), Guess (GES), JA Solar (JASO), and NetApp (NTAP) are also on the earnings slate today.

Buzz Stocks May 24

Overseas Trading

Asian markets closed higher today, rising in step with oil prices. In China, stocks spent much of the session trading lower, after Moody's downgraded the country's credit rating for the first time since 1989, citing concerns over a "material rise" in debt. Nevertheless, the Shanghai Composite swung higher to eke out a 0.06% gain. Elsewhere in the region, Japan's Nikkei surged 0.7% on the back of a weaker yen, South Korea's Kospi added 0.2%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng tacked on 0.1%.

European stocks are mostly lower at midday, pressured by a drop in mining and auto shares. Traders are also digesting a speech from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi, and looking ahead to the release of the FOMC meeting minutes. At last check, the German DAX is down 0.2% and the French CAC 40 is 0.04% lower. London's FTSE 100, meanwhile, has tacked on 0.3%, boosted by a positive earnings reaction for retailer Marks & Spencer.

 
 

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