Stock Futures Inch Higher as Earnings Season Ramps Up

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are cautiously higher this morning, as Wall Street prepares for the incoming wave of Big Tech earnings reports. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are pointed modestly higher as well, after both indexes notched record closes in the previous session. Among last night's earnings reports, investors are weighing Tesla's (TSLA) top-line beat with its premarket move lower. Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting starts today, though the central bank is expected to keep its interest rates unchanged while inflation runs abound.

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

• Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone reviews last week's key storylines.
• This chip name got a boost ahead of earnings tonight.
• Plus, Crocs' blowout quarterly win; more on TSLA; and GameStop wraps up million-dollar sale.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.4 million call contracts traded on Monday, and 468,796 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.43 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.47.
2. Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) stock is up 9.2% before the bell, after the apparel concern blew analysts' top and bottom line estimates out of the water. Plus, the company noted it expects revenue to grow between 40% and 50% this year. CROX is up 294% year-over-year.
3. Electric vehicle name Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is down 1.8% ahead of the open, despite posting better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue. The house Elon Musk built attributed the strong results to automakers liquidating some bitcoin holdings, as well as environmental credit sales.
4. The shares of GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) are up 9.7% in electronic trading, after the videogame concern successfully sold 3.5 million shares for about $551 million. The meme stock is up 3,441% in 2021.

5. Today investors will be looking forward to the Case-Shiller year-over-year home price index, the consumer confidence index, and the home ownership rate.

Asian Markets Drop Amid Rising Covid-19 Infections

Most markets in Asia fell lower today, amid rising global coronavirus cases, with Japan keeping many cities in a state of emergency to help prevent the spread. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.5% today, after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced its decision to keep its monetary policy steady, while also changing its core inflation forecast to 0.1% from 0.5% for the fiscal year of 2021. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and the South Korean Kospi dropped 0.04% and 0.07%, respectively. The only winner, China's Shanghai Composite, added 0.4%.

In Europe, shares are following suit midday, as investors unpack a number of big-name earnings. At last check, London's FTSE 100 is down 0.2%, the French CAC 40 has dipped 0.07%, and the German DAX has lost 0.3%.