The Dow is up around 163 points this morning
After yesterday's earnings-fueled rally failed just before the close, stock futures are once again pointed sharply higher, thanks to a round of upbeat quarterly results. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are eyeing a 163-point pop, after Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported a top- and bottom-line beat. Meanwhile, Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) also stand comfortably above fair value, as investors await results from Netflix (NFLX) and other major companies later this week.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone has some tips for options bulls ahead of the next Fed meeting.
- Get ready for this airline giant's earnings report.
- Plus, digging into IBM's earnings; unpacking Cinemark's upgrade; and a private-equity firm looking to buy NCR.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.45 million call contracts and 784,844 put contracts traded on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.54, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.66.
- Despite beating second-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, IBM Common Stock (NYSE:IBM) is trading 5.7% lower ahead of the opening bell. Weighing on the blue-chip tech concern today is a round of bear notes that rolled in after the company warned of a $3.5 billion dent in earnings due to strength in the U.S. dollar. Coming into today, IBM boasted a marginal year-to-date lead of 3.3%.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK) to "overweight" from "equal-weight." The firm believes the move theater operator's trend of returning customer is not priced into the equity's valuation. As a result, CNK is 5.3% in premarket trading, and looking to add to a 4.9% 12-month lead.
- According to a report from the Wall Street Journal private-equity firm Veritas Capital is in exclusive talks to buy NCR Corporation (NYSE:NCR). NCR has so far added 9.5% in electronic trading, as it looks to pull away from a 27.6% year-to-date deficit.
- Today will be relatively quiet, with building permits and housing starts coming out in terms of economic data.
European Investors Anticipate 1st Rate Hike in 11 Years
Asian markets settled on both sides of the aisle today, as investors remain uncertain about global inflation. Japan’s Nikkei returned from holiday to post a 0.7% win, while China’s Shanghai Composite followed behind with a 0.04% gain. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.9%, while the South Korean Kospi finished with a 0.2% loss.
European markets are struggling for direction midday, with all the focus on the European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting on Thursday, where a rate hike is expected for the first time in 11 years. Today’s economic data showed euro zone inflation hitting 8.6% year-over-year in June. London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.3% at last check, amid news that the U.K. is breaking records for its hottest day ever – hitting 104.4 degrees Fahrenheit (or 40.2 degrees Celsius). Elsewhere, the French CAC 40 is down 0.04%, while the German DAX rises 0.1%.