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After hitting its highest mark for 2015, crude oil is poised to plunge
After two straight days of energy-related triple-digit gains, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) is signaling a lower start amid a sharp drop in crude oil. Also in focus today will be a raft of earnings reports -- including those from blue chips Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) -- as well as the ADP employment report, and a pair of updates on business activity.
And now, on to the numbers...
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) are more than 38 points below fair value.
Market Statistics
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.1 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 599,278 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.54, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.67.
Currencies and Commodities
- The U.S. dollar index is up 0.1% at 93.71.
- After notching a notable milestone on Tuesday, crude oil has plunged 3% to trade at $51.45 per barrel.
- Gold, meanwhile, is 0.6% higher at $1,267.80 per ounce.
Earnings and Economic Data
ADP's employment report, the ISM non-manufacturing index, Markit's flash purchasing managers manufacturing index (PMI), and the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) petroleum status report come out today. MRK, General Motors (GM), Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR), 21st Century Fox (FOXA), Allstate (ALL), Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Atmel (ATML), Boston Scientific (BSX), Clorox (CLX), Glu Mobile (GLUU), GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH), Humana (HUM), iRobot (IRBT), Level 3 Communications (LVLT), Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Motorola Solutions (MSI), NXP Semiconductor (NXPI), Ralph Lauren (RL), Sony (SNE), Suncor Energy (SU), Tableau Software (DATA), Under Armour (UA), Weatherford (WFT), Whirlpool (WHR), and Yum! Brands (YUM) will report earnings. To see what else is on this week's agenda, click here.
Overseas Trading
Asian benchmarks settled mostly higher today. In Japan, the Nikkei jumped nearly 2% amid a rally in financial stocks and a cooling yen. Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi tacked on 0.6%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5%. China's Shanghai Composite, meanwhile, bucked the regional uptrend -- shedding 0.9% following a report that showed the services sector grew at its slowest rate in six months.
European markets are lower at midday, but have pared their losses after the People's Bank of China said it reduced the amount of reserve deposits required by banks for the first time since May 2012. At last check, London's FTSE 100 is down 0.6%, the German DAX is off 0.4%, and the French CAC 40 is flirting with a 0.2% loss.
Unusual Put and Call Activity:
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