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Greek Bailout Concerns Sends the Dow South Today

Greece's new prime minister reaffirmed his commitment to ending austerity

Feb 9, 2015 at 8:24 AM
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) is bracing for a drop out of the gate, as terms for Greece's bailout remain unresolved. In fact, Greek bonds tumbled following a speech by the country's new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who recommitted himself to ending austerity measures previously imposed by the European Union. On the domestic front, traders remain concerned about a potential interest rate hike, following last Friday's strong payrolls report. Also, while no economic data is slated for release today, toymaker Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) reported an earnings beat earlier, as well as an additional $500 million in share buyback authorization.

And now, on to the numbers...

Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P and Nasdaq futures

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) are about 56 points below fair value.

Market Statistics

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.21 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 834,697 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.69, while the 21-day moving average held steady at 0.67.

NYSE and Nasdaq summary

Volatility indices

Currencies and Commodities

  • The U.S. dollar index is slightly higher at 94.66.
  • Crude oil appears ready to sustain its upward momentum after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut its forecast for 2015 non-OPEC global oil-supply growth, up 2.1% at $52.79 per barrel.
  • Elsewhere, gold has tacked on 0.3% to trade at $1,238.80 per ounce.
Currencies and commodities

Earnings and Economic Data

There are no notable economic reports today. On the earnings side of the coin, AMAG Pharma (AMAG), Computer Sciences (CSC), Coupons.com (COUP), Loews Corporation (L), NetEase.com (NTES), Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX), Randgold Resources (GOLD), Sohu.com (SOHU), and Tidewater (TDW) will report. To see what else is on this week's agenda, click here.

Overseas Trading

Asian bourses finished mixed, as traders digested weakness among U.S. stocks last Friday, as well as a record trade surplus in China. The latter resulted from a surprising fall in mainland exports, and a much larger-than-expected drop in imports. China's Shanghai Composite muscled 0.6% higher amid the launch of the nation's first stock options, while Japan's Nikkei added 0.4%, thanks to a sixth straight current account surplus in December. On the flip side, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

European equities are lower at midday, as violence in Ukraine escalates and terms of a Greek bailout continue to elude negotiators. At last check, London's FTSE 100 is down 0.7%, the French CAC 40 is off 1.1%, and Frankfurt's DAX is 1.4% lower.

Overseas markets

Unusual Put and Call Activity:

For an explanation of how to use this information, check out our Education Center topics on Option Volume and Open Interest Configurations.

Unusual options activity - puts

Unusual options activity - calls

 
 

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