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Crude oil is poised to continue its retreat into multi-year low territory
It's poised to be another volatile day of trading, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) pointed decidedly lower ahead of the bell. Quarterly earnings reports will continue to be in focus today, with traders ready to digest the latest results from Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC). Also on the corporate front, the pharmaceutical sector should garner its fair share of attention after AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) said it is reconsidering its proposed takeover of Shire PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:SHPG) amid recent tax-inversion policy changes. Additionally, economic data will begin to hit the Street in the form of retail sales, producer prices, and the Empire State manufacturing index. Finally, Ebola will remain front and center, after a second healthcare worker in Dallas was diagnosed with the disease -- and following words of caution from the World Health Organization (WHO).
And now, on to the numbers...
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) are more than 89 points below fair value.
Market Statistics
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.2 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 954,952 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio plunged to 0.78, while the 21-day moving average moved higher to 0.69.
Currencies and Commodities
- The U.S. dollar index is up a slight 0.03% at 85.85.
- Crude oil is poised to extend its recent rout, down 1% at $81.02 per barrel.
- Gold, meanwhile, is 0.5% lower at $1,228.10 per ounce.
Earnings and Economic Data
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book will be released today, along with retail sales, September's producer price index (PPI), the Empire State manufacturing index, and business inventories. Elsewhere, American Express (AXP), BAC, eBay (EBAY), Netflix (NFLX), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), and PNC Financial (PNC) are scheduled to step up to the earnings plate.
Overseas Trading
Asian bourses finished mostly higher today, as weak inflation data out of China buoyed hope of additional stimulus measures. By the close, China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.6%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng tacked on 0.4%, and Japan's Nikkei rallied 0.9% on the back of a cooling yen. South Korea's Kospi, meanwhile, shed 0.2% after the Bank of Korea reduced its interest rate for the second time in three months.
Across the pond, markets are sitting in the red at midday, pressured lower by health care stocks following news ABBV is reconsidering its proposed takeover of SHPG. Mining stocks are also leading the indexes lower amid softer metal prices. On the economic front, the U.K. unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in more than six years. Against this backdrop, the French CAC 40 is down 1.2%, while the German DAX and London's FTSE 100 are each flirting with a 1.1% drop.
Unusual Put and Call Activity:
Due to issues with our data provider, the Unusual Put and Call charts are unavailable today. We apologize for any inconvenience.