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Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is slated to speak ahead of the open
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) is ready to rally, thanks to a third-quarter profit beat from blue-chip component General Electric Company (NYSE:GE). Additionally, traders are expressing optimism ahead of this morning's speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, which comes in the wake of dovish comments made by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on Thursday. Meanwhile, speaking on CNBC's "Squawk Box" this morning, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said the central bank must "fully process" the recent turbulence in financial markets before making any big decisions on monetary policy changes.
With the Fed in focus, today's pair of economic reports should also garner their fair share of attention. Specifically, housing starts and consumer sentiment data are set for release.
And now, on to the numbers...
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) are nearly 156 points above fair value.
Market Statistics
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.4 million call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 865,669 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio plunged to 0.64, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.69.
Currencies and Commodities
- The U.S. dollar index is down 0.1% at 84.85.
- Crude oil is on pace to extend yesterday's bounce, up 1.5% at $83.96 per barrel.
- Elsewhere, gold is 0.3% lower at $1,237.30 per ounce.
Earnings and Economic Data
Today's docket includes data on housing starts and the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment report. GE, Morgan Stanley (MS), Honeywell (HON), and SunTrust (STI) will release their earnings.
Overseas Trading
Asian markets finished mixed today, as traders weighed better-than-expected economic data out of the U.S. against concern over a slowing global economy. Japan's Nikkei continued its trek into multi-month-low territory, settling the session down 1.4%. Elsewhere, banking stocks pressured China's Shanghai Composite to a 0.6% loss, while South Korea's Kospi shed 1% amid a decline in blue chips. Hong Kong's Hang Seng managed to buck the regional bearish trend to tack on 0.5%.
European stocks are solidly higher at midday, thanks to a boost from the auto and banking sectors. At last check, the French CAC 40 was up 1.8%, the German DAX was flirting with a 1.5% pop, and London's FTSE 100 was enjoying a 0.8% lead.
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.