![]()
Manufacturing reports out of China and Europe were unimpressive
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) is pulling back from record-high territory, as lackluster data from China and Europe weighs on Wall Street ahead of a round of manufacturing data out of the U.S. Later today, traders will listen to speeches from Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, after the central bank last week officially opted to end quantitative easing. Among equities in focus, Sapient Corporation (NASDAQ:SAPE) is headlining Merger Monday, after France's Publicis Group SA vowed to buy the firm for $25 per share -- a 44% premium to SAPE's closing price last week.
And now, on to the numbers...
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average 2 Minute (INDEXDJX:.DJI) are nearly 39 points below fair value.
Market Statistics
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.61 million call contracts traded on Friday -- the most since late January -- compared to 810,601 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.50, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.68.
Currencies and Commodities
- The U.S. dollar index is up 0.3% at 87.18.
- Crude oil is on the mend, up 0.5% at $80.92 per barrel.
- Gold is fractionally lower at $1,170.90 an ounce.
Earnings and Economic Data
The week will start off with the release of auto sales data, Markit's flash purchasing managers manufacturing index (PMI), the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index, and construction spending. Herbalife (HLF), MannKind (MNKD), Sprint (S), Agrium (AGU), American International Group (AIG), Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA), Fabrinet (FN), Marathon Oil (MRO), NutriSystem (NTRI), RetailMeNot (SALE), Sohu.com (SOHU), and Sysco (SYY) will release earnings.
Overseas Trading
China's Shanghai Composite edged 0.5% higher today, as a three-month high in the country's final HSBC PMI for October offset a five-month low in the official government PMI, and weak data out of the services sector. However, other benchmarks weren't so fortunate, as Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.3%, and South Korea's Kospi gave up 0.6% after lackluster manufacturing data. Japanese markets were shuttered for holiday.
European benchmarks are in the red at midday, due to reports of slower-than-expected manufacturing growth across the eurozone. At last check, France's CAC 40 was down 0.5%, while London's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX were both on pace for 0.6% losses.
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.