Dow Jones Industrial Average Ready to Rally to a Weekly Win

It should be a volatile session due to quadruple-witching expiration

Karee Venema

Dec 19, 2014 at 8:34 AM

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) is poised to extend its Fed-induced momentum into a third straight session, with futures pointed solidly higher ahead of the bell. What's more, the blue-chip barometer is easily on pace to resume its slate of weekly wins, and is already up 2.9% from last Friday's close. Although today's economic calendar is void, it is quadruple-witching expiration, which should create some increased volatility. Additionally, speeches from Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker should garner some attention.

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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 nearly 82 points above fair value.

Market Statistics

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.20 million call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 691,629 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio plunged to 0.58, while the 21-day moving average moved up to 0.65.

Currencies and Commodities

The U.S. dollar index is up 0.1% at 89.34.
Crude oil is poised to bounce back, up 2% at $55.44 per barrel.
Gold, meanwhile, is 0.2% higher at $1,196.80 per ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

There are no notable economic reports today. BlackBerry (BBRY), CarMax (KMX), Finish Line (FINL), and Paychex (PAYX) will step into the earnings spotlight.

Overseas Trading

Asian markets rallied in the wake of a big win on Wall Street. In Japan, the Nikkei soared 2.4% -- its best session in nearly seven weeks -- amid a cooling yen and an upbeat economic outlook from the Bank of Japan (BoJ). Elsewhere, China's Shanghai Composite and South Korea's Kospi both posted 1.7% gains, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.3%.

European benchmarks are mostly lower at midday, pressured by a retreat in banking and healthcare stocks. At last check, the German DAX is down 0.4%, and the French CAC 40 is off 0.2%. London's FTSE 100 is bucking the regional bearish trend, though, and is up 0.4%.

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.

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