Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Shaky Ahead of Yellen

After Tuesday's triple-digit win -- which put the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) in positive year-to-date territory -- futures on the big-cap index are trading below fair value as Wall Street awaits comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen. In a speech today, and in her testimony before Congress tomorrow, the central banker could all but confirm the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) intent to raise interest rates later this month. Adding fuel to the rate-hike argument is this morning's ADP report on private-sector payrolls, which topped expectations -- leading many to believe Friday's nonfarm payrolls report will be plenty strong enough for the Fed to take action in coming weeks.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• While the market has historically outperformed in December, there's still one caveat investors need to watch, explains Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
• 25 stocks to watch ahead of the New Year. 
• How a "severe oversupply" in one industry is destroying 2 stocks. 

And now, on to the numbers…

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are 11.4 points below fair value. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

 

1. It's a choppy day for global stocks, as traders await stimulus news from central banks. 
2. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 594,385 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 363,997 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.61, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.71. 
3. There's been plenty of speculation surrounding Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) recently -- mostly around the fate of CEO Marissa Mayer -- but shareholders could have some answers this week. The Wall Street Journal reports the company's board is considering a sale, as it meets this week to discuss the general direction of the business. Investors are already responding, with YHOO shares pointed 3.9% higher in electronic trading.  
4. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last night, in a letter written to his newborn daughter Max, that he plans to commit 99% of his Facebook shares -- currently worth around $45 billion -- to his own Chan Zuckerberg Initiative "to further the mission of advancing human potential and promoting equality." The 31-year-old executive has been in a charitable mood recently, as the firm recently expanded its paternal leave policies. 
5. It's been a rough few months for drugmaker Zafgen Inc (NASDAQ:ZFGN), and things are about to get much worse. The stock is set to open 58% lower, in all-time-low territory, after the company announced another patient died in a late-stage study of its experimental obesity drug, beloranib. 

Earnings and Economic Data

Also on today's docket are third-quarter productivity and labor costs and the weekly report on crude inventories.The Fed's Beige Book will be released in the afternoon, with speeches from Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart and San Francisco Fed President John Williams. 

A slightly busier day for earnings will include the latest numbers from Aeropostale (ARO), Avago Technologies (AVGO), G-III Apparel (GIII), Pacific Sunwear (PSUN), and Synopsys (SNPS). To see what else is on this week's agenda, click here.