DJIA futures are struggling to pick a direction, as Wall Street waits for President-elect Donald Trump to speak
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are edging modestly higher, as stocks struggle to pick a direction ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's highly anticipated news conference at 11 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP) will attempt to keep its
string of record highs alive, with its futures also up slightly. Elsewhere, it will be a slow day on the data front -- with just crude inventories due out -- though New York Fed President William Dudley is slated to speak this afternoon.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are 15.5 points above fair value.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 668,871 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 430,665 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio and the 21-day moving average both edged up to 0.64.
- SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU) is poised to plunge 7% at the open, after the grocery chain reported weaker-than-expected earnings and sales. In addition, the company said it's taken steps to reduce its pension plan obligations by buying out certain participants with lump sums, resulting in a quarterly settlement charge.
- United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) saw its consolidated December traffic jump 2.6%, moving the company to raise its revenue projection for the fourth quarter that just ended. The airline stock is up 2.8% pre-market, as a result. Separately, after conducting a probe into pricing practices, the Justice Department reportedly said it will not bring action against U.S. airlines for collusion.
- Despite its archrival's upbeat forecast, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) confirmed that 2017 will be less profitable than 2016. However, the automaker also continued to predict improved profitability in 2018, and declared a special dividend of 5 cents per share.
- Today, the latest MBA mortgage index will be released, along with the weekly crude inventories report. Stepping up to the earnings confessional will be KB Home (KBH).
Overseas Trading
Stocks in Asia were mostly higher, with traders awaiting today's press conference from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Starting in Japan, the Nikkei rose 0.3%, with large-cap Toshiba rallying on reports the company's top lenders will stay put, despite its upcoming write-down in the U.S. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also gained, adding 0.8%, though China's Shanghai Composite gave back 0.8%. Meanwhile, South Korean stocks rallied, with the Kospi ending up 1.5%.
In Europe, stocks are little changed at midday, as London's FTSE 100 fights to keep its historic win streak alive. At last check, the index was up 0.1%, looking for its 10th straight record close, and 12th consecutive win overall. Helping U.K. stocks is solid industrial production data for November and big gains from grocery giant Sainsbury's. These gains have spread to Germany, where the DAX is up 0.3%, while France's CAC 40 was fractionally higher at last check.
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