The Dow Jones Industrial Average (
DJIA
) muscled past its 10-day moving average and the 10,850 level
yesterday to close just shy of 10,900. The DJIA is now a scant 100
points away from reclaiming the 11,000 level, a victory that
bullish investors could take heart in following the events of the
prior week. The S&P 500 Index (
SPX
), meanwhile, remains trapped below the 1,175 region and its 50-day
moving average. What's more, the SPX's 160-week moving average also
lies overhead, making a return trip to 1,200 for the index
potentially troublesome. Heading into the open, futures on the DJIA
and the SPX are trading roughly flat with fair value. Finally, VIX
watchers should have noticed that the CBOE Market Volatility Index
(
VIX
) retreated 10% yesterday, bringing the index's three-day decline
to about 40% from its May 7 high of 42.15. The VIX is now back
below its 10-day moving average, and is nearing potential support
at its 50-week moving average.
In earnings news, Cisco Systems Inc. (
CSCO
) reported adjusted third-quarter income of 42 cents per share, as
revenue rose to $10.37 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of
39 cents per share on revenue of $10.2 billion. Despite the
better-than-expected results, CSCO shares were last seen lower by
1.8%.
Elsewhere, Whole Foods Market Inc. (
WFMI
) reported a second-quarter profit of $67.4 million, or 39 cents
per share, as sales rose 13% to $2.1 billion. Analysts had forecast
earnings of 34 cents per share on sales of $2 billion. In
pre-market trading, WFMI is up more than 5% following the news.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (
URBN
) said that its first-quarter net profit rose 72% to $53 million,
or 31 cents per share, as sales for the quarter rose 25% to $480
million. Analysts had expected earnings of 30 cents per share. In
electronic trading, URBN has rallied roughly 0.5%.
Finally, be sure to check out our
Trading Floor Blog
today, as my colleague Elizabeth Harrow will be filing live reports
from the Schaeffer's booth on the floor of the Las Vegas Money
Show.
Earnings Preview
On the earnings front, Kohl's Corp. (
KSS
), Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. (
WEN
), Blockbuster Inc. (
BBI
), CA Inc. (
CA
), Nordstrom Inc. (
JWN
), and NVIDIA Corp. (
NVDA
) are slated to release their quarterly earnings reports. Keep your
browser at
SchaeffersResearch.com
for more news as it breaks.
Economic Calendar
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (
CBOE
) saw 1,639,510 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to
839,257 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio
arrived at 0.51, while the 21-day moving average held at 0.55.
**The volume data shown above is from the Nasdaq and NYSE
exchanges only. It does not include regional volume activity,
which means that other daily volume quotes you see may be
higher.**
Every morning, our research staff analyzes the prior day and
the overnight markets, and monitors the morning wires to give you
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Overseas Trading
Overseas trading looks strong this morning, as eight of the 10
foreign indexes that we track are in positive territory. The
cumulative average return on the collective stands at a gain of
0.90%. In Asia, stocks rallied after Spain outlined measures to cut
its deficit, easing fears that the Greek debt crisis could spread
in Europe. Meanwhile, European stocks have pulled back slightly
after hitting a one-week high early in the session, with a decline
in banking stocks offsetting gains made in the mining sector.
Overseas market information comes to you courtesy of
Schaeffer's Daily Bulletin
.
Currencies and Commodities
Currencies and commodities trading has quieted down a bit this
morning, as traders are working through the prior week's turmoil.
The U.S. Dollar Index is stabilizing near the 85 level, rising
0.16% to trade at $84.97 in pre-market activity. Meanwhile, gold
futures have lost some of their luster this morning, slipping $9.40
to trade at $1,233.70 an ounce in London. Finally, crude futures
are down 50 cents at $79.65 per barrel in pre-market trading, as
investors digest Wednesday's U.S. petroleum supplies report and the
continued negative media barrage over the spill in the Gulf of
Mexico.
Unusual Put and Call Activity:
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Education Center
topics on
Option Volume
and
Open Interest Configurations
.
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