The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rallied more than 80
points on Monday, as Wall Street cheered the Basel, Switzerland,
financial reforms. However, that goodwill has apparently hit its
limit ahead of this morning's August retail sales data. Economists
are currently looking for a rise of 0.3%, which is just shy of
July's 0.4% rise. With expectations set for declining momentum in
the retail sector, futures on the DJIA and the S&P 500 Index
(SPX) are trading 27 points and 3.6 points below fair value,
respectively. The Dow enters today trading below resistance in the
10,600 region, while support resides near 10,450. Meanwhile, the
SPX should hold support near its 200-day moving average, in the
1,116 region, while resistance could materialize at the 1,130
level.
In equity news, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (
GMCR
) may be close to acquiring Van Houtte Inc. in a deal worth
approximately $1 billion, according to
The Wall Street Journal
. Van Houtte operates in Quebec, Canada, selling packaged coffee
beans for retailers and coffee-brewing equipment, and it operates
cafes in Quebec.
Elsewhere, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (
CBRL
) reported fourth-quarter net income of $27.4 million, or $1.14 per
share, on revenue of $612.5 million. Wall Street was expecting
earnings of $1.12 per share and revenue of $613.8 million. Looking
ahead, Cracker Barrel said it expects 2011 earnings of $3.95-$4.10
per share, compared to the consensus estimate for $4 per share.
Finally, OfficeMax Inc. (
OMX
) said that it expects its third-quarter adjusted income margin
rate to be slightly higher than a year ago, due to tax benefits.
The company had expected a lower margin. OfficeMax still expects
same-store domestic sales to decline in the current quarter, but
said that the results should favorably compare to the second
quarter's 2.1% decline.
Earnings Preview
On the earnings front, Best Buy Co. Inc. (
BBY
), The Kroger Co. (
KR
), and Pall Corp. (
PLL
) are slated to release their quarterly earnings reports today.
Keep your browser at
SchaeffersResearch.com
for more news as it breaks.
Economic Calendar
August retail sales could set the tone of trading today, and
will be joined by July's business inventories. The New York Fed
will release its report on September manufacturing activity
tomorrow, which will be accompanied by August's industrial
production and the weekly report on U.S. petroleum supplies. We'll
get the weekly report on new jobless claims on Thursday, as well as
the producer price index for August and the Philadelphia Fed's
manufacturing report. Finally, the Labor Department will deliver
the August consumer price index on Friday, while the University of
Michigan will give its first peek at consumer sentiment in
September.
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (
CBOE
) saw 1,251,676 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to
645,382 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio
arrived at 0.52, while the 21-day moving average slipped to
0.62.
**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.**
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Overseas Trading
Overseas trading is in poor shape this morning, as only three of
the 10 foreign indexes that we track are in positive territory. The
cumulative average return on the collective stands at a loss of
0.07%. In Asia, Japanese shares rebounded from heavier losses after
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a party leadership
challenge from Ichiro Ozawa. Still, most regional indexes finished
flat to lower. In Europe, stocks headed lower in choppy trading, as
a sharp drop in Germany's ZEW business sentiment gauge weighed on
the region.
Currencies and Commodities
With Wall Street a bit nervous ahead of today's August retail
sales data, the U.S. dollar is receiving a renewed safe-haven bid
this morning. At last check, the U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.10% at
81.99. Gold is also popular in pre-market trading, with the lead
contract rising $8.80 to $1,255.90 in London. Finally, crude is
headed lower, with the most active contract slipping 48 cents to
$77.55 per barrel.
Unusual Put and Call Activity:
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topics on
Option Volume
and
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.
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