The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) soared more than 170
points on Thursday, but enthusiasm for a potential solution to
Ireland's debt crisis wasn't enough to power the DJIA past the
11,200 level and its 20-day moving average. Unfortunately, the DJIA
may be hard pressed to make a serious run at overhead resistance
today, as China is once again front and center after Beijing raised
its reserve requirement ratio for banks. Along those lines, Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke criticized Beijing's currency policy,
saying that China's undervalued currency is hurting the global
economy. As a result, futures on the DJIA and the S&P 500 Index
(SPX) are trading roughly 22 points and 3.7 points below fair
value, respectively. Technical support for the Dow resides near
11,100, while the SPX should find a floor near 1,185.
In equity news, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. announced that it is
canceling its $500 million initial public offering, "due to market
conditions." Harrah's had planned to sell 31.25 million shares for
an estimated price of $15 to $17 per share. The stock would have
traded under the name Caesars Entertainment Corp. with a symbol of
CZR.
On the earnings front, Dell Inc. (
DELL
) reported third-quarter income of $822 million, or 42 cents per
share, on revenue of $15.4 billion. Adjusted income was 45 cents
per share. Analysts had expected earnings of 33 cents per share, on
revenue of $15.7 billion.
Elsewhere, Intuit Corp. (
INTU
) reported a net loss of $70 million, or 22 cents per share. On a
non-GAAP basis, INTU lost 12 cents per share, as revenue grew to
$532 million. Analysts were expecting a loss of 12 cents per share
on revenue of $520.4 million.
(Editor's note: The original version of this article
incorrectly reported INTU's earnings.)
Salesforce.com Inc. (
CRM
) reported net income of $21.1 million, or 15 cents per share.
Earnings on a non-GAAP basis would have been 32 cents per share for
the recent period. Revenue grew 30% to $429 million. Analysts were
expecting earnings of 31 cents per share on revenue of $409.8
million.
Earnings Preview
On the earnings front, AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (
ANN
), H.J. Heinz Co. (
HNZ
), and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (YGE) will release
their quarterly reports today. Keep your browser at
SchaeffersResearch.com
for more news as it breaks.
Economic Calendar
There are no reports slated for release today. Looking ahead, we
cram an entire week's worth of data into two days due to the
Thanksgiving holiday. There are no reports slated for release on
Monday, while Tuesday offers up the second estimate on
third-quarter gross domestic product, accompanied by October's
existing home sales. The Street will be drenched in data on
Wednesday, with October's personal income and spending reports,
October durable goods orders, weekly initial jobless claims,
November's University of Michigan consumer sentiment index,
October's new home sales, weekly U.S. petroleum supplies, and the
minutes from the most recent Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
meeting. The market is closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, and
there are no economic reports slated for release on Friday.
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange
(CBOE) saw 1,535,754 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to
832,801 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio
arrived at 0.54, while the 21-day moving average held at 0.59.
**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.**
Overseas Trading
Overseas trading is struggling once again this morning, as only
three of the 10 foreign indexes that we track are trading in
positive territory. The cumulative average return on the collective
stands at a loss of 0.41%. In Asia, markets ignored the possibility
for a weekend rate hike out of Beijing, closing mostly higher on
the session. Along those lines, the People's Bank of China
announced after the close of regular trading that it will raise
banks' reserve requirement ratio by half of a percentage point on
Nov. 29. Meanwhile, European markets are broadly lower as traders
search for safe havens ahead of any weekend developments in
Ireland's debt crisis. European Union and International Monetary
Fund representatives are currently in Dublin to discuss potential
solutions.
Currencies and Commodities
More weakness for the U.S. dollar is having a modest buoying
effect on commodities this morning. As Europe comes closer to
sorting out Ireland's debt issues, the euro has advanced against
the greenback, sending the U.S. Dollar Index lower by 0.4% to 78.30
at last check. Meanwhile, crude futures have added 11 cents to
$82.53 per barrel, and gold for December delivery had added $4.50
to trade at $1,357.50 an ounce in London.
Unusual Put and Call Activity:
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Option Volume
and
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