Despite plunging to a triple-digit loss early in the session,
the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) came roaring back to finish
Tuesday with a gain of roughly 75 points. The bulls are looking to
extend the rally this morning, drawing strength from strong
earnings from Apple Inc. and expectations that Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke may announce policy accommodation measures in
testimony before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee later today. The
DJIA could find resistance out of the gate this morning, with
former support at the 10,250 level looming large as a potential
hurdle. Above this area, the 10,400 level could cap any extended
rallies by the blue-chip barometer. As for the S&P 500 Index
(SPX), the index rebounded from its May "flash crash" low
yesterday, and is now challenging former support/resistance near
1,085. Should the SPX push past this hurdle, longer-term resistance
remains overhead at the 1,100 level. Heading into the open, the
DJIA and the SPX are trading 13 points and 2.5 points above fair
value, respectively, pointing toward a flat-to-higher open.
In earnings news, Apple Inc. (
AAPL
) said that strong demand for iPhones and iPads lifted
third-quarter earnings to $3.25 billion, or $3.51 per share,
compared with earnings of $1.83 billion, or $2.01 per share, last
year. Revenue soared 61% to $15.7 billion. Analysts were expecting
earnings of $3.11 per share on revenue of $14.75 billion. Looking
ahead to the fourth quarter, Apple said it expects revenue of $18
billion with earnings of $3.44 per share, versus Wall Street's view
for earnings of $3.82 per share on revenue of $17.03 billion. AAPL
shares are up nearly 4% in pre-market trading.
Elsewhere, Yahoo! Inc. (
YHOO
) reported second-quarter net income of $213.3 million, or 15 cents
per share, on revenue of $1.13 billion. Analysts had expected
Yahoo! to post earnings of 14 cents per share on $1.16 billion in
net revenue. YHOO was off nearly 7% in electronic trading at last
check.
Finally, EMC Corp. (
EMC
) reported a second-quarter profit of $426 million, or 20 cents per
share, as sales rose 24% to $4.02 billion. Earnings, excluding
one-time items, came in at 28 cents per share. Analysts were
expecting earnings of 28 cents per share on sales of $3.99 billion.
Looking ahead, EMC said it expects to exceed its prior 2010 sales
outlook of $16.5 billion. Still, EMC shares are off roughly 1.3% in
pre-market trading.
Earnings Preview
On the earnings front Abbott Laboratories (
ABT
), The Coca-Cola Co. (
KO
), Wells Fargo & Co. (
WFC
), Baidu Inc. (
BIDU
), CA Inc. (
CA
), eBay Inc. (
EBAY
), Netflix Inc. (
NFLX
), QUALCOMM Inc. (
QCOM
), Starbucks Corp. (
SBUX
), Western Digital Corp. (
WDC
), and Xilinx Inc. (
XLNX
) are scheduled to release their quarterly earnings report today.
Keep your browser at
SchaeffersResearch.com
for more news as it breaks.
Economic Calendar
The market will be graced with the weekly report on U.S.
petroleum supplies today, while weekly initial jobless claims will
be joined by June's existing home sales and June's leading economic
indicators tomorrow. Friday ends the week as it began, with no
reports slated for release.
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (
CBOE
) saw 1,246,606 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to
661,150 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio
arrived at 0.53, while the 21-day moving average held at 0.64.
**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 nine 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, steel stocks led a broad rally in China after the
government announced that it is working to consolidate local
industry. Meanwhile, Japan retreated in the wake of a strengthening
yen. Across the pond in Europe, strength in commodities is driving
solid gains in regional markets, pushing stocks toward the end of a
four-session losing streak.
Currencies and Commodities
The U.S. dollar continues to gain ground in overseas trading
this week. Heading into the open this morning, the U.S. Dollar
Index has advanced 0.26% to trade at 82.96. Elsewhere, commodities
are shaking off the greenback's rise, with gold futures up $1.70 at
$1,193.40 in London, while crude oil has added 34 cents to trade at
$77.92 per barrel in electronic trading.
Unusual Put and Call Activity:
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Education Center
topics on
Option Volume
and
Open Interest Configurations
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