The Dow Jones Industrial Average (
DJIA
) could be on a collision course with 10,000 today, as futures on
the DJIA are trading about 115 points below fair value. Traders
across the globe are reacting negatively to news that China's
leading economic indicators for April were revised sharply lower,
sending markets in Europe and Asia down about 2% across the board.
What's more, the S&P 500 Index (
SPX
) is trading about 14.5 points below fair value, and could find
itself pulling back to within reach of support in the 1,060-1,065
region - an area that was home to support in February. Finally, the
CBOE Market Volatility Index (
VIX
) retreated from the round-number 30 level in yesterday's trading,
but the index could be headed sharply higher if futures trading on
the SPX is any indication.
In earnings news, 3M Company (
MMM
) said it expects second-quarter sales of $6.6 billion to $6.75
billion due to growth of 16% to 18% in organic sales volume.
Analysts are currently projecting revenue of $6.52 billion. 3M is
slated to release its second-quarter earnings and 2010 outlook on
July 22.
Elsewhere, Barnes & Noble Inc. (
BKS
) reported a fourth-quarter loss of $32 million, or 58 cents per
share. Excluding one-time benefits, the bookseller would have
reported a loss of 89 cents per share for the latest quarter.
Analysts estimated a loss of 82 cents per share. Revenue rose to
$1.32 billion from $1.11 billion in the previous year's
quarter.
Finally, Micron Technology Inc. (
MU
) posted a third-quarter profit of $939 million, or 92 cents per
share, as revenue more than doubled to $2.29 billion. Wall Street
was expecting earnings of 43 cents per share on $2.11 billion in
sales.
Earnings Preview
On the earnings front, General Mills Inc. (
GIS
) will post its quarterly results today. Keep your browser at
SchaeffersResearch.com
for more news as it breaks.
Economic Calendar
The economic calendar offers up the Case-Shiller home price
index for April and the Conference Board's consumer confidence
index. The usual weekly U.S. petroleum supplies will arrive on
Wednesday, accompanied by ADP private sector employment numbers for
June and the Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index for June. Thursday
brings the usual weekly initial jobless claims, as well as reports
on construction spending in May and auto sales in June. We round
out the week with the Big Kahuna: nonfarm payrolls and the
unemployment rate for June.
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (
CBOE
) saw 807,671 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 552,519
put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio arrived
at 0.68, while the 21-day moving average rose to 0.65.
**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
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Overseas Trading
Overseas trading is deeply mired in the red this morning, with
none of the 10 foreign indexes that we track trading anywhere near
positive territory. The cumulative average return on the collective
stands at a loss of 2.29%. In Asia, regional markets were dragged
lower by a 4.3% plunge in China's Shanghai Composite, as traders
reacted to a correction in the country's leading economic
indicators. Specifically, the Conference Board reported that
leading indicators rose 0.3% in April, which was revised lower from
a previously reported advance of 1.7%. The weaker-than-expected
data prompted a flight to safety, benefiting U.S. and Japanese
government debt. The wave of selling pressure cascaded over into
Europe, as concerns over global economic growth gained momentum.
Furthermore,
The Financial Times
reported that Spanish banks are lobbying the European Central Bank
(
ECB
) to help ease the impact from the pending expiration of the ECB's
one-year, 442 billion euro funding program. Overseas market
information comes to you courtesy of
Schaeffer's Daily Bulletin
.
Currencies and Commodities
The U.S. dollar and Japanese yen are both headed higher in early
currencies trading, as investors are fleeing the equities market in
favor of safer opportunities. Sparking this flight to safety is the
realization that the European Central Bank's one-year funding
program is set to expire. At last check, the U.S. Dollar Index was
up 0.52% at 86.10. The rise in the dollar and news that a Gulf of
Mexico storm will likely miss the BP oil spill region has driven
crude oil prices lower heading into the open. In fact, crude for
August delivery was last seen lower by more than 2% at $76.68 per
barrel. Finally, gold futures are attempting to make some headway
amid the rising global uncertainty, but a strong U.S. dollar is
creating significant headwinds. As such, the front-month gold
contract was last seek higher by about 80 cents at $1,239.40 an
ounce in London.
Unusual Put and Call Activity:
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