The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) managed to squeeze out a
minor gain on Thursday, stopping short at resistance at the 10,600
level, but extending the September rally. Traders received a boost
from the better-than-expected initial jobless claims report
yesterday. Today, the Street appears encouraged by some positive
earnings in the tech sector, although futures are off their morning
highs. Meanwhile, we'll also get a look at consumer inflation data
first thing this morning. Finally, don't forget that it's
triple-witching expiration Friday.
Johnson & Johnson (
JNJ
) announced that it is in advanced talks to buy all the shares of
Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell that it doesn't already own
for around 1.75 billion euros ($2.29 billion). The all-cash deal
would be worth 24.75 euros a share, the two companies said in a
statement. The price would represent a 58% premium to Thursday's
closing price of 15.70 euros. JNJ holds around 17.9% of Crucell's
shares through an affiliate.
Research In Motion Ltd. (
RIMM
) saw earnings jump 68% for the second fiscal quarter, crushing the
Street estimate. Earnings rolled in at $796.7 million, or $1.46 per
share. The company said share buybacks boosted earnings per share
by 2 cents for the recent period. Revenue jumped 31% to $4.62
billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.36 per share on
revenue of $4.49 billion.
Oracle Corp. (
ORCL
) announced that its fiscal first-quarter net income rose to $1.35
billion, or 27 cents a share, from $1.12 billion, or 22 cents a
share in the same period last year. The business software giant
said revenue for the period ended in August rose 48% to $7.5
billion. Excluding one-time items, Oracle said earnings for the
quarter were 42 cents a share. The consensus estimate was for a
profit of 36 cents a share, and $7.3 billion in revenue.
Earnings Preview
There are no major earnings reports slated for release today.
Keep your browser at
SchaeffersResearch.com
for more news as it breaks.
Economic Calendar
We round out the week today with the August consumer price index
and the University of Michigan's preliminary look at September
consumer sentiment.
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (
CBOE
) saw 1,176,486 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to
681,683 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio
arrived at 0.58, while the 21-day moving average held at 0.61.
**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 the black this morning as eight of the 10
indexes that we track are in positive territory. The cumulative
average return on the group stands at a gain of 0.73%. In Asia,
stocks closed mostly higher, but China shares sank as investors
trimmed positions ahead of long holidays in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, European shares rose, with Carrefour leading retailers
higher on a plan to revamp its hypermarkets. Furthermore, miners
found strength after copper and gold prices rose.
Currencies and Commodities
Gold futures are marching higher this morning as they approach
yet another record high this week. At last check, gold futures were
up $6.70 at $1,280.50 an ounce. Providing lift for the malleable
metal is fresh weakness in the U.S. dollar versus its foreign
counterparts. The U.S. dollar index has slipped 0.1% to trade at
81.15 heading into the open. Finally, crude futures have bounced
back, gaining 56 cents to trade at $75.13 per barrel.
Unusual Put and Call Activity:
For an explanation of how to use this information, check out our
Education Center
topics on
Option Volume
and
Open Interest Configurations
.
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