The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) snapped a four-session
winning streak yesterday, as a surprise rise in jobless claims and
a growing foreclosure crisis weighed heavily on investors. Heading
into the open this morning, futures on the DJIA and S&P 500
Index (SPX) are trading 5.6 points below and roughly 1 point above
fair value. However, the tech sector is shining, with the
Nasdaq-100 trading about 10.6 points above fair value in the wake
of strong earnings reports from Google Inc. (
GOOG
) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (
AMD
). As for technical levels, look for resistance at 11,150 and
support at 11,000 for the DJIA, while the SPX remains between the
1,185 and 1,165 levels. By the time Opening View is published this
morning, traders will also have had a chance to digest a morning
speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on monetary
policy.
In earnings news, General Electric Co. (
GE
) has slipped nearly 3% in premarket trading, after reporting that
its third-quarter net earnings were $2.06 billion, or 18 cents per
share. On a continuing operations basis, GE earned 29 cents per
share. Revenue fell 5% to $35.89 billion. Analysts were expecting
third-quarter earnings of 27 cents per share on sales of $37.43
billion.
Shares of Google Inc. (
GOOG
) have rallied nearly 9% in electronic trading this morning, as
traders react to last night's quarterly earnings report.
Specifically, Google announced that its
third-quarter net income
rose to $2.17 billion, or $6.72 per share, as net revenue rose to
$5.5 billion. Excluding one-time items, Google said earnings were
$7.64 per share. Analysts were expecting a profit of $6.69 per
share on $5.3 billion in net revenue.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (
AMD
) is trading about 4.5% higher ahead of the open, after the company
reported a
third-quarter loss
of $118 million, or 17 cents per share, with revenue rising to
$1.62 billion. On an adjusted basis, earnings came in at 15 cents
per share. Wall Street was looking for earnings of 6 cents per
share on revenue of $1.6 billion. For the current quarter, AMD said
it expects revenue to be flat sequentially.
Earnings Preview
On the earnings front, Gannett Co. Inc. (
GCI
), Infosys Technologies Limited (
INFY
), and Mattel Inc. (MAT) will release their quarterly reports
today. Keep your browser at
SchaeffersResearch.com
for more news as it breaks.
Economic Calendar
The economic calendar will be busy once again today, with
September's consumer price index, retail sales, the New York Fed's
Empire State manufacturing index, and the University of Michigan's
consumer sentiment index for October.
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the CBOE saw 1,951,991 call contracts
traded on Thursday, compared to 1,142,387 put contracts. The
resultant single-session put/call ratio arrived at 0.59, while the
21-day moving average held at 0.58.
**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 mixed this morning, as only four of the 10
foreign indexes that we track are in positive territory. The
cumulative average return on the collective stands at a loss of
0.04%. Most Asian markets finished lower on Thursday, though
mainland China bucked the downtrend to extend its current winning
streak to seven days in a row. Meanwhile, European stocks were
cautiously higher, after Eurostat reported that consumer price
inflation in the euro zone rose to 1.8% in September from 1.6% in
August. The rate remains below the European Central Bank's target
of 2%.
Currencies and Commodities
The U.S. dollar has risen off yesterday's lows, but the
greenback remains dogged by most of its foreign competitors.
Heading into the weekend, the U.S. Dollar Index is hovering just
above a fresh annual low near the 76 level. Commodities are not
quite as enthusiastic about the dollar's decline today as they were
on Thursday, however. Gold futures, for instance, are up a mere
$1.10 at $1,378.70 an ounce. What's more, crude futures have
actually declined 8 cents to $83.28 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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