The Dow Jones Industrial Average (
DJIA
) plunged nearly 400 points on Thursday, bringing the blue-chip
barometer perilously close to psychological support at the 10,000
level. Unfortunately there is no rest for the weary, as it appears
that the DJIA may breach this round-number support level, with
futures pointing toward a loss of about 51 points on the open.
Meanwhile, S&P 500 Index (
SPX
) futures are indicating an opening loss of more than 7 points.
Such a move would put the SPX dangerously close to its February
lows near 1,160. Below this, the SPX has little in the way of
technical support until 1,030, its November 2009 low. Finally, the
CBOE Market Volatility Index (
VIX
) has soared more than 46% so far this week, as the fear index
tagged yet another annual high on Thursday. The VIX is now trading
north of the 45 level, a region it has not seen since March
2009.
In earnings news, Aeropostale Inc. (
ARO
) is off about 2% in pre-market activity after the company posted
first-quarter net income of $45.4 million, or 48 cents per share.
Total net sales rose to $463.6 million, while same-store sales rose
8%. Analysts were expecting a profit of 46 cents per share.
Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (
BRCD
) reported a second-quarter profit of $62.7 million, or 13 cents
per share, excluding items, as revenue came in at $501 million.
Analysts had forecast earnings of 12 cents per share on $503
million in sales. BRCD shares have plummeted nearly 9% in
pre-market trading following the report.
Salesforce.com Inc. (
CRM
) shares have dropped about 4.5% in electronic trading after the
company reported a first-quarter profit of $17.7 million, or 13
cents a share. Excluding items, the CRM earned 30 cents per share,
in line with expectations. Revenue rose 24% to $376.8 million.
Finally, Dell Inc. (
DELL
) is down about 3% in pre-market trading, as investors react to
news that the company eared $441 million, or 22 cents per share, in
the first quarter. Revenue rose to $14.9 billion. Adjusted income
was 30 cents per share, edging past Wall Street's expectations for
earnings of 26 cents per share on revenue of $14.3 billion.
Earnings Preview
On the earnings front, AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (
ANN
) and Frontline Ltd. (
FRO
) are slated to release their quarterly earnings reports. Keep your
browser at
SchaeffersResearch.com
for more news as it breaks.
Economic Calendar
GDP
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (
CBOE
) saw 1,842,471 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to
1,760,353 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call
ratio arrived at 0.96, while the 21-day moving average rose to
0.63.
**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 is headed for steep weekly losses, as only one
of the 10 foreign indexes that we follow is in positive territory
this Friday morning. The cumulative average return on the
collective stands at a loss of 1.10%. In Asia, stock markets
suffered losses, as persistent worries over the euro zone debt
crisis and its negative impact on the global economic recovery sent
investors heading for the exits. Turning to Europe, stocks are
lower, with heightened concerns over euro zone sovereign debt and
government spending and tougher financial industry regulations
hurting sentiment. Overseas market information comes to you
courtesy of
Schaeffer's Daily Bulletin
.
Currencies and Commodities
The U.S. Dollar Index pulled back sharply yesterday, as the euro
rebounded from multi-year lows. However, the dollar appears to be
back on track this morning, with the index up 0.34% at 85.86. The
same cannot be said about oil and gold, however. Crude futures are
threatening to break below $70 per barrel this morning, with the
July contract down 59 cents at $70.21 per barrel. Finally, gold
futures are extending their recent losses, dropping $6.20 to
$1,182.40 in London.
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
.
Due to technical issues, the "Unusual Put and Call
Activity" charts are unavailable today. We apologize for the
inconvenience.
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