First Look
Major U.S. equity indices are mixed in trading ahead of Thursday's opening bell. The Swedish central bank raised its benchmark rate to 0% this morning while a number of other central banks held rates unchanged. Those moves lowered bond prices around the world. The House of Representatives passed two spending bills yesterday, making a government shutdown unlikely. The Dow Jones is up 0.06%, the S&P 500 is down -0.01%, the Nasdaq is down -0.02%.
Today's Sentiment
NeutralQuote of the Day
I like to be an optimist, but I like to be a realist, too.
Tom Petty
Daily Action Trade
Stocks on the Move
Conagra Brands Inc (CAG), Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) and Western Digital Corp (WDC) are moving higher this morning, while Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI), PACCAR Inc (PCAR) and TechnipFMC PLC (FTI) are headed lower. Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Quest Diagnostics Inc (DGX) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX), Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) and Synthorx Inc (THOR) were downgraded.
International Markets
Stocks in Asia are mixed. The Mumbai Sensex is up 0.28%, the Shanghai SE Composite Index is flat 0%, the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is down -0.21% the Nikkei 225 is down -0.29% and the Hang Seng is down -0.36%. In Europe stocks are mixed. The FTSE 100 is up 0.11%, the CAC 40 is down -0.21%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is down -0.32% and the DAX is down -0.44%.
Futures & Currencies
Energy futures are mixed today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up 0.05 at 60.98 per barrel. Brent crude is down -0.02 at 66.15 per barrel. Natural Gas is down -0.05 at 2.24. Precious metals are down this morning. Gold is down -1.08 at 1474.32 per ounce. Platinum is down -8.2 at 928.24 while silver is down -0.05 at 17. The dollar is down compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is down against the euro, down against the Yen and down against the Pound.
Put/Call Ratio
Yesterday, 1,124,853 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 550,271 put contracts. The single-session put/call was 0.49.
Today's Economic Calendar
| No. | What's Happening? | Period | Release Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Initial Claims | 12/14 | 08:30 |
| 2 | Continuing Claims | 12/07 | 08:30 |
| 3 | Current Account Balance | Q3 | 08:30 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Fed Index | Dec | 08:30 |
| 5 | Existing Home Sales | Nov | 10:00 |
| 6 | Leading Indicators | Nov | 10:00 |
| 7 | EIA Natural Gas Inventories | 12/14 | 10:30 |
