Stocks Rise Ahead of the Open

First Look

Major indices are up ahead of the bell Tuesday. The U.S. Treasury Department Monday declared China a currency manipulator. The declaration came a day after China allowed the yuan to slide to recent lows. China rejected the accusation and limited the decline of the yuan in last night's fixing, with the People's Bank of China setting the daily currency fixing stronger than analysts' expectations. Market weakness boosted gold and precious metals, with bonds and cryptocurrencies also rising as panicked investors seek refuge. The Nasdaq is up 1.21%, the S&P 500 is up 1.01%, the Dow Jones is up 1%.

Today's Sentiment

Quote of the Day

If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress.
Barack Obama

Stocks on the Move

TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, INC Common Stock (TTWO), DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INC. Common Stock (DISCA) and Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI) are moving higher this morning, while International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (IFF), Mosaic Co (MOS) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) are headed lower. Ford Motor Company (F), Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) and Cigna Corp (CI) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while Anheuser Busch Inbev NV (BUD), S&P Global Inc (SPGI) and Re/Max Holdings Inc (RMAX) were downgraded.

International Markets

Stocks in Asia are mixed. The Mumbai Sensex is up 0.75%, the Hang Seng is down -0.48%, the Nikkei 225 is down -0.65% the Shanghai SE Composite Index is down -1.56% and the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is down -2.45%. In Europe stocks are up. The CAC 40 is up 1.03%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.75%, the DAX is up 0.7% and the FTSE 100 is up 0.19%.

Futures & Currencies

Energy futures are up today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up 0.38 at 55.07 per barrel. Brent crude is up 0.2 at 60.01 per barrel. Natural Gas is up 0.05 at 2.12. Precious metals are up this morning. Gold is up 3.12 at 1463.19 per ounce. Platinum is up 0.72 at 856.28 while silver is up 0.01 at 16.4. The dollar is mixed compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is up against the euro, up against the Yen and down against the Pound.

Put/Call Ratio

Yesterday, 961,684 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 812,339 put contracts. The single-session put/call was 0.84 while the 20-day moving average is now at 0.66.

Today's Economic Calendar

Earnings Expected Today