First Look
Stocks are pointed toward modest gains ahead of Wednesday's opening bell. Earnings reports, including Apple (AAPL), General Electric (GE) and McDonald's (MCD), since yesterday's close have helped keep Tuesday's rally going. The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee wraps up a two-day meeting with a policy statement and press conference today. No significant policy changes are expected, but we may learn more about the central bank's plans to wrap up recent activities that have expanded the balance sheet. The Nasdaq is up 0.44%, the Dow Jones is up 0.4%, the S&P 500 is up 0.33%.
Today's Sentiment
NeutralQuote of the Day
I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life.
George Burns
Daily Action Trade
Stocks on the Move
L Brands Inc (LB), General Electric Company (GE) and Corning Incorporated (GLW) are moving higher this morning, while Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX), eBay Inc (EBAY) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) are headed lower. BorgWarner Inc. (BWA), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (FB) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while Capri Holdings Ltd (CPRI), Nucor Corporation (NUE) and Ashland Global Holdings Inc (ASH) were downgraded.
International Markets
Stocks in Asia are mixed. The Nikkei 225 is up 0.71%, the Mumbai Sensex is up 0.57%, the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is up 0.53% the Shanghai SE Composite Index is flat 0% and the Hang Seng is down -2.82%. In Europe stocks are up. The CAC 40 is up 0.38%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.3%, the DAX is up 0.19% and the FTSE 100 is up 0.08%.
Futures & Currencies
Energy futures are mixed today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up 0.25 at 53.7 per barrel. Brent crude is up 0.37 at 59.88 per barrel. Natural Gas is down -0.02 at 1.91. Precious metals are mixed this morning. Gold is down -0.4 at 1575.4 per ounce. Platinum is up 4.97 at 993.32 while silver is up 0.01 at 17.47. The dollar is mixed compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is up against the euro, down against the Yen and up against the Pound.
Put/Call Ratio
Yesterday, 1,210,655 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 662,198 put contracts. The single-session put/call was 0.55.
Today's Economic Calendar
| No. | What's Happening? | Period | Release Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MBA Mortgage Applications Index | 01/25 | 07:00 |
| 2 | Adv. Intl. Trade in Goods | Dec | 08:30 |
| 3 | Adv. Wholesale Inventories | Dec | 08:30 |
| 4 | Adv. Retail Inventories | Dec | 08:30 |
| 5 | Pending Home Sales | Dec | 10:00 |
| 6 | EIA Crude Oil Inventories | 01/25 | 10:30 |
| 7 | FOMC Rate Decision | Jan | 14:00 |
