Today's economic calendar is full once again, with traders focusing primarily on the pre-market ADP employment report and the Fed meeting announcement this afternoon.
The docket begins with weekly MBA mortgage-purchase applications at 7 a.m. ET. There are no forecasts for this release, which showed a gain of 0.9 percent last week.
The ADP Employment Report, which comes out at 8:15 a.m. ET, will be watched more closely as a precursor to the government's monthly Employment Situation Report this Friday. The consensus forecast for the ADP release calls for 120,000 jobs for July, down from June's 176,000. Estimates range from 75,000 to 166,000 private-sector jobs.
The PMI manufacturing index is scheduled for 9 a.m. ET, as is the Treasury refunding announcement for the next two quarters.
The ISM manufacturing index for July will be released at 10 a.m. ET. The consensus expectation is a reading of 50.1 for July, up from June's 49.7. Estimates range from 48.5 to 51.1.
Construction spending for June will also be reported at 10 a.m. ET. The consensus estimate is a print of 0.5 percent, down from May's 0.9 percent and within a range of -0.2 percent to 0.8 percent.
The EIA petroleum inventory report will come out at 10:30 a.m. ET. Last week's release showed a build of 2.717 million barrels of crude oil.
The Federal Open Market Committee meeting announcement is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. ET. The Fed is expected to maintain the current rate of 0.25 percent, within an estimated range of zero to 0.5 percent.
Options Trading News
Related Stories
XLF
Index, ETF option volumes near midday
May 23, 2013
Total option volume is strong again today at 7.8 million contracts already, with major indexes and ETFs dominating the action, according to optionMONSTER data systems.
XLF
Index, ETF option volumes near midday
May 22, 2013
Total option volume is strong today with more than 8.1 million contracts already traded as sentiment is relatively bullish in the major indexes and ETFs, according to optionMONSTER's data systems.
XLF
Bernanke remarks dominate calendar
May 22, 2013
Traders are likely to monitor the Federal Reserve chairman's comments carefully for clues on a potential reduction in monetary stimulus. His appearance begins at 10 a.m. ET.
XLF
Index, ETF option volumes near midday
May 20, 2013
The total option volume tops 8.2 million contracts so far today, with the typical index and ETF names leading the action, according to optionMONSTER data systems.
XLF
Giant protective trade in financials
May 20, 2013
The Financial Select Sector ETF has been the second-best performing sector fund within the S&P 500, trailing only health care, fueled by improving credit and real-estate markets.
Social Media
Follow optionMONSTER for news and updates
Premium Services
-
Semi-active traders looking for simple calls and spreads (5 per week).
Learn More -
Entry-to-mid level traders looking for full circle trade analysis (1 per week).
Learn More -
Tailored, one-on-one education designed and led by Jon & Pete (3 months and up)
Learn More
