Options Trading News

Stock futures are hovering this morning before the key October jobs report an hour before the market opens.

The S&P 500 is little-changed in early trading after gaining more than 1 percent yesterday. European markets are negligibly lower, while most Asian markets rose in the overnight session.

Attention is firmly fixed on the labor report, which is expected to show the addition of 125,000 jobs. It follows mostly positive economic data yesterday, when initial jobless claims and ADP private-sector payrolls were both more bullish than expected.

The data will give key clues the strength of the economy, helping investors decide whether to look past weak corporate forecasts in hope of better growth in coming quarters.

Commodities and currencies are reflecting modest risk aversion before today's numbers. Oil, copper, silver, and gold are all lower by less than 1 percent, while agricultural foodstuffs are mixed to slightly positive.

The U.S. dollar is stronger across the board, with the euro declining about half a percent against the greenback. The Australian and Canadian currencies are posting smaller losses, while the yen is higher against every other major except the U.S. dollar.

In company-specific news, Starbucks is pushing higher after reporting strong results and raising its full-year guidance. TripAdvisor and Priceline.com are also rallying on better-than-expected reports.