Dow Futures Up Triple Digits; Dollar Eyes Another Down Day
It could be another record day on Wall Street as traders digest the latest batch of corporate earnings reports and eye the U.S. dollar. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are higher in pre-market trading, even as General Electric (GE) stock turns lower after earnings, with the blue chip revealing a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation and plans to restate earnings for 2016 and 2017.
In addition to earnings and a busy day of economic reports, traders will keep an eye on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin earlier threw support behind a weaker dollar, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross discussed trade following yesterday's tariff news. Ahead of the bell, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) is trading down 0.6% at three-year lows.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Why stocks could rally 20% this year, according to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.One analyst thinks this cryptocurrency will drive Nvidia growth.Why tech bulls may want to brace for a short-term pullback.Plus, a high-profile warning to Apple suppliers; the EU hands QCOM a hefty fine; and Comcast drops after earnings. 
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.26 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 658,747 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.52, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.55.JPMorgan Securities said iPhone order weakness is likely to negatively impact first-half production levels for several Apple suppliers, including STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE:STM). The brokerage firm said that STM is "relatively shielded from iPhone volatility, but sentiment will likely be impacted until 2H18 upside becomes visible." STM shares are down 2.2% ahead of the bell, after closing last night at $24.60.QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) has been fined $1.23 billion by European Union (EU) antitrust regulators, after the tech company paid Apple (AAPL) to solely use its chips over a five-year period starting in 2011. Qualcomm said it would appeal the decision, but shares of the takeover target are nevertheless down 1% in pre-market trading.Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 49 cents per share on $21.92 billion in revenue -- better than analysts were expecting. However, CMCSA stock is set to open down 1.5% on disappointing video subscriber losses.Markit's flash composite purchasing managers index (PMI), existing home sales, and the weekly crude inventories update are due. United Technologies (UTX), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Ford Motor (F), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Mattel (MAT), Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL), Whirlpool (WHR), and Xilinx (XLNX) will step up to the earnings plate. 
Chinese Stocks Carved Out New Highs
While most major Asian equity benchmarks closed in positive territory, stocks in the region failed to find much upside. Still, the Shanghai Composite grabbed a seventh straight win and its highest close in two years, adding 0.4%. The Hang Seng dug itself out of an early hole to finish up 0.1%, hitting fresh record highs and notching a seventh consecutive win. South Korea's Kospi also squeaked out a positive session, picking up 0.1%. Japanese stocks underperformed, however, as the yen strengthened against the dollar and the tech sector underperformed. Sony, for example, suffered sharp losses. By the close, the Nikkei was down 0.8%.
Over in Europe, stocks are sliding. Investors are monitoring any headlines from the economic conference in Davos, Switzerland, while also digesting the latest corporate earnings reports. As one example, drugmaker Novartis AG is rallying after posting impressive quarterly profits. Also, the British pound is strengthening against the dollar following Mnuchin's comments. The French CAC 40 and German DAX were down a respective 0.2% and 0.1% at last check, while the FTSE 100 had fallen 0.5%.