More Upside In Store for Stocks as Fed Meeting Kicks Off
Stocks are set to build off Monday's record-setting session, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures trading well above fair value. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are signaling higher opens as well, as investors prepare for today's Fed meeting, which is widely expected to result in a decision to raise interest rates tomorrow. Elsewhere, the producer price index (PPI) for November topped expectations, marking the biggest annual gain in almost six years, and oil and bitcoin futures are in focus, too. Specifically, January-dated crude was last seen up 0.8% at $58.45 per barrel, while the cryptocurrency gives back some of yesterday's gains.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone explains what a Fed rate hike would mean for stocks. Why BlackBerry stock could be a bargain right now. Options traders are eyeing bigger bitcoin gains for this stock. Plus, PepsiCo orders Tesla semis; Boeing's big announcement; and analysts say "buy" this video game stock. 
5 Things You Need to Know TodayThe Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 781,234 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 495,745 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved up to 0.63, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.60.After closing above their 200-day moving average for the first time since Nov. 1 yesterday, shares of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) are pointed higher in pre-market trading, thanks to news snack-and-drink giant PepsiCo (PEP) has put in an order for 100 of the company's electric semi trucks. TSLA stock ended Monday's session at $328.91, up almost 54% year-to-date. Dow component Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) has announced it's increasing its dividend by 20% while revealing a share buyback plan of $18 billion. In response, J.P. Morgan Securities upped its price target on BA stock to $325 from $300, well above its Dec. 8 record high of $287.32, and named Boeing the top aerospace pick for 2018. Video game stock Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) is also seeing bullish analyst attention this morning, with Goldman Sachs upgrading the shares to "buy" from "neutral." ATVI stock closed yesterday at $63.17, not far from its Nov. 3 record peak of $67.03, with the shares recently taking a sharp bounce off their 200-day moving average. The security is pointed 2.1% higher this morning.The Treasury budget comes out today, too. VeriFone (PAY) will reportearnings.
Overseas Trading
Asian stocks closed lower today, as caution set in ahead of the Fed's key monetary policy decision in the U.S. and tech stocks retreated. In Hong Kong, pressure from Tencent and Sunny Optical sent the Hang Seng to a 0.6% loss, while China's Shanghai Composite gave back 1.2% -- even after Beijing said bank lending grew at a stronger-than-expected pace last month. Elsewhere in the region, Japan's Nikkei tumbled 0.3% as the yen strengthened, while South Korea's Kospi closed down 0.4%.
European benchmarks are higher at midday, as technology shares rally on news French IT firm Atos has offered to buy Dutch chipmaker Gemalto for roughly $5 billion. A surge in energy stocks is also boosting investor sentiment, as oil prices pop on reports of a key North Sea pipeline outage. At last check, the French CAC 40 was up 0.5%, the German DAX was 0.2% higher, and London's FTSE 100 was up 0.3% following a report that showed U.K. inflation surged to a nearly six-year high in November -- more than one percentage point above the Bank of England's target.