Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are trading above fair value this morning, as investors await this afternoon's Fed decision. With the central bank expected to raise interest rates, outgoing Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference after the announcement, and is expected to touch on the economy and tax reform. Also in focus is the Senate election results out of Alabama, where Democrat Doug Jones beat controversial Republican candidate Roy Moore -- a result seen as a blow to the Trump administration. Plus, the consumer price index (CPI) increased in line with expectations in November. As such, futures for the S&P 500 Index (SPX) are also signaling a higher open, so both it and the Dow are eyeing a fourth straight record close.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Nasdaq-100 rejects that could rally in 2018, according to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. How an options bull placed a risky long-term bet on this video game stock. Options traders reacted quickly to yesterday's big Tesla news. Plus, a big Apple investment; Honeywell's updated forecast; and a stock sinking after earnings.
Most Asian markets closed higher today, though Japan's Nikkei bucked the regional bullish bias -- sliding 0.5% as chip stocks fell and the yen gained ground. Hong Kong's Hang Seng outpaced its peers with a 1.5% gain, as bank stocks surged. Elsewhere, China's Shanghai Composite added 0.7%, and South Korea's Kospi jumped 0.8% as tourism shares, or so-called THAAD stocks, rallied as President Moon Jae-in kicked off a four-day trip to China and rumors swirled of a possible delay in joint military drills with the U.S. until after the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
European stocks are mostly lower at midday, as traders look toward today's rate decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve and tomorrow's policy announcements from the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BoE). At last check, the French CAC 40 was off 0.3%, while the German DAX is down 0.1%. London's FTSE 100, on the other hand, is up 0.1%, after data showed wage growth rose in October -- though the numbers still lag inflation.