S&P, Nasdaq Futures Signal Sixth Straight Up Day
U.S. stock futures are signaling a positive start, after all three major market indexes nabbed record highs on Monday. With little in the way of economic data for traders to digest, Wall Street is eyeing a rally in Japan and the latest corporate news. Retail stocks will likely remain in focus, with Target (TGT) the latest retailer to unveil its holiday sales numbers. The tech sector will also be front and center, with CES 2018 underway. Last night, Intel (INTC) CEO Brian Krzanich delivered a keynote address that touched on the recent Spectre and Meltdown bugs. Another up day for the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) would make it six in a row, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) looks to bounce back from yesterday's modest loss.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
2 risks to the stock market rally, courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone.The meal-delivery stock that could reward options bulls.Bullish options traders are sitting out the surge in gold prices.Plus, Microsoft halts updates on AMD chip issue, the FAANG stock pacing for record highs, and Under Armour slumps. 
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.09 million call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 685,608 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.63, while the 21-day moving average fell to 0.56.Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has postponed patching Spectre and Meltdown bugs on PCs using Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) chips, on complaints of "blue screen errors." The two tech firms are working on addressing the issue, and will resume Windows operating system updates once it's resolved. MSFT shares are up 0.3% ahead of the bell, while AMD stock is down 2.3%.Piper Jaffray boosted its price target on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) to $1,400 from $1,200 -- a more than 12% premium to last night's close at $1,246.87 -- saying the e-commerce giant "is arguably still in the early innings of its share-gain potential." Amazon shares are 0.6% higher in electronic trading, with the FAANG stock set to open at a new record high.Susquehanna downgraded Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UAA) to "negative" from "neutral," while maintaining its $11 price target -- a 31% discount to Monday's close at $15.98. UAA stock is set to drop 4% out of the gate, after recently running into familiar resistance at its 120-day moving average.The NFIB small business optimism index, as well as the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), will be released today. There will also be a speech from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari. Acuity Brands (AYI) and Schnitzer Steel (SCHN) will report earnings.
Bank of Japan Trims Bond-Buying Program
The rally in Asian stock markets continued today. Japan's Nikkei returned from its long weekend with a 0.6% jump and fresh 26-year high. Fueling the index's gains were technology stocks like Sony, which closed up nearly 3%. However, equities gave back some early gains after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced it's cutting its bond-buying initiative. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also hit fresh highs, finishing up 0.4% for a record-tying 11th straight win, and China's Shanghai Composite managed a 0.2% advance to bring its own win streak to eight days. In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.1% amid weakness from Samsung Electronics.
European benchmarks are also pushing higher. Investors are reacting to a wave of economic data, namely impressive industrial and trade data for November out of Germany, and eurozone unemployment figures that matched forecasts. Among individual equities, telecom firm Altice is rallying on news of its reorganization plan. France's CAC 40 was leading the way at last check, up 0.6%, while London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4%, and the German DAX had added 0.3%.