Let's check to see how the trading day is shaping over in Chicago.
The big focus for options trader is Nvidia's earnings today after the closing bell, and with around a 6% implied move, Salesforce also reporting today.
So let's head over to our correspondent Mark Payton, who is live from the Cibo trading floor ahead of the midweek trade.
Mark, good morning.
And how's it looking over there?
Good morning, John.
You know, we started out a little bit quiet here on Wall Street this morning, but then the S&P futures, they dipped recently, like the last five minutes, about 10% of a point.
So that's where we are right now here at the CIO Chicago.
The VIX is around 15.7, up slightly this morning, but that still puts volatility in a relatively calm range and well below that 20% level we typically associate with more fear and In the market, and small caps are also pretty quiet this morning with Russell 2000 futures hovering around the flat line.
Investors are also watching tech today that you mentioned with Nvidia and Salesforce both reporting after the closing bell.
Both can move the tech sector and Nvidia is big enough that a significant move there can also have an impact on the broader market.
So right now a fairly quiet start as we head toward the open.
All right, Mark, so it's also a huge morning for breaking data.
So how are CIO traders digesting the latest inflation and GDP data?
Yes, a lot of data came out just recently and the numbers are kind of all over the place, but the market reaction has been pretty quiet so far.
The GDP, measuring how fast the economy is growing, came in at an annual rate of 1.5% in the second quarter.
That was unchanged from the initial estimate and down from 2.1% growth in the first quarter.
PCE, the Fed's preferred measure on inflation.
Headline PCE came in at 3.7% from a year ago.
Core PCE, which takes out food and energy, came in at 3.3%.
And both headline and core PCE rose 0.1% from June.
The takeaway here is that inflation is still running above the Fed's 2% target, but we did not get a Major surprise this morning and that may help explain why we're not seeing a big reaction across the board with stock futures or the VIX.
For traders, it really comes back to the Fed and the interest rates.
The economy is still growing but at a slower pace while inflation remains sticky.
So these numbers don't necessarily make the Fed's next move any easier.
All right, Mark.
Well, thank you so much for that update.
Of course, we'll catch you back here later today on Market Movers Midday to talk about Nvidia earnings.
See you then.
See you this afternoon.
