Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
According to stock index futures as of 7:30 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.11%) will open near record territory this morning, rising by 23 points at the opening bell.
Global exchanges jumped higher overnight, while emerging markets surged in response to the Federal Reserve's announcement that it will continue its easy-money stance for the time being. European stocks hit a five-year high, and Turkish shares saw their biggest one-day jump since 2008.
With those broader moves in mind, here are a few individual stock stories to watch for in today's market.
Disney's (DIS 0.18%) Pixar is taking a breather. The company has decided to push back the release dates on two upcoming films, The Good Dinosaur and Finding Dory. The shift means that next summer will be the first in eight years that audiences won't have a new Pixar film to watch. It will make 2014 a light one for Disney at the box office, and it might hurt its consumer products division as well. While it could lead Wall Street to ratchet down its earnings expectations for next year, I think investors would be crazy to sell on this news. Disney will just have to wait a bit longer before it books profits from the two films, which is a much better option than releasing a subpar movie. Disney's shares are down 1% in premarket trading.
Take-Two Interactive (TTWO 0.78%) is on the run. The company's much-anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto 5 is off to a record start, booking $800 million in sales within its first 24 hours of availability. That's a better launch than any other chapter of the GTA series has seen, and it doesn't even include markets in Japan and Brazil, where the game hasn't launched yet. GTA 5 may have been the most expensive game ever produced, but it seems to be paying off for the company. Take-Two's shares are up 4.4% in premarket trading.
Finally, Oracle (ORCL 0.22%) announced earnings results last night that included a 14% profit bounce and more than $6 billion in operating cash flow. Software sales in the company's Americas region were a bright spot in the report, rising by 15% in the quarter. However, total revenue inched higher by just 2% to $8.4 billion. Oracle's shares are down 0.6% in premarket trading.
