U.S. stock futures are trending higher this morning, as Wall Street prepares for another round of corporate earnings and a pair of key economic reports. On the earnings side, we have more results from U.S. banking giants Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) and PNC Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE:PNC), which traders hope won’t follow in the paths of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), which sold off yesterday.

On the economic data front, key inflation data from the September Consumer Prices Index and Core CPI are slated for release, as well as September retail sales data and October consumer sentiment.

Heading into the open, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.14%, with S&P 500 futures rising 0.013% and Nasdaq-100 futures higher by 0.21%%.

In the options pits, volume was above average on Thursday, with about 14.1 million calls and 12.5 million puts crossing the tape. On the CBOE, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio leapt to 0.70, driving the 10-day moving average back up to 0.64.

Taking a closer look at Thursday’s volume, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) attracted another round of put option volume as analysts looked more closely at the company’s subscriber losses. Meanwhile, Citigroup options traders ignored rising consumer credit issues and falling C shares in favor of call options. Finally, analysts praised Snap Inc’s (NYSE:SNAP) user engagement among teens.

AT&T Inc. (T)

As I reported yesterday morning, AT&T came under scrutiny after issuing a third-quarter earnings and revenue warning. As analysts took a closer look at AT&T’s loss of 90,000 subscribers, however, a more worrisome pattern emerged.

The company said it lost 90,000 U.S. video subscribers due to intense competition in traditional pay TV markets and the impact of the recent hurricanes.

However, those losses were closer to 390,000 subscribers in its satellite and U-verse services. AT&T’s DirecTV Now online streaming service added 300,000 subs during the quarter, making up the difference in the number reported.

Analysts noted that this was key to AT&T’s bottom line, as the satellite and U-verse subs were higher value than the lower paying DirecTV Now subs — which brings in far less revenue.

T options traders flooded the stock with puts for the second day in a row following the announcement. Volume rose to a near-term high of over 455,000 contracts, with puts claiming 54% of the day’s take.

That said, the October put/call open interest ratio dipped from 2.01 on Thursday to today’s perch at 1.92, likely due to profit taking among bearish T traders.

That said, recent T stock action has put my recommended Oct $35/$36 bear put spread back in play. Here’s hoping those who traded the alternative recommendation, the Oct $38/$39 bull call spread closed out their trades for maximum profits before last Friday’s retreat.

Citigroup Inc (C)

All in all, Citigroup’s third-quarter earnings didn’t look too bad. The banking giant said it earned $1.42 per share on revenue of $18.17 billion, versus expectations for $1.32 on revenue of $17.9 billion.

However, fixed income investments remained a considerable drag on Citigroup’s bottom line. Furthermore, serious concerns about rising consumer credit defaults and “notably disappointing” trends in credits cards ultimately sunk C stock yesterday.

C options traders didn’t appear too worried about the rising potential for consumer credit card defaults, however. Volume leapt to over 271,000 contracts, nearly triple C’s average, while calls gobbled up 69% of the day’s take.

Still, much of yesterday’s call activity could have been profit taking, as the October put/call OI ratio now rests at 0.79, which is well above the midpoint of all such readings taken this year.

C stock bulls should watch for a shift in options sentiment toward puts as a warning sign that deeper losses are on the horizon.

Snap Inc (SNAP)

The Snap bulls are at it again. SNAP stock was hit with a pair of bullish research notes in the past two days, with both Credit Suisse and Piper Jaffray coming out in support of the shares. Credit Suisse lifted its price target to $20 from $17 citing increased user engagement in Snapchat, while Piper Jaffray said its recent survey suggested Snapchat is crushing it with U.S. teens.

That said, this is the second time this year Piper Jaffray has been a cheerleader for SNAP with teen surveys. Furthermore, user engagement has never been an issue for Snap — revenue and user monetization is the real issue.

But SNAP options traders are buying into the hype once again, with bullish calls making up 64% of yesterday’s total volume of more than 233,000 contracts — more than four times SNAP’s daily average. However, cooler heads are prevailing when it comes to Snap’s third-quarter earnings report, as the November put/call OI ratio rests at an elevated 1.44.

Traders should watch this reading for signs of trending bullish ahead of earnings. It may be a signal to bet against Snap’s quarterly report should enthusiasm grow too much.

As of this writing, Joseph Hargett did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.