Oil Sinks Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures on Quadruple Witching Friday

The VIX Event You Probably Missed

Dec 18, 2015 at 8:54 AM

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) appears poised to end the week on a low note after seeing its win streak halted yesterday, with futures headed south ahead of the last quadruple witching Friday of 2015. Traders are again keying in on crude futures, which continue to hover near multi-year lows, pressuring blue chips Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) lower in pre-market trading. Also weighing on U.S. markets is a negative day overseas, following a surprise move from one central bank. Still, the Dow -- not to mention the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) and tech-rich Nasdaq Composite (COMP) -- may still finish the week higher, with all three indexes up more than 1% from last Friday's close.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

While everyone was watching the Fed, they missed an interesting CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) event, says Schaeffer's contributor Adam Warner.
Bears keep betting on this struggling retailer amid a horrible December.
2 big-name stocks that just met up with key moving averages.

And now, on to the numbers…

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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are nearly 84 points below fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

The Bank of Japan's decision to boost its ETF purchase plan wreaked havoc on Tokyo-listed stocks.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 759,912 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 585,243 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.77, while the 21-day moving average edged down to 0.71.
China-based Internet firm Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd (NYSE:QIHU) has agreed to be taken private for roughly $9.3 billion, sending the shares 2.1% higher pre-market -- and putting them on pace to open at an annual high.
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) is set to pop nearly 3% at the open, after the company posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and its first quarter-to-quarter build in sales in over two years. This is bad news for BBRY's raft of bearish bettors, who could be forced to hit the exits on such a show of technical strength.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced plans to launch Apple Pay in China as early as next year, even as the mobile transaction app faces a new competitor in the U.S.

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Earnings and Economic Data

Today's economic calendar features the Kansas City Fed's manufacturing index, the Atlanta Fed's business inflation expectations, the Baker-Hughes rig count, and Markit's flash services PMI. Meanwhile, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker will speak on the economic outlook in Charlotte, North Carolina. Lennar (LEN) will report quarterly earnings. To see what is coming up on next week's agenda, click here.

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