Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Slide on Fed Comments, Crude

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are trading below fair value this morning, and after two consecutive closes in the red, the Dow is in danger of snapping its five-week winning streak. Oil prices are weighing heavily on stocks, as the dollar rallies and after yesterday's inventory report showed U.S. stockpiles surged. May-dated crude futures were last seen down 2.2% at $38.92 a barrel. Traders are also digesting more hawkish comments from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who said a rate hike "may not be far off," should economic conditions continue to improve. Meanwhile, durable goods orders fell by less than expected in February, and weekly jobless claims edged slightly higher.

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

• Could these 3 energy stocks stage a rebound after Easter?
• How this airline and this restaurant interest got swept up in the rumor mill.
• Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX) bears are targeting these 2 key levels.
• Plus... Global stocks follow oil lower, Starboard moves on Yahoo!, and Tesla gets a rare downgrade.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are nearly 60 points below fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

 

1. Global stocks slump on Fed rate-hike concerns and lower oil prices.
2. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 600,767 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 506,295 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio slid to 0.84, while the 21-day moving average notched up to 0.69.  
3. Starboard Value is looking to make drastic changes to Yahoo! Inc.'s (NASDAQ:YHOO) board of directors, as previously threatened. The activist hedge fund said it plans to replace all nine members of the board, which currently includes CEO Marissa Mayer, citing "dismal financial performance, poor management execution, egregious compensation and hiring practices, and general lack of accountability and oversight by the board." 
4. Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is down 2.3% in electronic trading, after analysts at S&P Global Market Intelligence lowered their opinion to "sell" and set a $155 price target -- well below TSLA's close of $222.58 on Wednesday. The firm cited "significant execution and valuation risk" for the stock, as TSLA prepares to unveil its new Model 3 one week from today.
5. Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL) reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue above expectations. However, a soft outlook has the shares down 3.5% in electronic trading. 

Earnings and Economic Data

Accenture (ACN) and GameStop (GME) will report earnings. To see what else is coming up on this week's agenda, click here.