Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Poised to Slip on Oil

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are pointed lower, as oil prices halt their rally and weigh on stocks ahead of the weekly Baker Hughes rig count. At last check, September-dated crude oil futures were down 0.2% at $48.11 per barrel. Meanwhile, rate-hike chatter is once again taking center stage, after this week's mixed Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes and ahead of next week's speech from Fed Chair Janet Yellen in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 

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

• Why T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS) traders are anticipating a nine-year high.
• Analysts are calling for record highs for these 2 Nasdaq heavyweights.
• Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) soared after a huge insider buy.
• Plus... European automakers are hitting the brakes, lackluster guidance from Gap, and Applied Materials eyes another 14-year high

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are 53 points below fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today
 

1. European stocks are in the red at midday, with automakers dropping on downbeat analyst attention.
2. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 877,349 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 476,108 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.54, while the 21-day moving average fell to 0.62.
3. Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) is set to open 3.4% lower, after the retailer issued lackluster full-year earnings guidance. While a handful of analysts still upped their price targets on GPS this morning, the majority of brokerage firms maintain "hold" or worse opinions.
4. Corrections Corp of America (NYSE:CXW) is trading up 9.7% in pre-market, after yesterday's disastrous session, which saw the stock drop a whopping 35.5%, following an announcement by the Department of Justice that it would be phasing out the use of privately operated prisons for federal inmates over the next five years. CXW said it was disappointed by the decision, but it will continue its services with its other government partners. 
5. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is set to jump 5.3% -- and could touch a 14-year high -- after delivering an earnings win last night, thanks to record-high orders and upbeat current-quarter guidance. More than a dozen brokerage firms have upped their price target for the semiconductor stock.

Earnings and Economic Data

Reports from Buckle (BKE), Cheetah Mobile (CMCM), Deere (DE), Estee Lauder (EL), and Foot Locker (FL) will round out the week's earnings calendar. To see what is coming up on next week's schedule, click here. 

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