Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Slip Ahead of Debate, OPEC Meeting

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are signaling a lower start to the week, as stocks exercise caution ahead of the Clinton-Trump presidential debate this evening. Investors are also looking to the beginning of the informal Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting, set to take place in Algiers, with November-dated crude oil currently up 1.5% at $45.14 per barrel, recovering some of Friday's losses. Several speeches from Fed officials will also be in focus later today, and may give clues about a potential December interest rate hike. Meanwhile, Dow stock Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is pointed lower after scrapping plans to split into two companies.

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

• The cryptic M&A tweet that sparked an options frenzy.
• The Wall Street rookie that touched another record high.
• Why one analyst thinks Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) could be headed for annual lows.
• Plus... Asia stocks sink, Twitter gets a downgrade, and Nike looks down ahead of earnings.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are about 68 points below fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today
 

1. Asian stocks finished lower, as banks and energy stocks paced the decline.
2. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 904,399 call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 587,980 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.65, while the 21-day moving average rose to 0.65.
3. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) is down 0.6% in electronic trading, following yet another price-target cut. Specifically, J.P. Morgan Securities trimmed its target to $62 from $67, just one session after a cut to $52 from $56 by Canaccord Genuity on Friday. The athletic apparel company is due to release earnings tomorrow.
4. Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is down 2.7% in pre-market trading, after Oppenheimer downgraded the stock to "underperform" from "perform," following Friday's banner session that had TWTR soaring on M&A rumors, with salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) currently the most popular potential bidder. In addition to the buyout buzz, TWTR will be live-streaming tonight's presidential debate.
5. Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB) is set to open down 5.3%, at an all-time low, after a German magazine said Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out state assistance for the financial firm. A spokesperson for DB denies that the company ever requested or requires state aid to deal with the $14 billion fine levied by the U.S. Department of Justice, and assured investors the third quarter has gone very comfortably.

Earnings and Economic Data

The Dallas Fed manufacturing survey and new home sales will kick off the week's economic data. Meanwhile, traders will hear from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan. Cal-Maine Foods (CALM), Carnival (CCL), and Vail Resorts (MTN) will report earnings. To see what else is coming up on this week's schedule, click here.