Skittish Dow Jones Industrial Average Holds 18K

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) spent the entire session in the red -- briefly breaching the 18,000 mark to hit its lowest intraday point since July 7. Stocks reacted to rising concerns about the Chinese economy, while solid jobs data stoked fears that the Fed could be on the cusp of raising interest rates. Geopolitical risks only compounded the risk-off backdrop, after the U.S. fired missiles at Houthi targets in Yemen. Nevertheless, the Dow managed to close well off its intraday lows, thanks to rising oil prices.

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

• Why it might be time take a gamble on these 2 casino stocks.
• 2 massive bullish bets on gold.
• What sent this biotech up 15%.
• Plus... the SPY tested a critical level, big bank earnings on tap, and Delta takes off.
  

After being down 184 points at its intraday low, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA –18,098.94) pared most of these losses to close down 45.3 points, or 0.3%. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) gained 1.4% -- thanks to some upbeat analyst attention -- to lead the seven Dow winners, while Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) paced the 23 losers with a loss of 1.3%.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX – 2,132.55) shed 6.6 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 5,213.33) gave up 25.7 points, or 0.5%.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX – 16.69) gained 0.8 point, or 4.9%, to notch its highest close since Sept. 14.

5 Items on Our Radar Today

1. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) may be changing its tune about its $4.8 billion acquisition of Yahoo! Inc.'s (NASDAQ:YHOO) core assets. A lawyer for the communications company now says that it is "reasonable" to assume "the impact is material" from YHOO's recent hack. (MarketWatch)
2. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced it would hire 120,000 seasonal employees to help with the anticipated holiday demand. This represents a 20% year-over-year increase in holiday hirings. (Reuters)
3. Puts popped as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) tested a critical level.
4. 2 big banks headed to the earnings confessional.
5. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) took off after earnings. 

Data courtesy of Trade-Alert

Commodities:

November-dated crude rose 26 cents, or 0.5%, to $50.44 per barrel, after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said domestic crude production in the lower 48 states fell to its lowest level since June 2014. This helped to overshadow the first weekly rise in U.S. crude inventories in six weeks -- news that initially sent oil prices below the highly watched $50 mark.

Gold futures gained ground, as the U.S. dollar slipped on Chinese export concerns. December-dated gold gained $3.80, or 0.3%, at $1,257.60 an ounce.