Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Sink; S&P Eyes Annual Loss

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are trading lower ahead of what's expected to be a light-volume session, with U.S. markets closed tomorrow for New Year's Day. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is also churning below fair value, setting up the index for what could be its first annual loss since 2011. In terms of drivers, sinking crude futures will once again be in focus, as will a sharper-than-expected increase in weekly jobless claims.

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

• Schaeffer's contributor Adam Warner offers up some valuable insight on historical vs. implied volatility that all option traders need to understand.
• 3 beer stocks to consider with New Year's Eve upon us. 
• How Oprah may have sparked yet another Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW) rally.
• Plus... crude crunches Chinese stocks, the biotech about to bounce, and energy's latest concern.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are nearly 49 points below fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

 

1. Chinese stocks finished a volatile 2015 on a low note, but ended the year with healthy gains.
2. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 530,003 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 314,592 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.59, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.71. 
3. Chimerix Inc (NASDAQ:CMRX) is poised to pop nearly 5% at the open, after billionaire Steven Cohen disclosed a 5.3% stake in the drugmaker, while his hedge fund, Point72 Asset Management, took a 2.4% stake. The news comes after CMRX plunged 80% to start the week on a failed drug trial, and amid a downgrade to "market perform" and a price-target cut to $12 at William Blair.
4. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which has received plenty of bullish attention lately, said it will start to warn its email users if the company feels that a government is trying to hack their accounts, just days after it conceded covering up a Chinese Hotmail hack. Ahead of the bell, MSFT is fractionally lower.
5. As if things couldn't get any worse for energy stocks, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) have been forced to evacuate oil rigs amid a monstrous storm in the North Sea.

Earnings and Economic Data

The Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI) will be released today. To see what is coming up on next week's agenda, click here​.