Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Drop 136 as Crude Spirals Lower

Falling commodity prices are weighing on stocks yet again, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures pointed sharply lower this morning. As crude futures spiral toward new multi-year lows south of $37 per barrel, blue-chip oil stocks Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) are both down more than 2% ahead of the bell. Exacerbating pre-market jitters on Wall Street is downbeat data from China, though at least one tech name is set to soar as a bidding war heats up in the chip sector.

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

• Schaeffer's Senior VP of Research Todd Salamone identifies 2 potentially bullish signals for December, courtesy of the options market.
• A ringing endorsement from Barron's lifted Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT), but failed to rescue this crumbling commodity stock.
• Option traders hope tonight's earnings report sends this firearm stock shooting to even higher highs.

And now, on to the numbers…

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are 136.5 points below fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

 

1. Chinese trade data failed to impress, though Japan's economy managed to dodge a recession.
2. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 583,081 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 482,396 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.83, while the 21-day moving average edged up to 0.73. 
3. Embattled drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) is considering the sale of its Paragon Vision Sciences contact lens division, according to a Reuters report, amid a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) antitrust probe. This is just one of several concerns for VRX, which has been struggling on the charts due to a Citron Research fraud accusation and negative analyst attention.
4. Another day, another E. coli headline for Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG). This time, 30 Boston College students -- including members of the university's basketball team -- fell ill after eating at a CMG restaurant in Boston. As a result, the stock is down 4% pre-market.
5. Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc (NASDAQ:FCS) is poised to soar 7.6% out of the gate, after the tech firm received an unsolicited buyout bid worth roughly $2.5 billion, or $21.70 per share in cash -- besting a previous offer from ON Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:ON).

Earnings and Economic Data

Today's headline economic report will be the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). AeroVironment (AVAV), AutoZone (AZO), Costco (COST), Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD), Smith & Wesson (SWHC), and Toll Brothers (TOL) will report quarterly earnings. To see what else is on this week's agenda, click here.