Dow Futures Aimed At 24,000; Tax Reform, OPEC in Focus

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are higher this morning, after the index enjoyed another record-setting session yesterday. Now, the blue-chip index could take aim at the lofty 24,000 benchmark, and secure an eighth straight monthly win. S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are also signaling a positive session, with the index set to extend its longest monthly winning streak since the financial crisis. Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are tilting higher as well, as tech stocks attempt to rebound from an extensive sell-off yesterday.

Investors continue to anxiously watch Washington, D.C., for news on the Republican tax plan, which could go to a vote on the Senate floor today. Elsewhere, oil markets are in focus, with the highly anticipated Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting today. The cartel and other big oil producers are reportedly set to agree to extended output cuts through 2018. At last check, January-dated crude futures are 0.6% higher at $57.63 per barrel.

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

• The blue-chip stock to buy now, if past is prologue.
• The tech stock that breached two technical levels yesterday. 
• This GoPro supplier takes its turn in the earnings confessional today.
• Plus, new Alexa features; HIV vaccine trials; and Twitter gets a price-target hike.

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.5 million call contracts traded on Wednesday -- the largest amount since January 2015 -- compared to 776,910 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.52, while the 21-day moving average slid to 0.62.
2. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock is up 0.7% in electronic trading, after the tech giant said it will introduce workplace functions for its Alexa digital assistant. The details will be announced today at the Amazon Web Services conference. AMZN stock has gained 54% year-to-date, and the FAANG stock finally broke through the $1,200 level on Cyber Monday for a record high of $1,213.41. Today, Deutsche Bank upped its price target to $1,425 from $1,200.
3. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) stock is down 0.3% before the bell, despite the big announcement that the pharma company was testing a new two-vaccine combination for HIV. JNJ stock has added 24% year-over-year, and touched an all-time high of $144.35 on Oct. 23. 
4. No stranger to analyst upgrades lately, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) stock is up 0.9% in electronic trading, after receiving a price-target hike to $21.50 from $18 at MKM Partners. The social media stock has tacked on nearly 28% in 2017, and touched an annual high of $22.48 on Nov. 24. 

5. Weekly jobless claims and the Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI) are due today. The central bank circuit will continue with an early afternoon appearance from Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan. Barnes & Noble (BKS), Express (EXPR), Five Below (FIVE), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), VMware (VMW), and Zumiez (ZUMZ) will report earnings.

Overseas Trading

It was a mostly lower finish in Asia today, as regional tech stocks fell in step with their U.S. counterparts. Sharp drops for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix helped send South Korea's Kospi to a 1.5% loss, while the won plunged after the Bank of Korea raised interest rates for the first time in six years. Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng plummeted 1.5%, while China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.6%, even after the country's official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) came in above the consensus estimate. Japan's Nikkei bucked the bearish bias, though, finishing up 0.6% as a pop in financial stocks overshadowed a slimmer-than-expected rise in October industrial output.

European markets are mixed at midday, as traders digest an onslaught of economic data. While consumer prices in the eurozone rose at a slower-than-forecast pace in November, unemployment throughout the currency bloc fell to a nearly nine-year low of 8.8% in October. And while a meeting among global oil producers has energy shares in focus, bank stocks are higher after Credit Suisse raised its 2018 profit target for its Asia-Pacific wealth-management and connected division. At last check, the German DAX is up 0.5% after data showed unemployment remained at a record low last month, and the French CAC 40 is 0.2% higher. London's FTSE 100, meanwhile, is down 0.2%, as the pound rallies on upbeat Brexit talk.