Crude production facilities in Saudi Arabia were attacked over the weekend
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are below fair value this morning-- putting the blue-chip index's lengthy winning streak at risk -- with Wall Street spooked by a weekend drone attack on Saudi Arabian crude production facilities. This has oil prices eyeing their biggest one-day gain since February 2016, though, with October-dated crude futures trading up 9.9% at $60.36 per barrel. For his part, President Donald Trump tweeted he has "authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, if needed, in a to-be-determined amount."
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 977,275 call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 607,781 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.62, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.66.
- General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) stock is trading down 2% ahead of the bell on news roughly 48,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) for the car company began a nationwide strike early this morning, the first since 2007. Contract talks between the UAW and GM are set to restart at 10 a.m. ET. Today's pre-market loss puts GM stock on track to test its 200-day moving average, which kept a lid on the shares in late August.
- Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) is up 25% in electronic trading, getting a lift from broader energy sector tailwinds. WLL stock closed Friday at $7.54, and remains a long-term laggard -- hitting a record low of $6 as recently as Sept. 3.
- Wells Fargo downgraded Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) to "market perform" from "outperform," on valuation concerns. DKS stock closed Friday at $39 -- up 25% year-to-date -- but is down 1.9% ahead of the bell.
- The Empire State manufacturing index is on tap. There are no earnings reports due.
Europe Stocks Lower After Saudi Oil Strike
Markets in Asia ended mostly lower today as investors eyed surging crude oil prices following the attacks on production facilities in Saudi Arabia this weekend. The Shanghai Composite inched 0.02% lower after China posted its slowest industrial production growth since 2002 for August, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.8%. South Korea's Kospi was the one gainer today, up 0.6%, while Japan's Nikkei was closed for holiday.
The Saudi Arabia news has caused stocks in Europe to slip at midday, as investors fear potential military action. London's FTSE 100 is down 0.2%, following U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's assertions over the weekend that he will be moving forward with trying to lock down a Brexit deal. Elsewhere, the French CAC 40 has lost 0.6%, while the German DAX has dropped 0.5%.