Dow Futures Fall with Apple Stock After iPhone X Report
Stocks are set to pull back today, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures trading below fair value following the long Christmas weekend. Though this has historically been a bullish time for stocks, weakness from the tech sector could pressure U.S. markets today, mainly due to an expected pullback in Apple (AAPL) stock. Specifically, a Taiwan newspaper has reported the tech giant will cut its sales outlook for the new iPhone X in the first quarter, sending the Dow stock and several Apple suppliers lower ahead of the bell. Wall Street will also likely keep tabs on the rebound in cryptocurrency bitcoin following last week's sell-off, especially with the earnings and economic schedule empty today.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Does a foolproof anti-volatility trade exist for the first quarter? Founder and CEO Bernie Schaeffer takes a look. 2 housing stocks defying skeptics. How stock and options traders can capitalize on seasonality. Plus, 2 sinking Apple suppliers; Nike's big price target; and Riot Blockchain surges back. 
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 723,795 call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 464,097 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved up to 0.64, while the 21-day moving average edged up to 0.58.With AAPL shares pointed 2.5% lower before the open, a number of Apple suppliers could get hit, too. For instance, Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS) stock is also down more than 3% in electronic trading, and Broadcom Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO) is set to lose 1.5%. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) last week disappointed Wall Street with its earnings release, but D.A. Davidson is apparently hopeful. The brokerage firm this morning hiked its price target on NKE stock to $78 from $68, representing record-high territory for the shares and a 23% premium to last week's settlement of $63.29. Meanwhile, with bitcoin futures on the rise again, a number of blockchain stocks could get a boost. Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT), for example, is up over 10% before the open. Of course, this will still leave the shares a ways from their Dec. 19 peak of $46.20, since they closed Friday at just $24.52. The economic schedule is bare today.
Overseas Trading
Stocks in Europe and Hong Kong remained shuttered for the Christmas break today, which translated into fairly light global trading volume. Japan's Nikkei faltered, backpedaling 0.2% as higher fuel costs pushed the consumer price index for November north of expectations. Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi gave up 0.5% on weakness in tech shares. Industrial and real estate stocks paced a solid gain on the Chinese mainland, where the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.8%.