The Dow Jones Industrial Average pushed to a three-week low thanks to weakness in Chinese exports and rising expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in December.

According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, the probability of a rate hike in December rose to 70%. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) – widely considered the market’s fear gauge – rallied by as much as 13% on the day. Investors who are afraid of a possible bear market should read the latest insight from Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald. 

Let’s look at the final numbers on Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

 Dow Jones: 18,098.94; -45.26; -0.25%

S&P 500: 2,132.55; -6.63; -0.31%

Nasdaq: 5,213.33; -25.69; -0.49%

Now, here’s a look at today’s most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Friday’s economic calendar.

DJIA Today: Dow Slumps as Rate Hike Speculation Swirls; Oil Gains

The Dow Jones fell 45 points on surprise news that China’s exports slumped by 10% in September, while imports declined.

This morning, U.S. jobless claims hit a 43-year low. The bulk of economists see this news as further proof that the labor market remains very strong. Traders expect that the labor market’s resilience will push the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates in December. 

The price of crude oil today pushed higher despite a rising U.S. dollar and news that OPEC production had surged to its highest level in eight years. The uptick also happened after the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced its official crude inventory report and marked an end to five straight weeks of inventory declines. The EIA reported a 4.9-million-barrel increase to U.S. inventory levels, topping consensus expectations of a 300,000-barrel gain. What could lead to a price increase on news of higher supply? The EIA reported a large decline in distillates – like heating oil and diesel fuel – and gasoline.

The WTI crude oil price today gained 0.6%, while the Brent crude oil price added 0.5%.

But the big story today was back at Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC). The markets are watching the embattled firm after its CEO John Stumpf stepped down last night. The executive has been pressured for weeks to resign due to the firm’s massive account scam. The new leader is president and COO Timothy Sloan. Despite the change of guard, the problems plaguing the company’s culture still remain. 

Top Stock Market News Today, Oct. 13, 2016

• Shares of GoPro Inc. (Nasdaq: GPRO) fell another 3.1% after on bad news regarding company sales. According to a report from a Piper Jaffray analyst, the camera maker has not been sending products to Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) and won’t resume shipments to the e-commerce giant until the end of October. AMZN sells at least 12% of its products.
• Speaking of Amazon, the company’s stock traded near record highs on Thursday. Though the Amazon stock price today fell by 0.8%, we anticipate that the stock will only push higher in the months ahead. 
• In earnings news, shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) added roughly 0.9% after the company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.70 on revenue of $10.48 billion. The per-share earnings figure topped Wall Street expectations, but revenue fell just short.
• In other earnings news, shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. (NYSE:VAC) slumped by more than 10% after the firm reported weaker than expected quarterly revenue. The company reported a big slump in its European business. Meanwhile, Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (Nasdaq: ULTA) saw its shares surge more than 11.5% after the firm hiked its Q3 and full-year guidance.
• Tomorrow, get ready for fireworks as four major financial firms report quarterly earnings. While JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) both unveil their Q3 reports, the real focus will be on Wells Fargo and its forward guidance given the firm’s massive account scandal and the potential of customer attrition.