The Dow Jones Industrial Average Today Slides on Volatile Oil Prices, Weak Earnings Reports

dow jones todayDow Jones Industrial Average News, 4/25/16: Monday was another day of oil price volatility and weak earnings reports to complement Wall Street's already underwhelming expectations. Some might think that the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day meeting that kicks off tomorrow might have something to do with the downturn. The Fed, however, is not going raise interest rates this week, as weakness in the manufacturing sector and concerns about other areas of the economy weigh on sentiment.

Today, shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) slipped 0.5% and were the heaviest drag on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500. Meanwhile, shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) fell 1.2% - the Dow's biggest weight - despite news that the company plans to start taking deposits online.

Now, let's discuss what you need to know about the markets on April 25, 2016.

The Shocking Forecast for Oil Prices in 2016: Crude oil prices plunged in 2015, but our forecast points to a turnaround this year that will send the price of oil higher. Read more...

First up, check out the results for the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Dow Jones: 17,957.55; -46.20; -0.26%                               

S&P 500: 2,087.79; -3.79; -0.18%   

Nasdaq: 4,895.79; -10.44; -0.21%

Now, here's the top stock market news today...

DJIA Today: Oil Prices Slide Ahead of April FOMC Meeting on Monetary Policy

It's Warren Buffett's world, and we're just living in it. This weekend, the 85-year-old Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) will cap his 52nd year at the helm of the conglomerate during the company's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Buffett and others at Berkshire are expected to address a number of issues, including a possible successor to the Oracle of Omaha, its stance on American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), and the potential for more takeover deals in 2016 and beyond.

The deal offers keep coming as organic growth dies on the vine in the U.S. economy. The latest big offer came from USA Today publisher Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCO). The publishing giant made an unsolicited bid of $815 million (including debt) for rival Tribune Publishing Co. (Nasdaq: TPUB). Tribune - which publishes the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune - refused to engage in talks with Gannett, but said that it is reviewing proposals. TPUB stock was up more than 63% on the day.

Meanwhile, in a big win for investors, the U.S. Justice Department formally approved the merger between Charter Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: CHTR), Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), and Bright House networks. Charter aims to close a deal for Time Warner Cable worth $78 billion and Bright House worth $10.4 billion. This is just another hurdle. The deals still must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

On the economic front, the housing market showed increased signs of weakness in March, renewing concerns about the strength of the U.S. economy. New construction, single-family home sales fell in March by 1.5%, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The agency said that most of the decline was concentrated in the Western portion of the country. Shares of homebuilder KB Home (NYSE: KBH) slipped 1.6%, while rival Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) fell by 1%.

The bears are out in force for oil prices today. WTI oil prices fell 2.2%, while Brent crude dropped 1.2% after a number of banks warned about a flurry of bearish forces that could push prices down even further. At the center of the analysis, the banks feel that the recent two-month rally in crude prices has defied underlying fundamentals. Domestic supply continues to swoon, and traders have reason to worry about the potential for a production freeze among OPEC producers.

Now, let's look at the day's biggest stock movers and today's most important stock strategy...

Top Stock Market News Today

  • It's another busy earnings week for investors. This week, look for earnings from Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), AT&T Corp. (NYSE: T), Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR), Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB), and com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN).
  • The decision by Snapchat's CEO to reject a $3 billion offer from Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg may come back to haunt the camera app developer. The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook is currently developing an application that takes disappearing pictures from smartphones. The report indicates that the application will also allow users to stream live video as well.
  • Shares of Perrigo Co. Plc. (NYSE: PRGO) cratered more than 16% after the firm's CEO Joseph Papa resigned and took the top job with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX). The firm also reported weaker than expected earnings and has seen its stock fall by roughly 50% over the last 52 weeks. Despite the big HR win for Valeant, shares still declined by nearly 1.8%.
  • Shares of Manchester United Plc. (NYSE: MANU) jumped more than 3% after the company received a boost from billionaire investor Ron Baron. In a weekend column in Barron's, the investor said that the soccer team was undervalued in comparison to other high-value sports teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees.
  • On the earnings front, shares of Xerox Inc. (NYSE: XRX) fell more than 12% after the printer and copier maker fell very short of Wall Street revenue expectations. Monday's downturn was the firm's worst day since Fall 2009.
  • Finally, here is your stock pick of the day. The markets are waiting tomorrow's FOMC meeting. And the Federal Reserve is about to get much more inflation than it bargained for in the coming weeks. Money Morning Resource Investing Specialist Peter Krauth shared the best investment to make ahead of the April meeting.
Oil prices have suffered one of the worst crashes in modern history. But WTI prices have seen a strong rally over the last month, and there's one reason why they'll keep going higher in 2016 and beyond...

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About the Author

Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.

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