Dow Jones Industrial Average Slides as Healthcare and Inflation Worries Rattle Investors

Dow Jones Industrial Average It was a tough day for the markets on Friday as Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) continued its no-good-very-bad week, and healthcare stocks weighed down trader sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell after consumer spending levels fell short of expectations and one of the Nasdaq's key pharmaceutical giants fell significantly short of earnings expectations.

Now, let's discuss what you need to know about the markets on April 29, 2016.

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

Dow Jones: 17,759.84; -70.92; -0.40%                               

S&P 500: 2,064.87; -10.94; -0.53% 

Nasdaq: 4,774.10; -31.19; -0.65%

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

DJIA Today: Apple Slides, Panama Papers Saga Continues

Canadian drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) has filed its overdue 2015 audited financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The stock has tumbled since questions arose about the company's business practices and drug pricing last year.

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) was still sliding a day after manager Carl Icahn announced that Icahn Enterprises (NYSE: IEP) has ditched its position in AAPL stock. Shares of AAPL stock fell 1.4%, capping off the technology stock's worst week since 2013. Concerns about the company's ability to sell products in China are weighing down trader sentiment, in addition to the firm's ongoing shift toward services and applications as a remedy for falling iPhone sales. As Money Morning Technical Trading Specialist D.R. Barton explains, the company is changing the meaning of what it means to be an Apple shareholder. Barton says the company is taking a big misstep right now.

The Panama Papers saga continues. Yesterday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) announced plans to unleash new damning evidence from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca to the public. Here's the one major revelation that everyone will be talking about.

On the economic data side, concerns about inflation continue to cloud the expectations for the next interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve. This morning, the U.S. Commerce Department announced that the personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding food and energy purchase, ticked up 0.1% in March. The agency also upwardly revised February's increase to 0.2%.

Crude oil prices rose moderately today, capping off a stunning month that saw WTI crude prices increase by nearly 20%. Even though prices have rallied 75.6% from their 13-year low of $26.21 in February, oil price predictions on Wall Street are still bearish. Here's why they're wrong.

Multinational energy giants Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) both disappointed investors with first-quarter earnings. Exxon posted its smallest profit in over 15 years as net income fell 63% to $1.81 billion.

Meanwhile, Chevron posted a much wider than expected loss. The company's loss was its largest since 2001, a staggering decline of $725 million. That's down from last year's profit of $2.57 billion.

With oil prices rebounding over the last few months and the dollar declining, investors expect much better earnings in the second quarter.

Now, let's look at the day's biggest stock movers and the stock of the day.

Top Stock Market News Today

  • Shares of Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) rallied more than 12% in post-market hours after the global e-commerce giant crushed Wall Street earnings expectations. The skyrocketing value of AMZN stock boosted CEO Jeff Bezos' net worth to more than $60 billion.
  • Following a surge in the price of Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) stock, rumblings are starting about the potential of a stock split. Here's everything we know about the FB stock split in 2016...
  • Shares of LinkedIn Corp. (Nasdaq: LNKD) rallied more than 2.2% today as the company received a number of upgrades and support from research firms. Wedbush raised its price target on LNKD stock from $130 to $140 after the firm hiked its full-year guidance. With shares down 43.69% year to date, investors are asking us if this is a good time to buy LinkedIn stock. Here's the answer to that question.
  • On the earnings front, shares of Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) cratered more than 7% after the firm reported a decline in quarterly profit. GILD stock was today's largest weight on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.
  • Finally, here's your stock of the day. This company is one of the most misunderstood in the markets today. Right now, some investors are worried that one of the world's largest companies is a direct threat to its delivery services that hit almost every market in the world. Simply put, they're wrong. This company is a profit machine and that large company is actually one of its biggest customers. Buy and hold this stock for a long time, and find peace of mind knowing that it leads the world in its industry.

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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