Dow Jones Industrial Average News, 6/23/2016: The day of reckoning has finally arrived, and markets are undeterred.
Today, expect more than 46 million British voters to head to the polls, where they will decide whether or not to depart the European Union over the next two years. Though there was a slight favor toward remaining in the EU, today will be all about turnout.
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Younger voters are supportive of remaining in the world's largest economic block, but they are far less motivated to vote. This suggests that the decision to remain or leave could come down to the wire.
While there's still time, here is how you should be trading the Brexit.
Although the day will be dominated by news about the Brexit, keep in mind the Brexit results will not be announced until breakfast time (Greenwich Mean Time) tomorrow morning. Investors would be somewhat foolish to only focus on the Brexit this afternoon, as a number of other stories are shaping and profitable opportunities could slip under the radar during Thursday's trading session.
So let's get to today's top stock market news, stocks to watch, ways to profit, and economic calendar for June 23, 2016.
What's Moving the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today: The Fed, Brexit in Focus
Dow Jones futures projected a 150-point gain ahead of Thursday's Brexit vote. But part of that optimism can be tied to recent statements by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who said during testimony for Congress this week that the central bank would be cautious in its approach to raising interest rates. It was just a few weeks ago that another rate hike was all but certain in the summer months. However, jitters over the Brexit and instability in the jobs market upended the Fed's timing.
Meanwhile, Wall Street isn't happy about the news that Tesla Motors Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) is set to purchase Elon Musk's solar installation firm SolarCity Corp. (Nasdaq: SCTY). On Wednesday, iconic hedge fund manager Jim Chanos called the $2.8 billion deal a "bailout" and "corporate governance at its worst," while former General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said, "People finally are beginning to figure it out: They've drunk the Elon Musk Kool-Aid." Finally, analysts at Oppenheimer and RBC Capital Markets downgraded TSLA stock, which was off 1% this morning.
Crude oil prices were pushing higher over optimism that British voters would choose to "Remain" in the European Union. WTI crude was up 1.5% this morning, while Brent crude added 1.7%. The rally is also supported by weaker than expected drawdowns in U.S. inventories, announced on Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Here's Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors' latest insight on the global oil markets and what you should be doing now with energy stocks.
Now here's your list of top stocks to watch in today's market, plus today's economic calendar:
Companies to Watch in the Stock Market Today
- Today, keep an eye on shares of Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO). The cloud computing company will begin public trading today and successfully priced its IPO at $15 a share.
- Shares of Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) slipped more than 5% after the company announced plans to purchase application programmer 3scale for an undisclosed figure. The deal announcement came the same day that Red Hat announced it matched quarterly earnings per share (EPS) expectations and beat Wall Street's bottom-line revenue expectations. However, its current quarter guidance was slightly below analyst projections.
- Shares of Blackberry Ltd. (Nasdaq: BBRY) are in focus this morning as the company prepares to report quarterly earnings. Shares were up 1% this morning before the announcement. On Wednesday, CEO John Chen rattled markets when he discussed the company's struggles to remain profitable, sending the stock down sharply.
- Other companies reporting earnings today include Sonic Corp. (Nasdaq: SONC), Accenture Plc. (NYSE: ACN), SYNNEX Corp. (NYSE: SNX), Methode Electronics Inc. (NYSE: MEI), and Commercial Metals Co. (NYSE: CMC).
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
- Jobless Claims at 8:30 a.m.
- Chicago Fed National Activity Index at 8:30 a.m.
- PMI Manufacturing Index Flash at 9:45 a.m.
- Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index at 9:45 a.m.
- New Home Sales at 10 a.m.
- Leading Indicators at 10 a.m.
- EIA Natural Gas Report at 10:30 a.m.
- 3-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- 6-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- Fed Balance Sheet at 4:30 p.m.
- Money Supply at 4:30 p.m.
- Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan speaks at 6:30 p.m.
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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.