The Dow Jones Industrial Average was back at record levels again on Tuesday as investors continue to pile into equities.
Investors seemed highly bullish after a strong second-quarter earnings report from alumina giant Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) after the bell Monday.
Trending Now: The Next European Brexit Crisis Is in Energy
Before we get to today's top news, check out the results for the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 18,347.12; +120.19; +0.66%
S&P 500: 2,152.13; +14.97; +0.70%
Nasdaq: 5,023.07; +34.43; +0.69%
Now, here's the top stock market news today... and your best ways to profit.
DJIA Today: Stocks Rally Again on Central Banking Lies
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones closed at all-time records on Tuesday as energy stocks rallied. Crude oil prices rallied higher, bouncing off two-month lows. WTI crude prices were up 4.3%, while Brent crude prices were up 4.6%. Prices pushed higher after a surprise report from OPEC indicated that production by non-members of the global cartel is set to decline. Shares of Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) added 1.4%, while share of Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) added 1%. Oil field service giants Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) and Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) saw their shares increase by 2.4% and 3.6% on the day.
On the macroeconomic side, Brexit fears have largely subsided, while the Bank of Japan is on the verge of another round of financial stimulus. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered another round of stimulus after his political coalition won a landslide election victory. The biggest problem: Central bank lies are propping up the stock markets right now. And as our Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani explains, it could get very ugly, very fast for traders.
Despite the positive sentiment, investors are still keeping a close eye on the U.S. Federal Reserve. Earlier today, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard argued the case for a single rate hike at some point in the near future. Bullard, who does vote on the Fed Open Market Committee, has recently raised eyebrows when he said he thinks the United States is entering an extended period of low growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. Later this afternoon, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester will speak.
But the big news is Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), which is hosting its second annual Prime Day. AMZN stock slipped 1%, a day after its market capitalization ticked higher than Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A). The event features 100,000 deals and takes place in 10 nations. Keep in mind, AMZN stock climbed after last Prime Day. So is it worth adding it to your portfolio? Here's our advice for AMZN stock after Prime Day.
Gold prices and silver prices were dipping again on Tuesday as global equities continued to rally. Here's everything you need to know about silver prices right now.
Now, let's look at the day's biggest stock movers and the best investments in times of global uncertainty.
Top Stock Market News Today
- On the earnings front, shares of Fastenal Co. (Nasdaq: FAST) were off 3.1% after the company missed top and bottom line earnings estimates. The company reported per-share earnings of $0.45 on top of $1.104 billion in revenue. Both figures are short of Wall Street's $0.48 EPS expectation and projection of $1.2 billion in revenue. After the bell, keep an eye out for earnings reports by AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) and ADTRAN Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTN).
- Shares of Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX) added more than 2% after the company introduced another set of price increases throughout the United States. The global coffee chain said that it could charge as much as $0.30 in select drinks. The price hikes come for the third straight summer and are being announced at a time that the firm is increasing pay to its employees.
- In deal news, shares of movie theater giant AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) announced plans to purchase London-based Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group for $1.2 billion in cash and stock from private-equity giant Terra Firma. AMC stock rallied 7.2% on the news.
- Finally, here's your investment of the day. On April 1, we featured one of our top stocks to buy now, and the stock has climbed 50% since our recommendation. Even better, it has more room to run and remains one of the best stocks to buy now. But we see that this defense stock has even greater upside. And it's all because of one of Americans' biggest concerns about this country right now. Read all about it, right here.
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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.