The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped today as a downturn in oil prices rattled energy stocks and fueled a sell-off in the sector.
As investors await this week's meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, today's session was a steep reversal of the 9% rally that markets have seen in the last month. It was another tough day for Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), despite news that the company is expected to sell its one billionth iPhone this week. AAPL stock slipped more than 1.4%, pulling down the Nasdaq, after investment firm BCG downgraded the stock to a "Sell" ahead of tomorrow's earnings report.
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A lot more happened on Monday than the headlines suggest. That includes a number of different profit opportunities and stocks to consider. Before we get to those stories, check out the results for the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 18,492.72; -77.79; -0.42%
S&P 500: 2,168.48; -6.55; -0.30%
Nasdaq: 5,097.63; -2.53; -0.05%
Now, here's the top stock market news today... and your best ways to profit.
DJIA Today: Stocks Slip as Global Oil Glut Threatens Markets
The Dow Jones shed 77 points on Monday, kicking off what could be a rocky week in the markets. The sharp downturn in energy prices pushed oil stocks lower. Shares of Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) dipped 2.4%, while Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) dropped more than 1.8%.
Today's downturn is somewhat surprising, as many analysts anticipated that the markets would take a day off ahead of this week's meeting by the Fed Open Market Committee. Tomorrow, the Fed kicks off its two-day monetary policy meeting. That said, the markets do not anticipate any rate hike. CME Group projects just a 2.4% chance that the company will raise rates in July. CME projects a 40% probability that the Fed will increase rates in December. If the Fed actually does raise interest rates in 2016, though, this is the best stock to buy.
Crude oil prices were cratering again as concerns about a global glut rattled trader sentiment.
WTI crude prices were off 2.5%, while Brent crude prices dipped 2%. These were the lowest trading levels since April 25. The decline came after market intelligence firm Genscape projected an increase of 1.1 million barrels at the largest U.S. delivery base in Cushing, Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) announced on Friday that the United States has added rigs for four consecutive weeks.
Things are going from bad to worse in Philadelphia, where Democrats are kicking off their national convention to nominate Hillary Clinton as the party's presidential candidate. In the last few days, WikiLeaks have released damning emails from the Democratic National Committee that prove collusion to ensure Clinton won the nomination. Several key emails from party leaders show sharp favoritism toward Clinton, which has riled up supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT). The fallout has been remarkable. First, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was booed this morning during a meeting of her state's delegation. She has been pulled from tonight's opening statements and will resign from party leadership. Second, statistician Nate Silver now predicts that Republican nominee Donald Trump now has a 57% chance of winning the presidency.
What could top the ongoing mess at the the Democratic National Convention? The massive deal between Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO). Verizon will pay $4.83 billion for the core Internet business of the iconic digital company, while Marissa Mayer says she plans to stay with the remaining firm. The deal does not include the tech giant's stake in Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) or Yahoo Japan. The two latter units combined have a market value of roughly $40 billion. Shares of YHOO stock actually fell 2.5 % on the day. The big question now is what's next for the Yahoo stock price in 2016. We answer it right here.
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 Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) gained 27% on the day. The company reported a quarterly loss but still topped sales expectations. The company reported an earnings-per-share (EPS) loss of -$0.08. However, it saw strong subscriber growth.
- In deal news, shares of Outerwall Inc. (Nasdaq: OUTR) gained more than 11% after the company agreed to be taken private by a private-equity firm. Apollo Global announced it will pay $1.6 billion for the retail solutions giant. The deal will be completed at the end of the third quarter.
- Twitter Inc. (Nasdaq: TWTR) is in focus as the company prepares to report second-quarter earnings on Tuesday. The stock is off more than 48% over the last 12 months, marking a tumultuous turn for the microblogging giant. With the stock price this far down, is now a good buying opportunity? Here's the answer.
- Shares of Nintendo Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS ADR: NTDOY) fell more than 10% to $29 a share. The company announced that the recent phenomenon known as Pokemon Go hasn't provided the boost to its bottom line that many investors seemed to have been expecting. This comes on the heels of last week's dismal performance, which saw shares fall by more than 13%. So what is next for Nintendo stock? We break down why the Nintendo stock price is crashing today, and what's next for the company.
- After the bell, look for earnings reports from Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS), Texas Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: TXN), and Express Scripts Holdings Co. (Nasdaq: ESRX).
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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.