Dow Jones Industrial Average Today Slips as Oil Prices Fall

Dow Jones Industrial AverageIt was a wild day on Wall Street as markets rallied back from a major intraday slump and energy stocks weighed down the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

And while the earnings reports of some of the world's largest technology companies dominated the headlines, a number of profit opportunities may have gone unnoticed. We want to cover those and find ways to help you profit.

Don't Miss: The Internet of Things revolution will create a $6 trillion market - and these five stocks are the best way to grab a piece of those gains for yourself.

Before we get to those stories, check out the results for the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Dow Jones: 18,456.35; -15.82; -0.09%                               

S&P 500: 2,170.06; +3.48; +0.16% 

Nasdaq: 5,154.98; +15.17; +0.30%

Now, here's the top stock market news today... and your best ways to profit.

DJIA Today: Tech Earnings Support Nasdaq; Oil Weighs on the Dow Jones

It was a mixed day on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling and the Nasdaq rising. The Dow shed 15 points, recovering from a triple-digit decline earlier in the session. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq was trending higher as it prepares for some of its biggest heavyweights to report quarterly earnings after the bell today.

On Wednesday, the Fed Open Market Committee announced that it would not raise interest rates this month, but hinted that a hike could be possible by September. Despite the rhetoric, the markets largely do not anticipate a rate hike this year. Policymakers have not increased interest rates in 2016 for several reasons. The Fed is concerned about a slowdown in China, the uneven U.S. economic recovery, and global stock market volatility. The question now is whether we will even see another rate hike this year, let alone by September. We answer that, right here.

It was a mixed day of earnings reports and forward guidance statements. It was a brutal day for Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F). Shares fell more than 8% after the company reported second-quarter results and slashed its sales forecast. The firm said its earnings fell by 9%. The news punished other companies in the auto sector. Shares of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) fell 3%, while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE: FCAU) dropped 4%.

Meanwhile, shares of Groupon Inc. (Nasdaq: GRPN) were up more than 25% after the firm bested earnings expectations. Here's all you need to know about why the stock is breaking out.

In deal news, Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) has announced it will purchase NetSuite (NYSE: N) for roughly $9.3 billion. The latter is the first cloud-computing company, owned by Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle.

Crude oil prices were falling again today, with concerns about a global supply glut weighing on trader sentiment. Prices are at a three-month low a day after the as the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced a surprise increase in crude inventories across the United States.

WTI crude prices were off 2.0%, while Brent crude prices fell by 1.8%.

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

Top Stock Market News Today

  • Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) hit a new all-time high after the firm topped earnings expectations after the bell on Wednesday. FB stock gained more than 1.2% today, earning CEO Mark Zuckerberg a few billion more dollars in his bank account. The social media behemoth reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.97, topping Wall Street expectations by $0.16. That's up more than $0.50 from the same period last year. The company also beat revenue expectations of $6 billion, reporting a figure of $6.4 billion. The Facebook stock price is trading at an all-time high. Find out if now is the right time to own Facebook stock.
  • Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) added another 1.4%. The stock continues to rally after the firm topped Wall Street earnings expectations this week. But that's just the beginning of something special. As we explain, AAPL stock is getting ready to break out. And this stock is available at a bargain price. Find out why you should buy Apple right now.
  • After the bell, look for earnings reports from Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL), Expedia Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE), and CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS).
  • Out of these four companies, the one generating the most buzz this afternoon is Amazon. The company will report earnings after its second annual Prime Day and provide insight into third-party sales and Amazon Web Services. Wall Street expects AMZN to report an EPS of $1.11 and $29.55 billion in revenue. Find out if you should buy AMZN stock after its quarterly earnings report, right here.

Up Next: The best dividend stocks continue to raise their payouts. The best of the best do so for 50 years in a row... like these "dividend kings"...

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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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