Dow Jones Industrial Average Today Slides as Investors Eye Busy Day of Fed Talks

Dow Jones Industrial Average This morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was falling as markets took a break from the two-day rally fueled by this week's monetary policy news.

Investors are awaiting the reactions from several members of the Federal Reserve to the central bank's decision on Wednesday to maintain tight monetary policy.

Here's everything you need to know about the FOMC statement.

Meanwhile, investors continue to eye oil prices, which were mixed in pre-market hours.

On Thursday, the Dow gained more than 122 points as investors cheered the Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday to keep interest rates at current levels. All 10 major S&P 500 sectors saw gains in yesterday's session.

Thursday's Stock Market Numbers:

Dow Jones: 18,392.46; 98.76; 0.54%                                  

S&P 500: 2,177.18; 14.06; 0.65%   

Nasdaq: 5,339.52; 44.34; 0.84%

Now let's look at the most important market events and stocks to watch today, plus your economic calendar, for Sept. 23, 2016.

What's Ahead for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today

The Dow Jones Industrial Average projected a four-point decline as the markets await a critical update of the PMI manufacturing index. Investors will be paying very close attention to a symposium in Philadelphia, where three members of the Federal Reserve will be discussing the role of the central bank on regional economic development. Investors will be curious to hear if any of the Fed members have conflicting opinions from Wednesday's decision by the central bank to keep interest rate levels unchanged.

Trending: How a Fed Rate Hike Will Affect Your Mortgage Rate

Oil prices were mixed despite speculation on whether OPEC and Russia can reach an agreement next week to support prices and curb output. Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors says that next week's meeting in Algeria is about much more than just oil prices.

The WTI crude oil price today fell 0.3%. Meanwhile, the Brent crude oil price added 0.2%.

But the big story today is the Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is pushing the Department of Labor to launch a probe into the fake-account scandal caused by Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC). Warren is leading a coalition of Washington leaders that has asked the federal agency to determine if the financial institution violated labor laws by pressuring employees to meet aggressive sales goals and failing to provide fair compensation. Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani has explained that the fake-account scam is just another day on Wall Street, and that no one will be going to jail for this latest scandal. Here's why the Wells Fargo scandal is even worse than we thought.

Stocks to Watch Today, Sept. 23, 2016

  • Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) has generated a lot of buzz in recent weeks after announcing a partnership with the NFL to live-stream games on Thursday nights. Of course, we've been warning that its live feeds of NFL games will not drive significant revenue for the company. That's because the micro-blogging company is experiencing a huge problem with user growth. Here's our latest insight.
  • Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) is facing a public relations problem this morning. Yesterday, the firm confirmed that it has been the subject of one of the largest cyber breaches in history. Yahoo said that data "associated with at least 500 million user accounts" has been compromised.
  • Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) are moving higher after both Nomura and RBC increased their price targets. But these targets are still conservative from where we see AAPL stock heading in the future. Money Morning contributor Tom Gentile explains that Apple's iPhone 7 sales will offer a huge boon to investors. And there's still time to capture gains from three different strategies that he outlines, right here.
  • On the earnings front, shares of Finish Line Inc. (Nasdaq: FINL) gained more than 4.2% after the company matched earnings per share (EPS) expectations of $0.53 and beat Wall Street revenue forecasts. The apparel giant also announced that it surpassed consensus expectations on same-store sales.

Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)

  • Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations at 10 a.m.
  • Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker speaks at 12 p.m.
  • Regional Fed Presidents - Philadelphia's Patrick Harker, Atlanta's Dennis Lockhart, and Cleveland's Loretta Mester - panel at 12:20 p.m.
  • Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan speaks at 12:30 p.m.
  • Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Rig Count at 1:00 PM ET

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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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