This morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was pushing higher as investors weighed another busy day of earnings reports, economic data, and speculation on U.S. monetary policy.
This will be an especially busy week for earnings results from the financial sector. Big banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) laid out their earnings Friday.
With Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) reporting earnings this morning, investors should be looking for ways to capitalize on any potential profit opportunities.
That's why Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani lays out a strategy to make big gains in the months ahead. Read his latest insight, right here.
On Monday, the Dow fell 52 points as investors weighed a speech from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer. Falling oil prices also battered energy stocks.
Monday's Stock Market Numbers:
Dow Jones: 18,085.86; -52.52; -0.29%
S&P 500: 2,126.49; -6.49; -0.30%
Nasdaq: 5,199.82; -14.34; -0.27%
Now let's look at the most important market events and stocks to watch today, plus your economic calendar, for Oct. 18, 2016.
What's Ahead for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average projected a 92-point gain at the opening bell after European markets rallied, oil prices ticked higher, and investors eyed a string of earnings reports in a busy morning session.
Oil prices were pushing higher again as traders reduced their fears about the supply and demand balance. Traders have been skeptical in recent weeks after OPEC announced plans to cap global production. The proposed cap has helped push oil prices back above $50; however, any significant blow to the deal could have serious ramifications for crude prices and energy stocks.
The WTI crude oil price today added 0.6%, while the Brent crude oil price gained 0.5%.
Shares of Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) added 0.5% as the technology company prepares to report quarterly earnings. The firm has been under significant pressure following the news that it suffered one of the largest cyber breaches in global history. The damage to the firm's brand was so bad that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is seeking to renegotiate terms of its planned purchase of Yahoo's core internet business. With YHOO earnings in focus, here's everything you need to know and how to play the stock moving forward.
Editor's Note: This is how the Yahoo hack could affect the Verizon deal...
But the big story in pre-market hours - one that has slipped off the mainstream media's radar - is the next housing crisis. The zero-interest-rate policy (ZIRP) of the Federal Reserve has been a boon for hard assets like real estate. While the U.S. real estate market has largely recovered from the 2008-2009 financial crisis, there are six cities across the country where values are pushing back into "bubble" territory. Do you live in any of these six cities?
Stocks to Watch Today, Oct. 18, 2016
- Shares of Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) surged 18% in pre-market hours after the streaming giant crushed expectations for Q3. Netflix reported that its subscriber growth rate was 50% higher than analysts had anticipated. NFLX added 3.2 million subscribers in Q3, well above the 2.01 million projected by analysts. Earlier this week, we explained that we have been bullish about NFLX stock for a long time. This is a stock to own for the long term.
- In other earnings news, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) added 1.5% after the company reported Q3 earnings this morning. Wall Street analysts expected earnings per share (EPS) of $3.86 on top of $7.57 billion in revenue. The investment bank reported EPS of $4.88 on top of $8.17 billion in revenue.
- Shares of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) fell more than 2.6% despite news that the company topped revenue expectations after the bell on Monday. IBM reported its smallest decline in quarterly revenue, bolstered by strong growth in cloud services, analytics, and security products. IBM reported EPS of $3.29, topping consensus expectations of $3.23.
- Look for additional earnings reports from Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Intuitive Surgical Inc. (Nasdaq: ISRG), Cree Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), Domino's Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ), Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG), BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK), and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH).
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
- Consumer Price Index at 8:30 a.m.
- Redbook at 8:55 a.m.
- Housing Market Index at 10 a.m.
- 4-Week Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
- Treasury International Capital at 4 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.