Stock market news today, April 10, 2014: The Dow Jones Industrial Average roared on Wednesday following an announcement that the U.S. Federal Reserve unanimously decided to ditch the thresholds it had set on dealing with unemployment and raising interest rates.
At the closing bell Wednesday, the Dow Jones rose 181 points to finish at 16,437. The Nasdaq gained 70 points to finish at 4,183, while the S&P 500 added 20 points to end the day yesterday at 1,872.
Here are the five things you should know to make your day profitable:
Five Biggest Stories in Today's Stock Market, April 10, 2014
More IPO Frenzy: The U.S. Treasury Department stands to earn a whopping $2.38 billion off the initial public offering (IPO) of auto lender Ally Financial Inc. The deal, which would be the largest U.S.-based IPO of 2014, would help the government get out from under the automotive bailouts of 2008-2009 and officially exit its position in the financing arm of General MotorsCo. (NYSE: GM). Few analysts recommend investing in this IPO, given the company's risk exposure and narrow business focus.
Tapping Out: On Wednesday, BlackBerry (Nasdaq: BBRY) CEO John Chen said his company might leave the mobile handset industry if its unit remains unprofitable. According to Reuters, the company would rather invest its capital in new investments, acquisitions, or partnerships than burn cash on mobile. According to various reports, the company may only be producing and shipping 10 million handsets a year - a steep drop from the company's 52.3 million shipments of devices in fiscal 2011.
Blame It on the Weather: Following the trend of warning investors ahead of earnings season, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) announced its first-quarter global oil and gas production slipped from the same period in 2013. The company cited the rough winter weather and currency exposure as primary reasons for a slip in earnings. Chevron announced that its January and February production levels hit 2.58 million barrels per day, a 2.5% decline from the same time last year.
Eating Well: On Wednesday, Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) announced a partnership with Wild Oats to sell a new line of organic food products. This month, the partnership will allow Walmart to sell organics at least 25% cheaper than current offerings in the space. Shares of Wal-Mart were flat in pre-market trading.
Start It Up: It's been a great year for startups. U.S.-based startups have seen their highest inflows of venture capital funding since 2001, according to data tracking the first three months of the year. A report from CB Insights said that venture capitalists invested $9.99 billion across 880 deals in the first quarter of 2014. This is a 44% increase over the same period in 2013.
Note: The Fed's 2014 taper means volatility ahead. So we've outlined how to find profits in a volatile market - like triple-digit gains in just days - if you start with this strategy...
U.S. Economic Calendar April 10, 2014 (all times EDT)
Jobless Claims at 8:30 a.m.
Import and Export Prices at 8:30 a.m.
Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index at 9:45 a.m.
EIA Natural Gas Report at 10:30 a.m.
3-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
6-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
5-Yr TIPS Announcement at 11 a.m.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans Speaks at 11:50 a.m.
30-Yr Bond Auction at 1 p.m.
Treasury Budget at 2 p.m.
Fed Balance Sheet at 4:30 p.m.
Money Supply at 4:30 p.m.
Key Companies Reporting Earnings April 10, 2014
Consensus earnings per share for Ceres Inc. (Nasdaq: CERE) is $-0.30.
Consensus earnings per share for Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) is $0.90.
Consensus earnings per share for iGATE Corp. (Nasdaq: IGTE) is $0.41.
Consensus earnings per share for NQ Mobile Inc. (NYSE: NQ) is $0.32.
Consensus earnings per share for Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) is $0.41.
Consensus earnings per share for Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) is $0.04.
Consensus earnings per share for Commerce Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: CBSH) is 0.68.
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.