Dow Jones Today: Markets Snap Out of Winning Streak

The Dow Jones today (Wednesday) lost 0.08% to close at 16,501.65. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite were both unable to deliver a seventh consecutive winning session. The S&P dropped 0.22% to close at 1,875.39, while the Nasdaq fell 0.83% to finish at 4,126.97.

Despite the downturn, it was an extremely busy day on Wall Street and in the financial world.

Here's your recap of major events affecting U.S. markets today...

    Dow Jones Today

  1. A Huge Score for Amazon: On Wednesday, Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) announced a huge, multi-year licensing deal to bring HBO series, movies, and comedy specials to its Prime subscription service. The HBO content, which includes all seasons of the iconic series The Sopranos, The Wire, and Rome, as well as original HBO movies, documentaries, and comedy specials, will arrive to Prime on May 21. Despite the news, shares slid more than 1.5%.
  2. The Tech Bubble Warning: He was the man who led to a huge sell-off in an overvalued Keurig Green Mountain (Nasdaq: GMCR) just a few years ago. Now, in an open letter to his fund investors, hedge fund manager David Einhorn said, "we are witnessing our second tech bubble in 15 years." In his letter, Einhorn said we are likely still a bit away from it bursting, but he mentioned a number of signs he thinks are problematic. He said that investors are rejecting "conventional valuation methods," embracing illogical first-day pops for new IPOs and that short sellers have to cover positions on a regular basis.
  3. A Big Soda Deal: According to Israeli business newspaper Globes, Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX) is aiming to purchase a 10% stake in Sodastream International (Nasdaq: SODA). The 10% share would value Sodastream at $1.1 billion, which is a 30% premium above the company's market value. Following the rumor, shares of Sodastream jumped more than 15%. Starbucks stock slid by more than 1.1% on the day.
  4. Facebook Given Clearance: The U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission provided permission for Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) to purchase Oculus VR Inc., a manufacturer of virtual reality goggles. On March 25, Facebook announced plans to purchase Oculus for $2 billion, making it the social network's first-ever hardware deal.
  5. Unrest Soars in Brazil: Riots broke out on Tuesday night in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The violence came after a professional dancer's death sparked a protest in a Rio slum overlooking the iconic beaches of Copacabana. Later, armed men outside Sao Paulo torched nearly three dozen buses at a terminal. Brazil is only two months away from hosting the World Cup tournament, and concerns about safety continue to mount. Many Brazilians have rioted in recent years over the amount of money the government spent on soccer stadiums rather than focusing on growing poverty problems and rising food costs that plague the country.

Wednesday's Top Three Profit Opportunities

  1. How to Get in the Game and Profit: Once you make a decision to start investing, the next step is to make a commitment to become successful. You can't make money watching from the sidelines. But you also can't be a deer in the headlights either. That's why Shah Giliani is going to show you how to make that next step...and become a confident trader for the future.
  2. The "Earnings Beat" That's Perfect for This Market: Last Wednesday, the Milpitas, Calif.-based SanDisk Corp. (Nasdaq: SNDK) reported first-quarter results that smashed analyst expectations, and the company's shares shot up 6% in after-hours trading. But our Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald saw that beat coming and put readers out in front of it. This week, he talked to Executive Editor William Patalon III about its recent stellar performance...and its future profit potential...
  3. These Stocks Will Prosper Regardless of Obamacare's Fate: The Affordable Healthcare Act is the largest and most fundamental change to hit the healthcare sector in decades. Not only that, but Wall Street is currently trying to pick the winners from the losers - and isn't doing a good job of it. If you want to profit from the healthcare law, follow these companies...

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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