Stock market today, June 17, 2014: The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose marginally on Tuesday despite a swath of disappointing data, including higher inflation and poor housing numbers. The fourth Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of 2014 began this morning, though few clues about rate hikes or tapering will be seen until tomorrow morning.
Here's the scorecard from today's trading session:
Dow: 16,808.49, +27.48 (0.16%)
S&P 500: 1,941.99, +4.21 (0.22%)
Nasdaq: 4,337.23, +16.13 (0.37%)
And here are the rest of today's stock market news stories:
- Another Big Deal: Shares of Micros Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: MCRS) surged more than 17% on news that Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) is close to purchasing the company for at least $5 billion. Bloomberg reports that Oracle's interest in the software and services provider for the hospitality industry drove the stock to $67.90 per share.
- Exclusive Offer on Tap: The Wall Street Journal reports that AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has an exclusive deal to carry Amazon.com Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AMZN) smartphone, which many analysts expect will launch tomorrow. Though the launch of the smartphone hasn't been formally announced, Amazon's Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos will be making an "important announcement" during a company event tomorrow. AT&T currently offers wireless service to Amazon's Kindle tablets. Find out more here about how the Amazon.com phone is going to be a huge sales drive for the company.
- Food Prices Soar Higher: According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the seasonally adjusted price index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs struck an all-time high in May. A combination of soaring demand, food inflation, drought conditions, and dwindling herds (among other factors) are causing the steep rise in pricing. For more on what inflation means for your investments, read today's top Money Morning story: This "Hidden" Inflation Could Wipe Out Small Returns
- HFT Hearing in Play: Shares of E-Trade Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: ETFC) and Charles Schwab Corp. (Nasdaq: SCHW) soared 8.5% and 5.6% respectively on Tuesday after the U.S. Senate kicked off an investigation into the impact of high-frequency trading on the global markets.
- Shipping Shakeup: In a move to play catch-up against its rivals, United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) announced plans to set shipping rates on all U.S. ground packages based on package size. The announcement comes after rival FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) made known similar intentions.
- Electric Feel: Shares of Tesla Motors Co. (Nasdaq: TSLA) jumped more than 4% on news that the company is exploring charging stations and global charging standards for electric vehicles. The company would partner with both Nissan Motor Co. and BMW AG on the project. TSLA shares are up more than 12% this week - investors looking to cash in on this highflier can learn more about its long-term potential here.
- Merger Mania: Shares of Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) fell by 3% on news that its rival Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) would purchase Covidien Plc. (NYSE: COV) for approximately $43 billion. The deal is expected to increase the pace of M&A activity in the medical device sector.
Now our experts share some of the most important investment moves to make based on today's market trading - for Money Morning Members only:
- This Metal Problem Could Ignite China's Smoldering Crisis: Concerns of China's growth moderating and housing prices dropping 5% this year aside, this might be the real reason for renewed easing: Recent reports indicate that copper and aluminum used as loan collateral may have been rehypothecated or, worse, may never have existed at all.
- Time to Profit from the "ASCO Effect": We love the American Society of Clinical Oncology because of the so-called "ASCO effect" - a hefty surge in cancer-focused biotech stocks that always accompanies the start of this group's annual meeting. This year's ASCO meeting turned us on to an important new trend - one that's shaping up as the next big profit opportunity in biotech.
- Europe's Unprecedented Rate-Slashing Gives Us a Classic Profit Play: The European Central Bank is attempting to employ "unconventional" policies to kick-start the economy. Using tactics never tried before, the ECB has just entered uncharted waters. But if we look at the history, we'll see the perfect opportunity to profit...
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.