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The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied late on Friday after a surge by tech stocks overshadowed growing banking concerns in Portugal.
Here's the scorecard from today's trading session:
DOW: 16,943.81 + 28.74 (+0.17%)
NASDAQ: 4,415.49 + 19.29 (0.44%)
S&P 500: 1,967.57 + 2.89 (0.15%)
Shares of energy producers fell again today as oil prices declined. Crude prices are now at a two-month low. Shares of Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), BP Plc. (NYSE ADR: BP), and Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) were all down on the day.
Here are the top stories from today's market:
- Regulatory Trap: The Federal Trade Commission announced it has filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) over charges that the company improperly billed account holders for millions of dollars for unauthorized in-app charges performed by children and without parental consent. Despite the news, shares of Amazon.com stock soared more than 5% on Friday on news that the company's store sales increased and optimism grew about the company's new smartphone.
- Gold Surge: Shares of Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE:ABX) continue to surge as gold prices will have its sixth consecutive weekly gain. Gold prices are on the rise as concerns about credit and political upheaval continue to dominate the news cycle. Yesterday's announcement about credit problems at Espirito Santo International renewed broader concerns about the European financial system. Shares of Barrick jumped another 3.7% on the day. Here's why that could be very good news for George Soros...
- Halt: U.S. regulators halted trading in Cynk Technology Corp. (OTC: CYNK) stock, which was just a cheap penny stock weeks ago, and has burst a staggering 24,000%. The company, which only has one employee and no assets, was valued at more than $6 billion before trading was stopped over concerns of share price manipulation. Here's the full story on what is likely the latest - and very damaging - penny stock scam...
- Humble on Housing: Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) slipped more than 0.7% today on news that the mortgage lender failed to impress with its earnings. The company announced that per-share profit slipped 4% from the first quarter to $1.01, which fell in line with analyst expectations. Wells Fargo is the first major U.S. bank to report earnings, and is seen as a bellwether for the industry. Next week, many of the nation's largest banks will report second-quarter earnings. Go here for more on WFC earnings.
- Death of Retail: Shares of The Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) dipped again today on news that the company saw same-store sales fall 2% last month. The decline missed analyst expectations of a 0.7% growth.
Now our experts share some of the most important investment moves to make based on today's market trading - for Money Morning Members only:
About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.
Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.