Stock market news today, July 24, 2014: Following the S&P 500's record high Wednesday, U.S. stock futures were all green in pre-market this morning (Thursday). Dow Jones futures were up 0.16%, S&P futures were up 0.23%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.35% as of 8:15 a.m. EDT.
Here are the stock market news stories shaping U.S. markets Thursday:
Social Surge: Shares of Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) gained more than 7.8% after the bell yesterday on news that the company beat second-quarter estimates. Citing a surge in mobile advertising, the company boasted a 61% increase in quarterly revenue. The stock hit an all-time high above $71 per share and pushed the company's valuation to nearly $190 billion. Here's the full story on how Facebook stock surged on Wednesday following earnings...
Cutting Back: Telecom giant AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) announced a 7.2% decline in quarterly earnings on Wednesday. The company reported that net income slipped from $3.82 billion to $3.55 billion from the same period last year. AT&T said that mobile customers continue to move to less expensive cell plans. According to company data, half of the firm's wireless customers have shifted to "Mobile Share Value" plans, deals that were introduced in February.
Another Day, Another Sanction:The Financial Times reports that the European Union is preparing to ban its citizens from buying or selling bonds or stocks from Russia's largest banks. The deal is the latest round of sanctions against Russian interest in the wake of growing geopolitical problems in Ukraine.
Auto Profits: Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) were on the rise this morning after the company announced it beat second-quarter earnings estimates. The company reported a quarterly profit of $2.6 billion, or $0.40 per share. This topped consensus estimates of $0.36 per share. Meanwhile, rival General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) reported second-quarter profit of $0.58 per share on revenue of $39.65 billion. Shares of GM were up marginally in pre-market hours.
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Today's Economic Calendar: Today's schedule features the Fed Balance Sheet, the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index, New Home Sales, and Jobless Claims.
Inversion Changes: U.S. President Barack Obama announced his support of a new law that would retroactively eliminate incentives for American companies that purchase international rivals for the purpose of relocating to Europe to reduce their tax burden. The proposed law would threaten the attractiveness of deals between Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) and Covidien Plc. (NYSE: COV), Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Nasdaq: SLXP) and Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, and AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) and Shire Plc. (Nasdaq: SHPG), among others.
Earnings Reports: Stay tuned for earnings reports from 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM), American Airlines Group Inc. (NYSE: AAL), Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Dr. Pepper SnappleGroup Inc. (NYSE: DPS), Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE: PJC), Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN), and Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV).
Full U.S. Economic Calendar July 24, 2014 (NYSE: all times EDT)
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.