U.S. stock markets slumped Wednesday afternoon after a sell-off of two important bellwether companies and a shooting at the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa spooked investors. The Dow Jones today dropped 153 points, while the Nasdaq fell 36 points. The S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 14% on the day, ending its three-day streak of double-digit declines.
Today's scorecard:
Dow: 16,461.32, -153.49 (-0.92%)
S&P 500: 1,927.11, -14.17 (-0.73%)
Nasdaq: 4,382.85, -36.63 (-0.83%)
What moved the markets: The Dow Jones slumped when investors diched shares of Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) after the company beat earnings and raised its earnings forecast. Boeing registered an 18% increase in quarterly profits. However, analysts raised new concerns about rising costs of the airline manufacturer's 787 Dreamliner. The Nasdaq turned downward after Biogen IdecInc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) slipped more than 5% on news that sales of its new multiple sclerosis drug, Tecfidera, fell short of analyst expectations.
Most notable economic news: Today's small uptick in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will make investors wonder when the U.S. Federal Reserve will act on interest rates. But one economic story that fell under the radar was the announcement by Fifth Street Asset Management to postpone its initial public offering. The $6 billion credit-asset management firm said that increased volatility and unsettling market conditions - fueled by geopolitical trouble in Europe and China, the African Ebola outbreak, and other concerns - led it to pull the IPO. With a slew of additional IPOs on the horizon, analysts will wonder if some companies follow Fifth Street's lead.
Now here's a breakdown of today's other top stories and stock performances:
A Record High: Shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) struck an all-time intraday high today of $104.11. The company continues to benefit from a surge of iPhone 6 sales. Apple stock remains on a tear after its strong earnings report from Monday afternoon. The question now is: Just how high can Apple stock go? Our tech expert Michael A. Robinson visited FOX Business to discuss where he sees Apple stock going next. To see the full interview, click here.
Tech Turnout: Shares of Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM) were today's top S&P gainers after both companies rallied on strong earnings reports. Yahoo jumped more than 5% intraday after it bested Wall Street expectations and reported a big gain that was buoyed by the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) IPO. Meanwhile, shares of Broadcom were up more than 6% intraday after the company reported quarterly earnings of $0.91 per share. This topped Wall Street per-share expectations of $0.84.
Tragedy in Moscow: Following the death of its chairman and chief executive officer Christophe de Margerie, French energy giant Total SA (NYSE ADR: TOT) appointed refining head Patrick Pouyanne as its new CEO and former CEO Thierry Desmarest as non-executive chairman. Shares of Total dipped more than 1.5% on the day. De Margerie died on Monday after his private jet collided with a snowplow at a Russian airport.
3D Slump: Shares of 3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) slipped by more than 15% this afternoon after the company slashed its full-year revenue outlook. The company also announced that it expects its third-quarter revenue to fall between $164 million and $169 million. That is far below Wall Street's initial expectations of $186 million.
Electric Slide: Shares of Tesla Motors Co. (Nasdaq: TSLA) slipped more than 1.5% today after the company was hit by two forms of bad news. First, shareholder Daimler AG (USA) (OTCMKTS: DDAIF) sold its 4% stake in the company for $780 million. Second, the auto capital of the United States, Michigan, announced it had banned Tesla sales of vehicles directly to the consumer. Michigan has become the fifth state to ban the direct-to-consumer sales model that bypasses dealerships. Here's why this news isn't a panic signal, but a "buy" signal...
Now for three of today's best profit opportunities from our investing experts - for Money Morning Members only (Not a Member? Sign up now - it's free):
How to Profit from a Stronger U.S. Dollar: The Federal Reserve plans to wind down its asset purchases this month, but Japan and the United Kingdom are still buying, full swing. Meanwhile, the European Union is just looking to get started with its stimulus efforts. That's sent the U.S. dollar into a major run-up, with the euro and yen on the losing side. This adds up to a global currency conflict. And our resource expert Peter Krauth, a 20-year commodity guru and portfolio advisor, has identified a very rare, very lucrative opportunity...
The Profit Opportunity in Hong Kong's Unrest: Most investors haven't got a clue about what Hong Kong's riots represent, let alone the investment potential that's being unleashed there. As a result, they're going to miss out on some really terrific profit opportunities. But before we get to the best way to play this, understanding what's driving the unrest is our key...
How to Get a Piece of Wall Street Profits Without the Wall Street Corruption: There's simply no limit to how far Wall Street will go to make a buck. It's no wonder. With corporate offenses and "bad behavior" routinely going unpunished, perpetrators have developed a sense of impunity. But we can strike back against banks that are behaving badly. And here's how we're going to play a non-bank investment against a rigged services industry...
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.