Good Morning! Dow Jones futures today (Tuesday) forecast a dip of seven points from yesterday's close. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 331 points, a 2% loss. The dip, and the prospect of a 5% correction in 2015 leaves Money Morning's Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald unfazed. Yesterday, he told Fox Business that winter weather could play a big factor in the markets in the coming weeks. He also offered four stocks that you must avoid should a continued downturn occur.
What to Watch Today: Investors will continue to monitor the situation in Greece, where an anti-austerity, leftist bloc is gaining traction. They could secure power in the event of a snap election. The possibility has rattled the European markets, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has publicly stated that she's prepared for Greece to exit the Euro. In addition, investors will keep an eye on several data reports this morning in the United States, including November factory orders at 10 a.m.
Here's what else you should know about the Dow Jones today - including your "Money Morning Tip of the Day" - to make it a profitable Tuesday:
- Merger Mania: Shares of AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) were up more than 7% this morning in pre-market hours on news that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) has approached the firm about a possible merger or joint venture. However, no formal offer has been extended yet. AOL has long been linked to a possible merger with Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO). Bloomberg reports that Verizon is looking to boost its mobile-video offerings.
- Biotech Boom: Shares of Minerva Neurosciences (Nasdaq: NERV) jumped more than 64% in pre-market hours today on news that the company's animal study on Parkinson's disease has shown significant promise. The company now plans to advance the treatment toward human trials. Meanwhile, shares of CytRx Corp. (Nasdaq: CYTR) were up nearly 25% this morning on news that its experimental cancer drug, aldoxorubicin, has shown promise in trials.
- Pandemic Push: Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) were up marginally in pre-market hours on news that the company has started testing an Ebola-virus vaccine in humans. The company has increased its development of the treatment in response to concerns about Ebola overwhelming hospitals across Western Africa. The company plans to manufacture at least 400,000 doses for human use by April.
- Hack Attack: Online-money transfer firm Xoom Corp. (Nasdaq: XOOM) slipped more than 8% on news that a cyber-thief stole $30.8 million in company cash and transferred it to an offshore account. The news comes on the same day that its Chief Financial Officer Matt Hibbard resigned. According to reports, hackers impersonated employees and successfully accessed accounts and transferred the money to an overseas account.
- Oil Prices Today: Oil prices slid to five-and-a-half year lows this morning on oversupply concerns and worries that global demand growth is retreating. This morning, February 2015 futures for WTI oil slumped below $49 per barrel, a level that will test U.S. producers. Meanwhile, Brent oil dropped more than 1.8% to $52.14 per barrel. This morning, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said the kingdom will not cut production despite the fact that Brent prices have fallen more than 55% since June.
- Economic Calendar: Today's economic calendar features the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index, the weekly ICSC-Goldman Store Sales report, and an update on factory orders.
- Earnings Reports: Stay tuned for an earnings report from Lindsay Corp. (NYSE: LNN), Sonic Corp. (Nasdaq: SONC), Team Inc. (NYSE: TISI), Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE: MU), and Zep Inc. (NYSE: ZEP).
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Full U.S. Economic Calendar Jan. 6, 2015
- ICSC-Goldman Store Sales at 7:45 a.m.
- Gallup US ECI at 8:30 a.m.
- Redbook at 8:55 a.m.
- PMI Services Index at 9:45 a.m.
- Factory Orders at 10 a.m.
- ISM Non-Manufacturing Index at 10 a.m.
- Global Composite PMI at 11 a.m.
- Global Services PMI at 11 a.m.
- 4-Week Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
- 52-Week Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
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.