Stock market futures for Tuesday, Jan. 27, forecasted a 291-point decrease from yesterday's close on lackluster earnings reports from several major companies. On Monday, The DJIA dipped due to concerns regarding the weekend's election in Greece; however, it ended the choppy session with a modest gain. Over the weekend, Greek voters elected its anti-austerity party into office, and new concerns have emerged about the country potentially departing the euro.
Today, investors are all about earnings reports, including the highly anticipated quarterly update from Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL). Investors can also expect quarterly earnings reports from American Airlines Group Inc. (NYSE: AAL), Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq: AMGN), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX), and United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X).
Here's what else you should know about the stock market today - including your "Money MorningTip of the Day" - to make it a profitable Tuesday:
Stocks to Watch: Shares of Microsoft stock (Nasdaq: MSFT) slipped more than 8.5% in pre-market hours on news that the company's second-quarter earnings were in line with expectations. However, investors gave Microsoft the thumbs down. The sour reaction was a bit unfair. Microsoft's earnings for the second quarter slipped to $5.86 billion, or $0.71 a share, from $11.8 billion, or $1.42 a share, during the same period last year. Revenue jumped to $26.47 billion, from $24.52 billion a year earlier. For a full breakdown of the company's earnings reports, be sure to read our full recap right here.
Earnings Miss: Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) slipped more than 8% this morning on news that the heavy equipment manufacturer missed estimates by $0.20 for the quarter. The firm reported adjusted quarterly profits of $1.35 per share, but revenues were above analyst expectations. The firm said that it has slashed its 2015 sales forecast over concerns of a rising dollar and crashing oil prices.
Huge Cuts: According to Forbes, International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) is about to undergo the largest reorganization in company history. Dubbed Project Chrome, the upcoming event could see up to 26% of the firm's employees, or 100,000, receiving pink-slips. IBM has flatly denied the report. However, the company's stock continues to slide regardless of today's news... As Michael Lewitt explained this week, the stock is struggling in its "turnaround" attempts and can't seem to rebound. To learn how you should play IBM stock today, be sure to read Michael's take right here.
Hack Hoax: This morning, Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) experienced a site-wide outage. Despite claims by a hacker group for responsibility, the firm said that the glitch was due to an internal software error. Shares of Facebook were down more than 1% this morning
An Apple a Day: This afternoon, Apple will report its quarterly earnings. Sales of its iPhone 6 line is expected to hit record levels, and revenue is projected to come in at $67.5 billion in Q1 - more sales in a three-month period than Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) generated in all of 2014. Q1 AAPL earnings will break records when delivered today (Tuesday), led by blockbuster sales of the iPhone 6. Every indication points to Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) walloping expectations when the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech titan reports earnings after market close. Here's a breakdown of what to expect from Apple stock and why this remains one of the best stocks to own in the 2015.
Oil Prices Today:Crude oil prices are on the rise with the euro gaining some traction against the dollar this morning. Today, March 2015 futures for U.S. crude, priced at the NYMEX in New York City, increased by nearly 0.5% to hit $45.39 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent crude, priced in London, jumped about 0.6% to hit $48.54 per barrel.
Money Morning Tip of the Day: Shorting stocks isn't for everybody - it takes a lot of guts and more than a little conviction to do it profitably. Not to mention a whole lot of discipline. But done right, it can really boost your profits. Here's how to profit from the five scariest stocks on Wall Street... without owning them.
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.