Good Morning! Futures for the stock market today (Monday) forecasted a 31-point increase for the Dow from Friday's close ahead of the last busy week of the earnings season. The Dow Jones fell 251 points on Friday after a late oil-price surge caught the market off guard. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 8% in New York during the day.
What to Watch Today: Investors will react to Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) earnings and figures on consumer spending. Last quarter, consumer spending hit its largest decline since December 2009.
Here's what else you should know about the stock market today - including your "Money Morning Tip of the Day" - to make it a profitable Monday:
Full U.S. Economic Calendar February 2015
Money Morning Tip of the Day: Earnings reports are better than traders would have you believe.
Today's tip comes from Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald:
Markets took a sharp dip last week with investors reacting to dour earnings reports from major U.S. companies and sagging durable goods orders. Bellwether companies Caterpillar and Microsoft both disappointed, seemingly adding to the misery.
However, as usual, traders can't see the forest for the trees.
Trading action is really about a much stronger dollar, because it makes U.S. goods more expensive and naturally drags down earnings while also diminishing the value of foreign revenue. It's temporary at best.
The truth of the matter is that more than 70% of companies that have reported to date have beaten analyst estimates, profit margins are still growing, and sales are very much on the increase - at least when we're talking about companies tied into the Unstoppable Trends I discuss in my Total Wealth publication.
Go here for more profit tips and stock picks from Keith Fitz-Gerald.