Investors brushed aside concerns about a pending interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve and jitters over the upcoming earnings season.
Today's Scorecard:
Dow: 17,678.63, -39.91, -0.23%
S&P 500: 2,056.16, -4.89%, -0.24%
Nasdaq: 4,863.36, -13.16, -0.27%
What Moved the DJIA Today: Upbeat economic data provided optimism for future growth in the U.S. economy, but concerns about a pending interest hike continue to weigh on the financial markets. This morning, the Commerce Department said unemployment claims fell last week at a faster rate than anticipated. In addition, growth in the services sector hit a six-month high. Still, investors remain concerned over first-quarter growth. Earnings season is approaching, and corporate revenue growth faces four distinct challenges: bad weather, the now-settled labor dispute at western U.S. ports, a strong U.S. dollar, and weakening global demand.
Investors wondering why crude oil prices are rising today should look to geopolitical tensions in Yemen. Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of five Gulf States and Egypt against rebels in Yemen, news that is sending commodity prices much higher. Gold prices and the Japanese yen rose against the dollar, while Brent crude oil prices surged due to concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East.
Now, check out the other top market stories - plus get our new profit tip for investors:
Money Morning Tip of the Day: The Facebook stock rise is far from over.
Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) stock hit a new all-time high Tuesday, climbing to $86.07 mid-day before closing at $85.31.
In the past year, Facebook stock has gained 23%. That's almost three times the 8% gain of the Dow Jones in the same period.
But the Facebook stock price will head even higher.
The consensus forecast among 57 analysts covering FB stock is widely bullish, according to a recent Thomson Reuters poll.
The Wall Street Journal shows 40 analysts currently rate Facebook "Buy." That's up from 38 a month ago. Five maintain an "Overweight." Six have a "Hold." Just one rates FB a "Sell."
The 43 analysts providing Thomson Reuters with a 12-month price target have a median target of $91. The high estimate is $107; the low estimate is $65.
Money Morning Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson was ahead of Wall Street when he predicted on Feb. 27 that Facebook stock will double to $161.36 in three years.
Robinson pointed to Facebook's indisputable role as the world leader in the $9 billion social networking market, which grew by 36% a year between 2009 and 2014.
He also cited how the firm has matured into a "mobile juggernaut," rapidly increasing its mobile active users (745 million in Q4 2014) and deftly turning the mobile trend into money. Mobile ad sales in the quarter represented roughly 69% of total ad revenue, a 30% annual gain.
Facebook's new initiatives and strategic acquisitions are yet another tailwind for its stock price.
"Facebook still offers investors plenty of upside," said Robinson. "Even better, it's a big-cap firm, so it should remain less volatile than the overall market. That makes Facebook a great long-term tech play that can really improve the value of your portfolio."
Get all the latest news and analysis about Facebook stock right here...
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.