On Tuesday, the DJIA Index slumped 142 points on weak economic trade data that suggests the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter. Although GDP registered at 0.2% growth during the first reading last week, a surge in imports to levels not seen since October 2008 hints that future revisions might trend downward.
Top News in the Stock Market Today
The Stock Market Today: Today, investors received their first look at the employment situation after ADP reported job creation among private companies. The U.S. created a rather underwhelming 169,000 private sector jobs in April. In addition, traders will weigh insight from speeches delivered by two members of the Fed Open Market Committee and one from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
Oil Prices Today: Oil prices were on the rise this morning on a slipping U.S. dollar and concerns about production in Libya and geopolitical worries in Yemen, which cradles the world's busiest shipping lane. WTI crude, priced in New York City, gained 2.2% to hit $61.74 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil, priced in London, gained 2% this morning to hit $68.88 per barrel.
Pre-Market Movers in the Stock Market Today:
Pre-Market Movers 1, HLF: Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) surged more than 15% after the bell on Tuesday after the health marketing giant beat Wall Street expectations by a whopping 10%. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.11 a share, well ahead of analysts' per-share estimates of $1.00. Despite the positive news, the company said that sales fell 12% to $1.1 billion, signaling that the firm has been impacted by the strong U.S. dollar.
Pre-Market Movers 2, TWTR: Shares of Twitter Inc. (Nasdaq: TWTR) were up nearly 1% on news that the company has hired five new senior-level finance professionals to help streamline its financial reporting. The new team managers include Todd Morgenfeld from Hewlett-Packard Co. (Nasdaq: HPQ) and former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) executive Steve McGuinness.
Pre-Market Movers 3, AMZN: Shares of both Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG, GOOGL) were on the rise this morning after both companies reported that the FAA is likely to permit both firms to test drone flights. The two companies are competing to bring delivery drones to market in a race to make same-day delivery a fixture in the market.
Stocks to Watch Today:
Stocks to Watch No. 1, ALXN: Pharmaceutical company Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ALXN) announced plans to purchase Synageva BioPharma Corp. (Nasdaq: GEVA) in a cash-and-stock deal worth $8.4 billion. The deal is expected to bolster Alexion's pipeline of rare-disease drugs. GEVA shares jumped more than 125% this morning on the news and is one of the latest companies that is cashing in on an expanding market for orphan drugs.
Stocks to Watch No. 2, AXP: Shares of American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) were up nearly 1% this morning after the credit processing giant received an upgrade from Bernstein. The research firm boosted AmEx from "market perform" to "outperform," while arguing the risk-reward metric of the company is skewed to the upside. American Express should be able to buffer itself from a rising U.S. dollar.
Stocks to Watch No. 3, MGI: Shares of MoneyGram International Inc. (Nasdaq: MGI) surged more than 23% this morning on news that The Western Union Co. (NYSE: WU) could purchase the small payment firm.
Stocks to Watch: Premarket earnings: Today, keep an eye out for earnings reports from Tesla Motors Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA), Whole Foods Market Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA), and Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG).
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.