Greek Drama Headlines Dow Jones News Today

Good morning! For June 25, 2015, here are the top stories in Dow Jones news today, including stock futures, pre-market movers, earnings reports, and stocks to watch...

Stock Futures Today

U.S. stock futures  forecasted a 72-point gain from yesterday's close as investors await a heavy day of economic data, as well as news of a deal between Greece and its creditors.

On Wednesday, the DJIA fell 153 points as traders felt jitters over the lack of a Greek deal. Traders were also unnerved by news that the final revision of first-quarter GDP registered at negative 0.2%.

Top News in the Stock Market Today

  • dow jones news todayThe Ongoing Greek Tragedy: All eyes are on events unfolding in Europe as Greece attempts to salvage a last-minute debt deal. Negotiations between Greece and its creditors lasted throughout Wednesday night. Greece must unfreeze 7.2 billion euros ($8.06 billion) in order to make debt payments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) on June 30 and July 20. Here's what happens if Greece defaults...
  • The Stock Market Today: This morning, investors will listen to the speeches of two Federal Reserve members about monetary policy and their thoughts on when the central bank may take action on interest rates. In addition, keep an eye on weekly jobless claims and a monthly report on personal income.
  • Oil Outlook: Domestic WTI crude futures for August ticked down 0.7% this morning to hit $59.87 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil fell 0.3% to hit $63.31 per barrel. But don't be distracted by talk about oversupply or worries about Europe. One thing is certain: oil prices are poised to move higher -- here's why...
  • Activist Insight: Yesterday, activist investor Carl Icahn warned he thinks the U.S market is "extremely overheated - especially high-yield bonds." Icahn also announced on his Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) account that his company Icahn Enterprises LP (NYSE: IEP) sold its remaining shares of Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX). Shares of NFLX were down marginally following Icahn's statement, which came after the Netflix announced plans for a seven-to-one stock split.
  • Earnings Reports: Companies reporting earnings on Thursday include Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), Accenture Plc. (NYSE: ACN), AZZ Inc. (NYSE: AZZ), Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS), and Mad Catz Interactive Inc. (NYSE: MCZ).

Pre-Market Movers in the Stock Market Today: CREE, BBBY, AAPL

  • Pre-Market Movers No. 1, CREE: Shares of Cree Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) slipped more than 7.5% after the company offered a weak fiscal-fourth-quarter outlook and said it plans to restructure its LED division. The company slashed its outlook to $375 million, down from Wall Street expectations of $431 million.
  • Pre-Market Movers No. 2, BBBY: Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBY) slumped more than 2.3% this morning after the company said it missed Wall Street quarterly expectations. The firm reported first-quarter earnings of $0.93 per share, which failed to meet $0.94 expected by analysts. The company also said that same-store sales missed consensus expectations of a 2.5% increase. However, BBBY's actual same-store sales increased 2.2%.
  • Pre-Market Movers No. 3, AAPL: Apple stock (Nasdaq: AAPL) moved up 0.5% in pre-market hours on news that Carl Icahn said he expects the company faces the same investment opportunity that his firm saw in Netflix several years ago. (See why we believe the Apple TV streaming service is the "tipping point" for AAPL stock here...) The tech giant also announced that it has struck a deal with several independent music labels ahead of its June 30 launch of Apple Music. In addition, an Apple Insider report signaled high resale values of the iPhone -- a sign of strong brand demand.

Stocks to Watch Today: JPM, BOX, TRU

  • Stocks to Watch No. 1, JPM: It seems that JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) simply can't stay out of trouble. The Wall Street Journal reports the investment bank is now working to settle a federal probe into whether JPM wrongly advised its private-banking clients to purchase its own proprietary products. [Profit Opportunity: Even though JPM stock is trading near all-time highs, investors would be wise to invest in this big bank instead.]
  • Stocks to Watch No. 2, BOX: Shares of Box Inc. (NYSE: BOX) were up more than 5.5% yesterday after the company announced a collaboration with International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) to integrate their cloud-based technologies. Under the agreement, Box's customers will be allowed to store their data in IBM's robust cloud data centers.
  • Stocks to Watch No. 3, TRU: Credit-data provider TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) announced late yesterday it has priced its pending IPO at $22.50 a share. The offering is expected to raise roughly $626.5 million for the company. There are 16 companies on this week's upcoming IPO calendar. According to Renaissance Capital, a manager of IPO-focused ETFs, they're expected to raise a combined $2.49 billion. Here's a breakdown of all 16 companies and information on the best IPOs to buy this month.

Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EST)

  • Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo speaks at 8 a.m.
  • Jobless Claims at 8:30 a.m.
  • Personal Income and Outlays at 8:30 a.m.
  • Federal Reserve Gov. Jerome Powell speaks at 8:45 a.m.
  • PMI Services Flash at 9:45 a.m.
  • Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index at 9:45 a.m.
  • EIA Natural Gas Report at 10:30 a.m.
  • Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index at 11 a.m.
  • 3-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
  • 6-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
  • 7-Year Note Auction at 1 p.m.
  • Fed Balance Sheet at 4:30 p.m.
  • Money Supply at 4:30 p.m

What Investors Must Know This Week

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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.

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