Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 127 points after the Chinese stock market saw its worst one-day decline in eight years. Traders appear concerned about the world's second-largest economy and its growth prospects for 2015. Chinese ADRs were hit hard, with shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA), Sohu.com Inc. (Nasdaq: SOHU), and JD.com Inc. (Nasdaq: JD) all falling on the day.
The S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX), the market's fear gauge, surged more than 17%.
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Stock Market News: The markets slipped today on concerns about the world's second-largest economy. Chinese markets slipped more than 8.5%, its sharpest one-day decline since 2007. Shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) fell 1.7%. Apple stock has declined over five straight trading sessions, the second time this streak has happened in the last month.
Oil Outlook:Oil prices slumped to their lowest levels since March 20 as traders worried about oversupply on the global markets and falling demand in the wake of declining China stocks. WTI crude futures for September fell 2.2% to hit $47.06 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil prices slipped 3.1% to hit $52.92 per barrel. Both U.S. and Brent crude are on pace to post monthly losses of more than 10%.
Greek Tragedy: The New York Times reports that Greece's government is under attack on news that it is secretly preparing to exit the Eurozone if needed. According to a report, the nation's former finance minister outlined a plan to develop an alternative banking system that would allow the nation to create a new currency.
On Tap Tomorrow: On Tuesday, the Federal Open Market Committee meeting kicks off, and investors anticipate that the central bank could raise interest rates in the coming months. Traders will also keep an eye on last month's consumer confidence report and the S&P Case-Shiller HPI. Companies reporting earnings include Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL), Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (Nadsaq: BWLD), D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI), EI du Pont de Nemours and Co. (NYSE: DD), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD), GrubHub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB), JetBlue Airways Corp. (Nasdaq: JBLU), Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), Panera Bread Co. (Nasdaq: PNRA), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI), Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR), United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS), United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X), and Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP).
Stocks to Watch No. 1, AGN: Shares of Allergan Plc. (NYSE: AGN) jumped more than 6% after the firm announced plans to sell its generic drugs unit to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE ADR: TEVA) for $40.5 billion. Shares of TEVA jumped more than 16% on the day.
Stocks to Watch No. 2, MYL: The deal between Allergan and Teva means that Teva has withdrawn its offer to purchase generic drug maker Mylan NV (Nasdaq: MYL). That news sent shares of Mylan into a tailspin, declining more than 14%.
Stocks to Watch No. 3, FCAU: Shares of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE: FCAU) slipped nearly 5% after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was fining the auto giant $105 million over problems related to its recent safety recalls. The company also must offer to buy hundreds of thousands of Ram pickup trucks and other vehicles from customers as part of the settlement.
Stocks to Watch No. 4, DAL:Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) announced plans to purchase a 3.55% stake in China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd. (NYSE ADR: CEA) for $450 million. Shares of CEA were down 6.5% on the day, dragged by a broader sell-off in the Chinese markets. DAL shares were down nearly 0.4% on the day.
Stocks to Watch No. 5, MAG: Shares of Magnetek Inc. (Nasdaq: MAG) surged 54% on news that the firm will be purchased by Columbus McKinnon Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCO) for $50 a share, or roughly $188.9 million in cash.
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.