Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average today (Tuesday, Aug. 25) forecast a 523-point increase as investors attempt to move past "Black Monday," in which the Dow Jones saw its largest intraday decline in its 133-year history. This morning, China slashed interest rates again after falling another 7.6% on Tuesday. The Shanghai Index is now down more than 15% in two days as concerns about the nation's growth rattles investors.
On Monday, the Dow Jones pared losses after falling 1,089 points after the opening bell. The Dow Jones finished down 586 points on a day that the New York Stock Exchange implemented a little used provision called Rule 48 in order to preempt panic selling and ensure orderly trading in times of extreme volatility. Yesterday, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index came within just 34 points of triggering a market wide circuit breaker. Had the breaker been triggered, trading would have been suspended for 15 minutes as exchange leaders attempted to restore order.
Top News in the Stock Market Today
The Stock Market Today: Today, investors will read into the FHFA Housing Price Index, await the monthly industrial Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index, and tune in on the July new home sales report. Chatter about a potential interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve will remain in focus today, although the markets now see the likelihood of the central bank tightening monetary policy to be very low.
Earnings Reports: Companies reporting earnings include Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY), DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW), and Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL).
Pre-Market Movers in the Stock Market Today: AAPL, BABA, ACOR
Pre-Market Movers No. 1, AAPL: Shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) were up more than 5.1% as the tech giant attempts to recover from a very volatile trading session on Monday. Apple stock was down 2.5% on Monday after a brief sell-off that saw shares fall to a 52-week low of $92.00. However, Apple stock is up big this morning on news that China's central bank has slashed interest rates.
Pre-Market Movers No. 2, BABA: Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.(NYSE: BABA) were up 4.3% in early market hours after falling below its IPO price of $68 on Monday. Alibaba stock is down 37% this year and is the second-largest tech giant to dip below its IPO price in the last three trading sessions. Shares of Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) - which fell more than 2.3% yesterday - slipped below its IPO price on Thursday and remain in bear territory.
Pre-Market Movers No. 3, ACOR: Shares of Acorda Thereupeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOR) surged more than 31% in post-market hours on Monday after the U.S. Patent Office rejected activist hedge fund manager Kyle Bass' suit that challenged the company's patent for its drug Ampyra.
Stocks to Watch Today: CAG, XL, ANF
Stocks to Watch No. 1, CAG: Merger and acquisition activity isn't slowing down this week despite the market's downturn. Rumors emerged yesterday that TreeHouse Foods Inc. (NYSE: THS) is looking to purchase ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) for roughly $3 billion. In other deal news, global agricultural giant Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) upped its bid for rival Syngenta AG (NYSE ADR: SYT) to $47 billion, while Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) announced it will purchase AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE: GAS) for $12 billion.
Stocks to Watch No. 2, XL: Shares of global insurance and reinsurance company XL Group Plc. (NYSE: XL) experienced a mini-flash crash yesterday, falling as much as 90% in early hours on Monday. Shares recovered, falling just 3.7% on the day.
Stocks to Watch No. 3, ANF: U.S. retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) gained more than 5% yesterday after the firm received an upgrade from investment firm Piper Jaffray. The firm's analyst increased her rating from neutral to overweight and hiked the price target from $25 to $27. That's a strong premium from yesterday's closing price of $17.30.
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.
