The Dow Jones Industrial Average today (Friday) slid 289 points after investors weighed yesterday's decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Yesterday, the central bank elected to keep interest rates near zero stoked amid concerns about the potential impact of continuing weak global growth on U.S. companies. Meanwhile, a slump in oil prices weighed down energy stocks. Shares of Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) both fell more than 2.2% on the day.
Rick Rieder, a top bond manager at BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK), said today he expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates during its December meeting. The reason for the delay centers on inflation, which we break down right here.
The S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX), the market's fear gauge, surged 6% on the day.
Top Stock Market News Today
Stock Market News: In a press statement on Thursday, the U.S. central bank said "recent global economic and financial developments may restrain economic activity somewhat and are likely to put further downward pressure on inflation in the near term." Today, the dollar slumped, but still beat out the euro. Many anticipate the Fed's rate decision will put pressure on the European Central Bank to further ease the continental currency.
On Tap Monday: Next week, companies reporting earnings include Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT), Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), IGATE Corp. (Nasdaq: IGTE), Casey's General Stores Inc. (Nasdaq: CASY), and Nordic American Tanker Ltd. (NYSE: NAT).
Stocks to Watch: FCX, KO, ADBE
Stocks to Watch 1, FCX: Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) slipped 11% on news the company raised $1 billion in an "at-the-market" offering of common stock and said it will sell another $1 billion.
Stocks to Watch No. 2, KO: Shares of The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) slipped more than 1% today after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) informed the global beverage giant that it owes nearly $3.3 billion after an audit found the company's revenue should have been higher between 2007 and 2009.
Stocks to Watch No. 3,ADBE: Shares of Adobe Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: ADBE) added 1.2% after the company beat Wall Street third-quarter earnings expectations after the closing bell yesterday. Adobe reported a quarterly revenue increase of 21% to $1.22 billion and beat consensus per-share earnings expectations by $0.04. However, the company did provide a weaker outlook for this quarter, weighing down investor confidence.
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.
