For Nov. 17, 2015, here's the top stock market news and stocks to watch based on today's market moves...
How Did the Stock Market Do Today?
Dow Jones:17,489.50; +6.49;+0.04%
S&P 500: 2,050.44; -2.75;-0.13%
Nasdaq:4,986.02; +1.40;+0.03%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average today (Tuesday) gained only six points after a bomb threat in Germany canceled an international soccer match and renewed concerns of terror attacks across Europe. A German official said a bomb attack had been planned in Hanover, where the match was scheduled. The news offset positive earnings reports from retailers. In addition, U.S. inflation readings suggested the U.S. Federal Reserve will likely raise interest rates in December; however, given recent geopolitical concerns across Europe and the United States, is the Fed going to change its rate hike forecast?
On Wednesday, keep an eye on weekly crude inventories, which will likely affect oil prices in the wake of geopolitical uncertainty generated by French and U.S. airstrikes in Syria. In addition, investors will want to digest a report on monthly sales, two speeches by members of the Federal Reserve, and the release of the minutes from last month's FOMC meeting. Companies reporting quarterly earnings tomorrow include Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM), Keurig Green Mountain Inc. (Nasdaq: GMCR), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW), SINA Corp. (Nasdaq: SINA), NetApp Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP), L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB), Staples Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS), and Aramark (NYSE: ARMK).
Top Stock Market News Today
Stock Market News: Seven of 10 S&P sectors fell today, with utilities stocks dropping the most, followed by energy stocks. The significant bright spot in the basic materials category was Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG), which surged more than 29% on news it will be acquired by French rival Air Liquide SA (OTCMKTS ADR: AIQUY) for $13.4 billion. Meanwhile, the U.S. Consumer Price Index increased by 0.2% month over month, surpassing the consensus expectations of Estimize analysts. The increase suggests inflation levels are moving closer to the Federal Reserve's 2.0% annual target. Investors will place an even greater emphasis on the November jobs report when it is released in two weeks.
Oil in Focus: Oil prices slumped on Tuesday as concerns about a global glut of crude rattled traders. December WTI prices fell 0.52% to hit $40.70, while Brent oil crude - priced in London - dipped 2.0% to hit $43.65. High-volume stocks Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) fell 1.2% and 0.5% on the day, respectively.
Stocks to Watch: HD, WMT, PYPL, EBAY, URBN, SUNE
Stocks to Watch No. 1, HD: Before the bell, Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) announced it beat consensus fiscal third-quarter earnings. The home retail giant reported earnings of $1.36 per share on $21.82 billion in revenue. Wall Street had anticipated an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.32 on revenue of $21.74 billion.
Stocks to Watch No. 2, WMT: Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) were up more than 3.5% after the global retailer beat Wall Street fiscal third-quarter earnings expectations. Wall Street anticipated the largest American retail firm would report an EPS of $0.98 on $117.64 billion. The company ended up reporting an EPS of $1.03 on $117.4 billion.
Stocks to Watch No. 3, PYPL: Shares of PayPal Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: PYPL) continue to rise on news activist investor Carl Icahn has built a 3.8% stake in the firm. The stock added 1.7% today on news Icahn exchanged his entire stake in online retailer and auction site eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) for the same amount of shares in the digital payment processing company after the spin-off divided the two companies in July. Icahn has long been a supporter of PayPal and had pushed for the spin-off for some time.
Stocks to Watch No. 4, URBN: Shares of Urban Outfitters Inc. (Nasdaq: URBN) dipped more than 3.8% today, fueling a total decrease of almost 20% in the last two trading sessions. URBN stock hit a 52-week low of $19.26 following head-scratching news from the specialty retailer. Urban Outfitters announced yesterday it has acquired Philadelphia's Vetri Family group of restaurants, including the Pizzeria Vetri chain. Here's where everything is going wrong for URBN stockholders.
Stocks to Watch No. 5, SUNE: Shares of Sunedison Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) fell another 33.7% today after several hedge funds announced they had cut their stakes in the embattled solar-energy firm. Shares are off more than 90% since July as falling natural gas prices create a less expensive energy alternative and concerns about the company's loan agreements weigh on investor sentiment.
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.