For Feb. 8, 2016, 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: 16,027.05; -177.92; -1.10%
S&P 500: 1,853.45; -26.61; -1.42%
Nasdaq: 4,283.75; -79.39; -1.82%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average today (Monday) fell 177 points as tech stocks continued to slump and oil prices cratered again on concerns of a global economic downturn. Financial stocks slumped on concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates in the coming months and global exposure to rising debt levels.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) - Wall Street's fear gauge - was up 12.2%.
On the economic front, the Labor Markets Conditions Index registered a 0.4 for the month of January, another sign that the U.S. employment sector has gotten softer. It was the lowest reading since the spring of 2015 and a decline from 2.3 in December. The little-known index - created at the recommendation of Janet Yellen - tracks 19 different indicators and offers the Federal Reserve a deeper dive into U.S. hiring trends.
Many investors fear we're headed for a stock market crash, correction, or bear market. Here's what our team of Money Morning experts predict will happen in 2016...
Top Stock Market News Today
Stock Market Today: All 10 major S&P sectors fell on Monday, with financial stocks plunging due to rising risk concerns in Europe and surging costs of credit-default swaps. Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) slumped more than 6%, the largest single-day decline for the bank in more than three years. Goldman shares were also the largest individual weight on the Dow. Shares of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) all slipped more than 4.4% on high volumes.
"FANG" Falters: Shares of Facebook Inc.(Nasdaq: FB), Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq:NFLX), and Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL) - the so-called "FANG" stocks - all fell more than 2.5% today. These stocks have been under increasing pressure in the last two weeks, as investors pull away from what were considered safe-haven tech stocks.
Oil Prices: WTI crude oil fell 2.6% to hit $30.07 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent crude dipped 3.1% to hit $32 per barrel. Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) gained 2.0%, while shares of Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) surged 4.6%.
On Tap Next Week: On Tuesday, a light economic calendar is limited to the Labor Market Conditions Index and the TD Ameritrade IMX. Markets in China will be closed for Chinese New Year. Companies set to report quarterly earnings include Solar City Corp. (Nasdaq: SCTY), CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS), Spirit Airlines Inc. (Nasdaq: SAVE), Nuance Communications (Nasdaq: NUAN), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: REGN), and Akamai Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: AKAM).
Stocks to Watch: YHOO, TSLA, CHK, YELP, TWTR, VZ
Stocks to Watch No. 1,YHOO: Shares of Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) fell nearly 4% despite news that the nation's largest wireless telecom firm is considering a deal to purchase assets from the firm. According to a report from Reuters, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) has placed AOL CEO Tim Armstrong in charge of exploring a bid for Yahoo's assets.
Stocks to Watch No. 2, TSLA: Shares of Tesla Motors Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) fell as investors become more concerned about late deliveries, production capacity, and increased competition. Morgan Stanley noted that the electric car maker is at a crossroads as it faces engineering challenges with the Model X. The company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results after the bell on Wednesday.
Stocks to Watch No. 3,CHK: Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) slumped more than 35% on news that the company has hired a restructuring firm to explore a structural shakeup. Although the nation's second-largest natural gas producer claims that it is planning on going into bankruptcy, trading was halted three times today. The firm is set to report fourth-quarter earnings and its 2015 annual results in two weeks. Here's a breakdown of what's happening with CHK stock today.
Stocks to Watch No. 4,YELP: Shares of Yelp Inc. (Nasdaq: YELP) fell more than 6% after the company surprisingly reported its earnings during the trading session. The company easily beat top- and bottom-line revenue expectations and announced that its CFO will resign in the coming months. Shares were temporarily halted by a circuit breaker due to volatility. The company said that the early release was due to a vendor error at PRNewswire, which forced them to report earlier than they had planned.
Stocks to Watch No. 5,TWTR: Shares of Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) were off more than 3.4% despite news that the company is shaking up its Timeline feature. The Timeline will be reportedly change to display what it believes users want to read rather the sequential order of postings. Right now, the TWTR stock price is trading at all-time lows before Q4 2015 earnings are announced on Feb. 10. Here's why the stock is poised to fall even further in the coming months.
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.