The Dow Jones Industrial Average today (Thursday) added another 18 points despite news that financial earnings were terrible. If this were any other quarter - where Wall Street earnings expectations were reasonable - we'd be calling for people to resign at many of the top banks. But given that financial stocks already had a terrible quarter in terms of stock price movement, stocks are bouncing off near-term bottoms.
Here's what happened in the markets on April 14, 2016.
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First up, check out the results for the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 17,926.74; +18.15; +0.10%
S&P 500: 2,082.78; +0.36; +0.02%
Nasdaq: 4,945.89 -1.53; -0.03%
Now, here's the top stock market news today...
Banking stocks were in focus during a busy day of earnings reports. Central to the calendar were shares of Wells Fargo Co. (NYSE: WFC). Shares were flat despite news that the bank's first-quarter profit fell 5.9% as low oil prices hurt its results. Wells Fargo reported a profit of $0.99 per share on revenue of $22.2 billion.
WTI crude oil prices slipped on news that Russia's oil minister lowered expectations about a possible deal among global investors. A report by the International Energy Agency also indicated that global demand was sliding by roughly 1.16 million barrels per day over the last month. Domestic oil prices were off 0.4%, while Brent crude fell 0.8%.
On the oil front, falling prices over the last year have weighed heavily on financial giants Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). The increase in bad energy loans compounded other problems related to weakening trading activity of stocks, bonds, and currencies. Both firms announced they had set aside several hundred million dollars to cover bad loans granted to energy firms.
On the economic front, inflation isn't what the U.S. Federal Reserve thinks it is. According to new data, consumer prices barely ticked upward in March. The slow increase in inflation continues to justify the Fed's cautionary approach on interest rates. The data accompanied news that Americans seeking unemployment benefits ticked down to a nearly 43-year low last week.
But the big news today was about the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK). Shares of BlackRock were up nearly 2% despite news that the firm plans to slash 400 jobs and restructure the organization. The total cost: $76 million. The firm announced a 20% decline in first-quarter profits as global uncertainty affects the sector and the company experienced significant outflows over the last few months.
Now, let's look at the day's biggest stock movers and today's must-own stock...
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