Dow Jones Industrial Average News, 4/15/2016: Global markets were cratering on Monday after a number of major oil producers failed to agree on a potential deal to freeze output.
Talks collapsed in Doha, Qatar, over the weekend, fueling a massive sell-off of oil. WTI crude oil prices fell nearly 5%, while Brent crude was off 4.5%.
It was a dramatic turn from just a week ago. Russia and Saudi Arabia had agreed in principle to freeze output to January levels. However, Iran decided at the last minute to skip the meeting. That increased tensions on what was already a very uncooperative situation. Analysts stated that Saudi Arabia had very little incentive to freeze production without Iran taking part in a deal.
The Qatari government had invited 20 oil-producing nations, responsible for roughly 73% of total global production.
Here's today's top stock market news, stocks to watch, ways to profit, and economic calendar for April 18, 2016.
What's Moving the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today: Doha Oil Talks Collapse
Dow Jones futures forecast a 63-point decline with the Doha oil conference in focus. News of the meeting's failure hammered the U.S. dollar, which fell this morning to an 18-month low against the Japanese yen.
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Here's a breakdown of why the Dow is sliding this morning.
- First up, The Wall Street Journal reports that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) has moved into the lead as a suitor for Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO). Today is the deadline set by Yahoo for bids of its assets. Yahoo has been under significant pressure in recent months from activist investor Starboard Value to sell some of its assets in order to boost shareholder value.
- On the economic front, look out for the April home builders' index, as the housing market attempts to maintain momentum. Meanwhile, traders will be listening to three speeches by members of the U.S. Federal Reserve and trying to seek clues about the timing of the next interest rate hike.
- A busy day of earnings report is on tap Monday. Look out for quarterly reports from Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP), and Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS).
Now here's your list of top stocks to watch in today's market, plus today's economic calendar:
Companies to Watch in the Stock Market Today
- The semiconductor industry remains under significant pressure. Shares of ARM Holdings Plc. (NYSE: ARMH) were sliding after investment firm Jefferies slashed its stock rating. ARM is an important supplier to Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and makes chips for the iPhone.
- Pay attention to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), which is set to report Q1 earnings on Tuesday. The GS stock price was down 1.2% today on news that its firm plans to cut costs in the coming months. Analysts anticipate the firm will report its worst earnings results since 2009.
- Shares of Centrica Plc. (NYSE: CAN) were off nearly 2.5% after the company announced that its energy supply customers declined by 1.5% in the March-ending quarter.
- Shares of Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) are in focus on news that the company is selling all of its Myanmar gas blocks. The firm is expected to fetch a price up to $1.3 billion for its stakes and it would be the largest deal for assets in Myanmar in history.
- Saudi Arabia announced that it will use its vast oil resources to form the single largest publicly traded stock in the world. The size of this company will blow away today's largest firms like Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Apple, and Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL) with a market capitalization that will be in the trillions. But is it a good investment? Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors breaks down the announcement and offers his insight on where oil prices go from here.
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
- New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley speaks at 8:30 a.m.
- Housing Market Index at 10 a.m.
- 4-Week Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- 3-Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
- 6-Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
- Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari speaks at 12:30 p.m.
- Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren speaks at 7 p.m.
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About the Author
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.