Dow Jones Industrial Average News, 4/25/2016: With the U.S. Federal Reserve prepared to do nothing this week with interest rates, the U.S. dollar took a tumble on Monday.
Broader uncertainty has also taken hold as a number of companies prepare to report March-ending earnings this week. This week, look for earnings from Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), AT&T Corp. (NYSE: T), Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR), Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB), and Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN).
It seems that no matter what anyone says about monetary policy, what the Federal Reserve does is what truly drives the markets. Perhaps everyone is waking up to the truth that our Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald recently outlined.
Roughly 93% of all stock market movement since the Great Recession has been driven by the Federal Reserve's policy decisions.
Here's today's top stock market news, stocks to watch, ways to profit, and economic calendar for April 25, 2016.
What's Moving the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today: Fed Policy
Dow Jones futures projected a 42-point decline as oil prices slid and traders prepared for a busy week of earnings statements. Investors are also anxiously awaiting an update from the Federal Reserve on the possibility of raising interest rates. Though the Fed is extremely unlikely to increase interest rates this month, traders are curious of the timing of the Fed's next action, particularly in the wake of recent weakness in the nation's manufacturing sector.
Here's a breakdown of why the Dow is pushing lower this morning.
First up, the Bank of Japan is falling into a "liquidity trap." This week, it will meet to discuss further interest rate cuts as the nation simply cannot show sustainable growth.
Today, all eyes are on Saudi Arabia's leadership as the country prepares to announce a plan to diversify its economy away from dependence on oil. Prince Mohammad bin Salman has secured $10 billion in loans from global banks, set expectations for a dramatic international bond issue, discussed the potential for a sovereign wealth fund, and floated the idea of its state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco issuing an IPO by 2018. According to reports, the nation plans to float roughly 5% of Saudi Aramco, a deal which would make it the largest company on the public markets by far.
Oil prices slid this morning as traders took gains after a three-week winning streak. WTI crude prices were off nearly 1%, while Brent prices fell nearly 0.7%. Crude prices have climbed in recent weeks as producer nations prepare to meet in Russia to discuss a possible production freeze in order to support crude prices. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency said recently that producers like the United States and Canada have seen a 40% decline in planned investment in the face of falling prices.
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
Shares of Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) fell more than 4.5% after the firm reported that earnings fell short of expectations. The company announced that the cost of restructuring the organization weighed down earnings significantly compared to last year. The printing giant reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.03, a steep slide from the $0.19 it earned in the same quarter last year.
Next, organic growth is dying, and companies are still in a buying spree in order to bolster market share. This morning, USA Today publisher Gannet Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) made an unsolicited offer to purchase the Tribune Publishing Co. (NYSE: TPUB). Tribune publishes the Los Angeles Times. The deal is worth roughly $815 million and assumes nearly $400 million in company debt. Shares of TPUB rallied nearly 60% early this morning on the news.
On the earnings front, look for additional reports from KKR & Co. LP (NYSE: KKR), NXP Semiconductors NV (Nasdaq: NXPI), Express Scripts Holding Co. (Nasdaq: ESRX), HealthStream Inc. (Nasdaq: HSTM), and Roper Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ROP).
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
New Home Sales at 10 a.m.
Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey at 10:30 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.
2-Year Note Auction at 1 p.m.
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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.