Dow Jones Industrial AverageNews, 5/13/2016: The U.S. markets are hoping to hold up their recent upturn, despite conflicting data about the health of the national economy.
Yesterday, weekly jobless reports pushed higher, while tech giant Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) saw shares fall to multiyear lows. The ongoing problems in the domestic manufacturing sector combined with ongoing woes in the jobs market have pushed economists to all but eliminate the possibility of an interest rate hike.
Economists project a September rate hike, while the futures market expect the probability of a rate hike to not top 50% until December.
Here's today's top stock market news, stocks to watch, ways to profit, and economic calendar for May 13, 2016.
What's Moving the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today: U.S. Retail Sales
Dow Jones futures projected a 66-point slide ahead of a retail data update today. Investors are cautious after this week's topsy-turvy market that has witnessed 200-point swings. Investors also have concerns about the health of the retail sector.
Here's a breakdown of why the Dow is pushing lower this morning.
First up, it's been a brutal week for retail stocks, as the sector continues to take shots on the chin from weak quarterly earnings reports. Shares of Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) slumped 2% after the company missed top-line earnings expectations by a wide margin. It also slashed its earnings outlook for the upcoming quarter. The horrible earnings report comes a day after Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS) saw shares fall 9.1%. On Tuesday, retail stocks had their worst single trading day since 2011.
Things are going from bad to worse for the Brazilian economy. On the same day that its President Dilma Rousseff was impeached by the nation's Senate after more than 20 hours of debate, Harvard Public Health Review recommended that the International Olympic Committee either postpone or cancel the 2016 Summer Olympics or relocate the games to another country. The widespread outbreak of the Zika virus has fueled new concerns about the health of visitors.
Get ready for more regulations. Overnight, the Obama administration and the Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules designed to reduce methane emissions from the oil and natural gas industries by focusing on the byproduct's release during production. The new rule is the latest of the agency's goal of cutting methane pollution by at least 40% by 2025 from levels set in 2012.
WTI crude oil prices were falling on news of a weakening U.S. dollar, but supply concerns remain in focus. Although the Canadian officials have reduced the wildfires that threaten the nation's output, concerns about Nigeria's recent oil outages are weighing down trader sentiment. WTI prices were off 1.1%, while Brent crude prices slid by 0.9%.
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 Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) were retreating despite news that the firm is planning to slash its workforce by 10% as it undergoes a structural reorganization. The company expects to save at least $400 million by eliminating 1,200 positions and closing certain facilities across the nation. The announcement came on Thursday when the firm reported it missed top-line earnings expectations and fell just short of revenue expectations.
Shares of Apple Inc. are in focus after falling to a 52-week intraday low on Thursday. The company denied initial reports that the firm is no longer planning on selling music downloads on iTunes. Shares of AAPL stock were off 2% and continue to bleed value as the firm faces increased challenges in sales of its iPhones. Apple is particularly struggling in China, where competition has grown increasingly fiercer in recent years. Investors are paying a lot of attention after the technology giant announced that it has invested $1 billion into a Chinese ride-sharing service called Didi Chuxing.
On the earnings front, look fora report from JCPenney Co. Inc.(NYSE: JPM), InterOil Corp. (NYSE: IOC), and DXP Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq: DXPE).
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
Retail Sales at 8:30 a.m.
Producer Price Index-Final Demand at 8:30 a.m.
Business Inventories at 10 a.m.
Consumer Sentiment at 10 a.m.
Baker Hughes Rig Count at 1 p.m.
San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams speaks at 6:45 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.