Another wild week in the markets is about to kick off.
Update: This Fintech Disruptor Has Been Hacked
The Dow Jones was pushing higher this morning as traders await another round of earnings reports. A string of big mergers and acquisitions also top the headlines on this Monday morning.
But while the financial press spends too much time talking about the Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) quarterly earnings report, there are several profit opportunities that you might have missed.
Here is today's top stock market news, stocks to watch, ways to profit, and economic calendar for July 18, 2016.
What's Moving the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today: Deals and Earnings
Dow Jones futures projected at 34-point increase after Bank of America topped quarterly earnings expectations. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.36, beating Wall Street estimates. The figure is still 20% lower than the $0.45 that it reported during the same period in 2015. Bank of America is off 0.3% this morning due to the stunning level of low expectations that Wall Street has for earnings this quarter. In fact, Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani believes the big banks could implode before ever being broken up...
Traders are unwinding safety trades this morning after a failed coup in Turkey. Over the weekend, a small faction of the Turkish military took control of the country, which borders key oil producers like Iraq, Iran, and Syria, a country that has been a geopolitical mess in the last few years. The rebellion was quickly squashed and no delays have been expected in the global energy markets.
The markets are also largely expecting another round of easy money this week. The European Central Bank (ECB) is set to meet this week to discuss the possibility of more financial stimulus later this fall. The markets have been pushing higher since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won an election last week and immediately ordered a fresh round of stimulus. But even with new stimulus, there is one policy by Abe that could trigger a stock market crash.
Profit Opportunity: We found a way to profit from the mother of all black swans...
In deal news, shares of Arm Holdings Plc. (Nasdaq ADR: ARMH) are up a staggering 43% in pre-market hours after the firm agreed to sell itself to Japan's SoftBank Group for a little more than $32 billion in cash. Shares of Softbank Corp. (OTCMKTS: SFTBY) were down slightly this morning.
The Republican National Convention kicks off today in Cleveland, Ohio. Front-runner Donald Trump is expected to accept the GOP's nomination on the final day of the convention, July 21.
Oil prices were sliding this morning as traders reduced anxiety about the failed Turkish coup.
WTI crude oil prices were off 1.1%, while Brent crude oil prices slumped 1.2%.
Meanwhile, gold prices were up slightly in the wake of the failed Turkish coup. While there will be a lot of chatter about macroeconomic risk this week, investors need to know about the best way to invest in gold right now. Money Morning Executive Editor Bill Patalon offers the single best gold investment out there today in a conversation with Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani.
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 InterOil Corp. (USA) (NYSE: IOC) were up 16.8% on news that the company has received at least a $2.2 billion offer from international oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM). That bid tops a previous offer from Oil Search Ltd. (OTCMKTS ADR: OISHY). Why is Exxon trying to buy InterOil Corp.? The company owns a massive amount of natural gas supplies in Papua New Guinea.
- In additional deal news, shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. (NYSE: HE) were on the rise after state officials rejected a $4.3 billion offer from NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) for the state's largest corporation.
- Shares of Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) were off 0.4% this morning despite news that a group of shareholders have pushed for German chemical giant Bayer to hike its takeover offer from $125 to $130 per share. That's about a 26% premium from today's opening price of $103.
- Shares of Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) are in focus as the company's board will finally make a decision on its strategic alternatives this week and the firm prepares to report quarterly earnings. Bidders for the company's assets include AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T); Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ); a group that includes Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: A) and Cleveland Cavaliers' owner Dan Gilbert, and private-equity giant TPG.
- A busy earnings season continues on Monday. Look out for earnings reports from Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), Hasbro Inc. (Nasdaq: HAS), VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW), and EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC).
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
- 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.
- Treasury International Capital at 4 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.