The markets will attempt to rebound from yesterday's underwhelming performance. On Monday, the Dow fell 84 points after energy stocks slumped and oil prices retreated.
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However, yesterday's downturn and today's news has created a number of different profit opportunities for investors. That's what we want to tackle this morning.
Here is today's top stock market news, stocks to watch, ways to profit, and economic calendar for July 26, 2016.
Dow Jones futures projected a 10-point decline as the markets react to another busy day of earnings reports. Weaker than expected reports from McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) are pushing markets into the red this morning. Shares of MCD stock were off 3.4% early this morning after the firm fell short of Wall Street earnings expectations. The markets will see earnings reports all day, culminating in reports from technology firms Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) after the bell. Here's what to expect from Twitter.
We're back on Fed Watch today. The U.S. Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day monetary policy meeting. The markets do not anticipate any rate hike, but that isn't going to stop the financial media's fascination with central banking. CME Group projects just a 2.4% chance that the company will raise rates in July. CME projects a 40% probability that the Fed will increase rates in December. If the Fed actually does raise interest rates in 2016, though, this is the best stock to buy.
Oil prices fell to their lowest levels since May as concerns about a global supply glut weigh on investor sentiment. WTI crude oil prices fell 1.4%, while Brent crude oil prices dipped 1%. The decline accelerated after market intelligence firm Genscape projected an increase of 1.1 million barrels at the largest U.S. delivery base in Cushing, Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) announced on Friday that the United States has added rigs for four consecutive weeks.
Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors argues that sliding oil prices are setting up a profitable investment opportunity for the long term. Here's how Kent says that investors should trade oil right now.
Now here's your list of top stocks to watch in today's market, plus today's economic calendar:[mmpazkzone name="in-story" network="9794" site="307044" id="137008" type="4"]
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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.