This morning, Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower as speculation on the U.S. Federal Reserve's next interest rate hike fueled a sell-off.
Improving economic data and recent comments from central bank officials have the markets anticipating a rate hike in December. Markets are also keeping an eye on Hurricane Matthew, which is taking aim at Florida.
On Wednesday, the Dow rallied 112 points thanks to strong gains in financial and energy stocks, investors weighed a wealth of earnings reports, and takeover speculation boosted the technology sector.
Let's take a look at Wednesday's stock market numbers:
Dow Jones: 18,281.03; 112.58; 0.62%
S&P 500: 2,159.73; 9.24; 0.43%
Nasdaq: 5,316.02; 26.36; 0.50%
With interest rates not expected to see a boost until December, investors are hungry for yield. Finding the best high-yield stocks to buy is always a smart investment strategy. Because no matter what the market does, high-yield stocks make payments to investors. [Editor's Note: Here are the best high-yield stocks to buy right now.]
What's Ahead for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average projected a 38-point decline as investors eye the timing of the next interest rates hike. This morning, markets will be keeping an eye on weekly jobless benefits before the bell. But the biggest data point this week comes tomorrow when the Department of Labor reports the September unemployment rate.
Oil prices have been gaining in recent trading sessions thanks to a stream of positive news for global crude supply. On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration announced a massive drawdown in crude inventories last week. The EIA said that U.S. crude stocks fell by 2.976 million barrels. That news pushed oil prices to a 2016 high.
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The WTI crude oil price today added 0.1%. The Brent crude oil price gained 0.2%.
Today's scam is happening at EpiPen manufacturer Mylan NV (NYSE: MYL). The company is back in the spotlight on news that it overcharged Medicaid for its allergy drug for two decades. This bombshell announcement comes from a letter from Democratic Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Frank Pallone of New Jersey. An investigation discovered that the EpiPen had been misclassified as a generic drug dating all the way back to 1997.
The big story this morning is happening in Washington, D.C. Do you know where your tax money is going? Well, corporations all around the country do. As it turns out, just $1 in lobbying spending can trigger a $760 windfall - all at your expense. And it's about to get much worse.
Stocks to Watch Today, Oct. 6, 2016
- Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) is seeking a suitor, but it's not going as planned. Recode announced this morning that Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL) will not make a bid for the microblogging company. Shares fell more than 16% in pre-market hours on the news. The tech blog also said that neither Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) nor Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) were interested in Twitter. Here's the latest on TWTR deal news.
- Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is back in the news, and - as always - it's not for good reason. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) has demanded that Department of Justice shift its attention of the fake account scandal to the firm's executive committee. Thirteen other U.S. senators joined Sanders in a letter that warned DOJ head Loretta Lynch that the agency's investigation of Wells Fargo is a "critical test" of its ability to reign in bad behavior in the future on Wall Street. WFC stock was off slightly this morning.
- In earnings news, shares of Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) slid more than 2.3% in pre-market hours after the company fell short of earnings expectations. According to Estimize, the company met Wall Street EPS expectations of $1.09, but fell well short of revenue expectations. The company announced that same-store sales in China were far less than analysts had anticipated.
- Look for additional earnings reports from Ruby Tuesday Inc. (NYSE: RT), Helen of Troy Ltd. (Nasdaq: HELE), Mistras Group Inc. (NYSE: MG), Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (Nasdaq: CMTL), Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE: PKE), and International Speedway Corp. (Nasdaq: ISCA).
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
- Challenger Job-Cut Report at 7:30 a.m.
- Jobless Claims at 8:30 a.m.
- Gallup Good Jobs Rate at 8:30 a.m.
- Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index at 9:45 a.m.
- EIA Natural Gas Report at 10:30 a.m.
- 4-Week Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- 3-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- 6-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- 52-Week Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- 3-Year Note Announcement at 11 a.m.
- 10-Year Note Announcement at 11 a.m.
- 30-Year Bond Announcement at 11 a.m.
- Fed Balance Sheet at 4:30 p.m.
- Money Supply at 4:30 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.