This morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as the U.S. dollar hit a seven-month high against a basket of currencies.
The increasing strength of the greenback is seen as further evidence that the Federal Reserve will increase rates in December.
Bond prices ticked to their highest levels since June, prompting stocks to slide before the bell on Monday.
This morning, expect a lot of chatter about the WikiLeaks dump of Hillary Clinton's private speeches to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and other financial institutions. The email leak indicates that Clinton has two sets of positions when it comes to issues on finance and the economy: a private and a public one.
Her public stance appears to support more left-wing politics aimed at appeasing the Occupy Wall Street crowd and supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT).
Her private stance is that laws like the Dodd-Frank Act were passed for "political reasons" to appease constituents.
On Friday, the Dow rallied after Fed Chair Janet Yellen made no statements on the timing of the next interest rate hike in a speech featuring 25 uses of the word "recession."
Friday's Stock Market Numbers:
Dow Jones: 18,138.38; +39.44; +0.22%
S&P 500: 2,132.98; +0.43; +0.02%
Nasdaq: 5,214.16; +0.83; +0.02%
Now let's look at the most important market events and stocks to watch today, plus your economic calendar, for Oct. 17, 2016.
What's Ahead for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average today projected a 20-point decline as investors eyed a fresh round of earnings reports and questioned the health of the global economy. With earnings in focus, one company that Money Morning recommends investors watch today is Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX). We've been bullish on the streaming giant for months. Here's where we see the stock heading next and how you can profit.
Trending: How to Insure Your Stocks... and Make the Stock Market Pay for It
Oil prices were on the rise this morning as investors eyed the rising dollar and speculated the feasibility of OPEC's global production deal. The WTI crude oil price today added 0.4%, while the Brent crude oil price gained 0.6%.
But the big story in pre-market hours is happening at Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE: DB). The company has been under pressure from the Department of Justice for misleading investors on mortgage-backed securities. But over the week, reports broke that the federal agency is pushing the German bank to sell off its U.S.-based assets as part of a deal.
Stocks to Watch Today, Oct. 17, 2016
- In deal news, shares of Mentor Graphics Corp. (Nasdaq: MENT) are in focus on news that it has hired Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) to help it explore strategic options, including a possible sale of the firm. The announcement comes shortly after activist hedge fund Elliott Management took an 8.1% stake in the company.
- Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) are back in focus this morning as investors weigh the company's earnings report from last week. The company has been under fire since the revelation of a fake account scam that pinched millions of dollars from unsuspecting customers. But readers need to know that the scam at Wells Fargo was not unique to the industry. Commercial firms are engaged in this sort of behavior all the time. For more evidence, check out this report on the other scams that have been uncovered.
- In earnings news, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) crushed quarterly earnings expectations and reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.41 on top of $21.64 billion in revenue. The firm cited strong trading revenue for the positive report. Shares pushed up 1.3% in pre-market hours.
- Look for additional earnings reports from Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM), Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS), United Continental Holdings (NYSE: UAL), JB Hunt Transport Services (Nasdaq: JBHT), and Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE).
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
- Empire State Manufacturing Survey at 8:30 a.m.
- Industrial Production at 9:15 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.
- Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer speaks at 12 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.