Let's look at the final numbers on Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 18,169.27; -53.76; -0.30%
S&P 500: 2,143.16; -8.17; -0.38%
Nasdaq: 5,283.40; -26.43; -0.50%
Now, here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Wednesday's economic calendar.
The Dow Jones shed 53 points this afternoon as investors weighed a mixed round of quarterly earnings reports and forward guidance from a number of large-cap companies.
Headlining the earnings calendar on Tuesday was Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT). Shares fell after the company slashed its full-year fiscal 2016 earnings outlook. The firm reduced its annual revenue expectations, citing concerns about the health of the global economy. Meanwhile, 3M stock fell after the firm missed annual revenue expectations and cut its annual forecast.
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Meanwhile, the economic data calendar featured mixed results as well. According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence slipped from 103.5 in September to 98.6 in October. Meanwhile, August home prices increased by 5.1% year over year, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Index. Housing prices continue to climb thanks to falling inventories around the country. Despite the uptick in prices, shares of housing stocks were on the decline this afternoon. Shares of KB Home (NYSE: KBH) fell 1.8%, while Toll Brothers Inc.
(NYSE: TOL) dropped 1.9%.
The price of crude oil today fell thanks to a stronger U.S. dollar and increased in-fighting among OPEC members. Prices temporarily slipped below $50 for the second straight trading session. Uncertainty over the stability of the global oil cartel's production cut deal accelerated after an Iraqi oil minister demanded his country be exempt from any cuts or caps in output.
The WTI crude oil price today fell by 1.0%, while the Brent crude oil price dipped by 1.1%. Money Morning Global Energy Specialist Dr. Kent Moors offers his latest insight on the major trends that are impacting the oil markets, right here.
But a big story that slipped under the radar on Tuesday was the sharp downturn of Mechel PAO (NYSE ADR: MTL) stock. Shares plunged more than 8.4%, a reversal of the stock's 35% rally on Monday. So why is MTL stock falling today? Here's the answer.
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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.