This morning, the Labor Department announced that 258,000 Americans sought unemployment benefits last week. That figure was slightly higher than expectations.
Markets were also pushing higher on news that the U.K. economy expanded in the third quarter by 0.5%, a figure that topped expectations.
The report alleviates many concerns about the health of the U.K. economy following the Brexit vote earlier this year.
On Wednesday, the Dow gained 30 points despite a downturn in crude prices and mixed earnings reports. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both slumped thanks to a lackluster sales forecast from Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL).
Thursday's Stock Market Numbers:
Dow Jones: 18,199.93; 30.06; 0.17
S&P 500: 2,139.43; -3.73; -0.17%
Nasdaq: 5,250.27; -33.13; -0.63%
Now let's look at the most important market events and stocks to watch today, plus your economic calendar, for Oct. 27, 2016.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average projected a 34-point gain as investors eyed mixed earnings reports from after the bell on Wednesday. It will be an especially busy day in the healthcare sector, with three major companies reporting earnings: Celgene Corp. (Nasdaq: CELG), Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq: AMGN), and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY).
Editor's Note: Our readers have a special profit opportunity with only days left to get the details...
This morning, the markets are buzzing about Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR), which reported Q3 earnings before the bell. TWTR stock was up more than 5% after the firm reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.13 on top of $613 million in revenue. Wall Street expected $0.09 on top of $605.5 million. However, the news that really made the stock pop was the firm's announcement that it will slash its workforce by 9% (about 350 people) as part of a broad restructuring effort across its sales and marketing efforts. Despite the surprise TWTR earnings report, there are plenty of reasons to remain concerned about the long-term health of this company. We explain why we are bearish on Twitter stock, right here.
Meanwhile, shares of embattled German investment firm Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE: DB) were pushing higher after it topped Wall Street revenue expectations. The bank has been under serious scrutiny over the last few months due to increased concerns about its liquidity and a massive settlement with the U.S. government over mortgage-backed securities.
The price of crude oil today is on the rise after the Energy Information Administration reported a surprise downturn in U.S. crude inventories on Wednesday. The surprise drawdown offset concerns about the potential collapse of the September OPEC production deal. The WTI crude oil price today added 0.1%, while the Brent crude oil price gained 0.2%.
Despite the increase in U.S. crude stocks, investors have to pay attention to the OPEC deal over the next month. Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors has called the deal unstable and warned that it is on the verge of collapse. As Moors explains, there is one unexpected culprit that has driven a wedge into the deal. Learn all about this threat, right here.
But the big story in pre-market hours is Tesla Motors Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA). After the bell on Wednesday, the electric vehicle manufacturer announced a surprise profit for Q3 thanks to a higher delivery number than analysts had anticipated. The company reported EPS of $0.71 on top of $2.3 billion in revenue. Wall Street had expected $0.02 on top of $2.12 billion.
Up Next: Get the Best Investing Research Today to Grow Your Money
Follow Money Morning on Facebook and Twitter.
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.