Let's look at the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 19,899.29; -42.87; -0.21%
S&P 500: 2,269.00; -1.75; -0.08%
Nasdaq: 5,487.94; +10.93; +0.20%
Now, here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Friday's economic calendar.
The Dow Jones fell for the first time in 2017 - shedding 42 points - thanks to a large drop in financial stocks. Shares of Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) was the biggest loser for the markets on the day, shedding 2.2%. Shares of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) also saw declines.
What are the stocks to watch today? They're in the retail sector.
It was also a brutal day after two major retailers slashed their annual forecasts. Shares of Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) cratered more than 13%, and Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS) plunged 19% after the firms announced their profits won't match previous forecasts.
The forecast cuts were enough to spook investors in other retail companies. Shares of Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) both plunged more than 6% on the day. Shares of Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), American Eagle Inc. (NYSE: AEO), and Stein Mart Inc. (Nasdaq: SMRT) all declined by more than 3%.
Trending Now: Best Stocks to Buy for January 2017
Silver prices popped more than 1.3%, while gold prices hit a nine-week high. Precious metals have been beaten down over the last two months, and the silver price has seen the worst of it. But Money Morning Resource Specialist Peter Krauth is still bullish on silver prices in 2017. The 20-year veteran in the metals sector has set an ambitious price for the year ahead.
See his latest silver price forecast, right here.
Crude oil prices were on the rise again thanks to a weakening U.S. dollar and news that Saudi Arabia was alerting its customers of plans to cap excessive production.
The WTI crude oil price today had surged earlier in the session, but pared gains due to a surprise increase in domestic inventories of gasoline and distillates. Domestic crude stocks plunged by more than analysts had anticipated. According to a report released by the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. saw inventories decline by 7.1 million barrels last week. That's significantly higher than the decrease of 2.2 million barrels expected by analysts.
Brent crude gained 0.6% on the day. While traders spent the day speculating on Saudi Arabia's planned production cuts, Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors says that everyone should instead consider what is happening in another OPEC titan.
Moors explains that a big development in Iran is expected to shake up the global oil markets, but not in the way that you think. Here's his latest insight.
An important announcement from the EIA came from the agency's Annual Energy Outlook 2017. This morning, the EIA said the United States is on track to become a net exporter of energy commodities by 2026. That would be the first time since 1953 that the United States reached that level of exports.
But the big story today is happening in China. Bitcoin prices cratered as much as 31% on the day during a huge rally in the Chinese yuan. The crypto-currency had seen its prices rise as much as 125% over the last year and more than 40% over the last two weeks.
Chinese exchanges account for roughly 90% of all Bitcoin trading, according to Reuters.
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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.