In Dow Jones news today, the index slipped below 20,000 as investors weighed President Trump's executive order on travel and immigration.
It was the largest one-day downturn since October before the 2016 election.
Investors are also turning their attention to tomorrow's meeting among members of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The CBOE Volatility Index - widely considered the markets' fear gauge - jumped over 12% on the day.
Let's look at the numbers from Monday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 19,971.13; -122.65; -0.61%
S&P 500: 2,280.90; -13.79; -0.60%
Nasdaq: 5,613.71; -47.07; -0.83%
Now, here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Tuesday's economic calendar.
Dow Jones News: Dow Dips Below 20,000
The Dow Jones fell 122 points, falling below 20,000 for the first time after investors parsed through mixed earnings and economic data. The U.S. Commerce Department reported an uptick in consumer spending in December. The 0.5% monthly uptick accompanied expectations for rising inflation in the year ahead.
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With consumer spending on the rise, all eyes turn to tomorrow's first meeting of the Fed Open Market Committee in 2017. The U.S. central bank has suggested it will increase interest rates three times this year.
Technology stocks were in focus as Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) will report earnings Tuesday. Shares of Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL), and Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) all declined Monday.
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Gold prices were showing slight gains due to growing geopolitical uncertainty in the United States and in Europe. Gold prices hovered just below $1,200 per ounce.
Crude oil prices were falling due to broader market uncertainty and news that U.S. oil production is still on the rise. On Friday, Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) announced that the number of domestic production rigs increased for the 12th week out of the last 13. Markets are also weighing news that OPEC producers may be struggling to fulfill 100% of their planned production cuts in order to help support crude prices.
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Early figures indicate that the global oil cartel has cut roughly 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the first month of January. However, this figure implies that OPEC is still 25% short of its goals. Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors offers his latest "inside scoop" on crude oil production, right here.
The WTI crude oil price today fell 0.9%. Meanwhile, Brent crude dipped 0.4%.
But the big stock market news today was President Donald Trump's executive order to curb immigration and travel over concerns regarding national security. Thousands of people have rallied in airports to protest the President Trump's policies.
In addition, a number of high-profile executives have spoken out against the executive order.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) CEO Lloyd Blankfein told his employees that the bank does not endorse or support the policy. Meanwhile, Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz announced his company would hire 10,000 refugees in 75 countries over the next five years.
Meanwhile, airline stocks were falling over concerns about the travel ban. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AAL) fell nearly 5%, while United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) dipped 3.5%. The downturn in airline stocks was compounded by a weekend glitch at Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) that grounded roughly 300 flights over the weekend. Shares of DAL stock fell over 4%.
Today's Stock Market News: Jan. 30, 2017
- In deal news, shares of Ixia (Nasdaq: XXIA) rallied nearly 7% after the company announced plans to sell itself to Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) for $1.6 billion. Shares of KEYS slightly fell on news of the deal.
- Meanwhile, shares of Tempur Sealy International Inc. (NYSE: TPX) plunged more than 28% after the company ended its business relationship with retailer Mattress Firm. The company said that it had contractual disagreements with the mattress retailer
- After the bell, watch for additional earnings reports from Packaging Corp. of America (NYSE: PKG), Integrated Device Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: IDTI), Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG), IDEX Corp. (NYSE: IEX), Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq: RMBS), Crane Co. (NYSE: CR), and Advanced Energy Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: AEIS).
Tuesday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EST)
- Employment Cost Index at 8:30 a.m.
- Redbook at 8:55 a.m.
- S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller HPI at 9 a.m.
- Chicago PMI at 9:45 a.m.
- Consumer Confidence at 10 a.m.
- State Street Investor Confidence Index at 10:00 a.m.
- Four-Week Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
- 52-Week Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
- Farm Prices at 3 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.