In Dow Jones news today, markets fell as investors continue to monitor ongoing tensions between the United States and other global powers.
Investors are weighing President Donald Trump's policies and U.S. relations with Iran, Mexico, and Australia.
After the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement Wednesday that it wouldn't raise interest rates, the markets are looking forward to tomorrow's release of the January jobs report.
Investors are optimistic about the health of the U.S. economy after ADP announced yesterday that the private sector created 246,000 jobs in January.
Let's look at the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 19,884.91; -6.03; -0.03%
S&P 500: 2,280.85; +1.30; +0.06%
Nasdaq: 5,636.20; -6.45; -0.11%
Now, here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Friday's economic calendar.
Investors continue to fret over emerging geopolitical issues between President Trump and several nations around the globe. In addition, global markets were disappointed by news that the Bank of England did not raise interest rates. Despite increased expectations for economic growth, the central bank showed a willingness to maintain rates at record-low levels for an extended period.
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Crude oil prices were dipping as investors balanced the uptick in U.S. crude production against the downturn in output by OPEC. The U.S. Energy Information Administration announced Wednesday that domestic inventory levels increased by 6.5 million barrels, a figure that is nearly double what analysts had anticipated.
Meanwhile, OPEC members and Russia have indicated they are on the path to reduce crude output by at least 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd).
The WTI crude oil price today dipped 0.41%. Meanwhile, Brent crude slid 0.07%.
It was another solid day for international energy producers. Shares of both Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) climbed today.
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But the big news today is the ongoing executive order from President Trump that aims to curb travel and immigration from seven countries. Trump's "travel ban" has generated an incredible amount of controversy over the last week. Among other rules, the executive order indefinitely bars Syrian refugees from entering the United States and suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days.
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Now, Mark Cuban, the billionaire investor and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has weighed in on Trump's policy.
His message: The executive action is "bad for business across the board."
But Cuban isn't the only big name in business to criticize Trump's executive order. Be sure to read the latest criticisms and the lawsuits related to Trump's travel ban.
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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.