In Dow Jones news today, the Dow was climbing higher as investors parse through another round of earnings data and weigh a major announcement regarding one of the most anticipated mergers of the year.
Yesterday, a U.S. judge struck down the proposed $54 billion merger between health insurance giant Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) and rival Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI).
The move was a major blow to an industry that has sought consolidation to confront rising costs and slowing profitability.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones fell as investor concerns continued to accelerate over the timing of President Trump's economic plans. With most of President Trump's policy actions largely priced into the market, a delay until 2018 could rattle confidence.
This comes as investors are growing increasingly worried about the stability of the European financial sector.
Let's look at the numbers from Wednesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 20,054.34; -35.95; -0.18%
S&P 500: 2,294.67; +1.59; +0.07%
Nasdaq: 5,682.45; +8.24; +0.15%
Here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a look at Thursday's economic calendar.
What's Ahead for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average projected a 17-point gain ahead of another busy day of economic data, earnings reports, and statements from two Federal Reserve members. The U.S. Labor Department announced the number of Americans seeking jobless benefits last week fell to 233,000. That figure is below the 250,000 expected by economists and provides another boost to the U.S. labor market.
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Crude oil prices were pushing higher despite news that domestic crude stocks increased more than traders anticipated last week. An unexpected drawdown in gasoline inventories helped push the WTI crude oil price today up 0.9%. Brent crude added 0.8%.
According to the Energy Information Administration, the United States saw a supply increase of 13.8 million barrels last week. That figure is far higher than analysts had projected.
But the big story is happening at Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA).
Shares of the electric vehicle manufacturer jumped more than 1% in pre-market hours after the company made a big announcement. According to Reuters, Tesla plans to shut down its California assembly plant for one week.
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But it's not because of something dangerous or due to a regulatory violation.
Tesla is now preparing to produce its high-volume Model 3 sedan and will begin to dramatically ramp up production in efforts to meet its lofty delivery goals.
Stocks to Watch for Feb. 9, 2017
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- In earnings news, shares of Whole Foods Market Inc. (NYSE: WFM) are off more than 0.3% after the company reported earnings after the bell Wednesday. Shares of CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) added more than 2% after the firm reported a solid gain in quarterly revenue.
- Meanwhile, shares of Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) are plunging in pre-market hours after Twitter reported its slowest quarter of revenue growth in company history. Shares of the social media company fell more than 9% after it fell well short of Wall Street revenue expectations. The firm also projected a Q1 2017 EBITDA range of $75 million to $95 million, well below Wall Street forecasts.
- Shares of The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) fell more than 2% after the company reported its seventh consecutive decline in quarterly revenue. The company's profit figure matched Wall Street expectations, and revenue did top forecasts thanks to stronger U.S. demand. However, the company released weak projections for 2017 and blamed a stronger U.S. dollar for its impact on its global forecast.
- Keep an eye out for additional earnings reports from NVIDIA Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA), Yelp Inc. (Nasdaq: YELP), Activision Blizzard Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P), Zynga Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNGA), and Expedia Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE).
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EST)
- Jobless Claims at 8:30 a.m.
- Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard Speaks at 9:10 a.m.
- Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index at 9:45 a.m.
- Wholesale Trade at 10 a.m.
- EIA Natural Gas Report at 10:30 a.m.
- 30-Year TIPS Announcement at 11 a.m.
- Three-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- Six-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- 30-Year Bond Auction at 1 p.m.
- Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans Speaks at1 p.m.
- Fed Balance Sheet at 4:30 p.m.
- Money Supply at 4:30 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.