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.
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.
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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.