The U.S. dollar ticked higher thanks to speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve is on the verge of another interest rate hike.
Let's look at the numbers from Wednesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 20,775.60; +32.60; +0.16%
S&P 500: 2,362.82; -2.56; -0.11%
Nasdaq: 5,860.63; -5.32; -0.09%
Now, here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Thursday's economic calendar.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 32 points despite news that the Fed is looking to raise interest rates in the near future. The central bank released minutes from its recent meeting on monetary policy.
It was a positive day in the housing sector. First up, shares of Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) added more than 6% after the home construction giant topped Wall Street earnings expectations by $0.07. The firm reported $921 million in revenue, easily beating consensus expectations of $888 million. Next, the January existing home sales report indicated another strong month for the housing market thanks to tightening supply. Americans dismissed the recent uptick in mortgage costs and purchased existing homes at the fastest pace since 2007.
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It was also a big day for three of Wall Street's largest banks, but not because of earnings reports.
Today, three major banks have been selected as underwriters for what is expected to be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in Wall Street history. Saudi Aramco - the state-run energy company of Saudi Arabia - is expected to release a public stake worth up to $150 billion and establish a valuation of more than $2 trillion. The winners of the underwriting lottery are JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), HSBC Holdings Plc. (NYSE ADR: HSBC), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).
An official Saudi Aramco IPO date hasn't been announced, but all signs point to an IPO in early 2018. Here's our latest insight on what's next for the massive IPO offering.
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A stronger U.S. dollar pushed crude oil prices lower Wednesday. The WTI crude oil price today dipped 0.7%. Crude prices still remained near a seven-week high thanks to increased optimism that OPEC members and Russia are on the verge of surpassing the targeted production cuts from the January meeting. The nations agreed to remove 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) and have reached 90% compliance in a short period. Several prominent analysts have suggested that they could surpass that target in the coming weeks.
However, U.S. drilling activity has continued to rise since the beginning of the year. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) said this morning in a research note that rising U.S. production could reduce expectations that the global supply glut will be alleviated by the second quarter of 2017. Investors will be eyeing data released this week by the Energy Information Administration on U.S. inventory levels and by Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) on the U.S. oil rig count.
But the big story is the rapid rise of healthcare costs in America.
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Over the last few years, drug prices, insurance premiums, healthcare deductibles, and other related costs have surged to a hair-raising level. The costs have gotten so out of control that roughly 25% of Americans now list the price of healthcare as their top concern today, according to a January 2017 Monmouth University poll.
With healthcare costs only expected to rise in the future, Americans need key insight to remain on top of these troubling costs. Here's our latest insight on what's next for healthcare inflation.
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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.