The stock market news for Monday is the Dow sliding in pre-market hours thanks to rising geopolitical tensions.
Over the weekend, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles, rattling China and Japan. Three of the missiles landed in Japan's economic zone. Political analysts are growing increasingly concerned about the stability of North Korea and its leadership.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump made a startling accusation that former President Barrack Obama wiretapped him during the 2016 campaign. Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Sunday that no such event ever took place. The accusation dominated Sunday's morning talk shows, while the FBI has asked the Justice Department to refute the president's claims regarding personal surveillance.
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On Friday, the Dow added two points after Fed Chair Janet Yellen hinted that the central bank will raise interest rates later this month. The central bank leader said a rate hike was contingent on whether economic data remained upbeat this month. That places a greater amount of emphasis on Friday's report on February unemployment. According to CME's FedWatch tool, the probability of a rate hike in March increased from 75% to 82% after Yellen's speech.
Let's look at the numbers from Friday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 21,005.71; +2.74; +0.01%
S&P 500: 2,383.12; +1.20; +0.05%
Nasdaq: 5,870.75; +9.53; +0.16%
Here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a look at Monday's economic calendar.
What's Ahead for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average projected a 47-point decline as investors turned their attention to falling oil prices, increased geopolitical tensions, and expectations that the Federal Reserve is poised to raise interest rates during its meeting starting March 15. After indications last week that inflation is approaching the central bank's target rate of 2%, markets will be looking to Friday's jobs report. Consensus expectations call for an increase of 185,000 in jobs and a slight decrease in the unemployment rate to 4.7%.
The markets are still abuzz about the Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP). The company, which doesn't run a profit and may never will, saw shares increase by more than 50% in their first two days of trading. So, should you invest in the company after the Snapchat IPO? We break down how you can still make money on this IPO... without ever having to buy the company's stock.
The two-day run by Snap stock has traders speculating on the next big unicorn to go public.
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The biggest one on the radar: Uber. So, will Uber go public in 2017? Here's the answer.
Crude oil prices were falling on concerns that Russia will not be able to maintain its compliance efforts with a global deal to cap excessive crude production. Russia, which is not a member of OPEC, is working alongside the world's largest crude cartel to reduce output and support prices. However, February data indicates that Russia's daily crude output was unchanged compared to January levels. The news comes just days after Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) reported that the number of U.S. production platforms increased for the tenth consecutive month.
The WTI crude oil price today dipped 0.7%. Brent crude slid about 0.7%.
But the big news is the recent surge of the Dow Jones over the 21,000 mark. The Dow has now surged more than 15% since President Donald Trump won the November election. With stocks hovering near all-time highs, readers have been asking for our next stock market crash prediction.
No one can precisely time the next market crash. But we can look at past market crashes and compare similar events leading up to the markets' day of reckoning. Let's dig in, right here.
Stocks to Watch Today, March 6, 2017:
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- Investors of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) have reason to worry after federal officials raided the company's headquarters in Illinois last week. The IRS is digging into a possible tax evasion scheme that could be worth as much as $4.2 billion. On Friday, Money Morning dug much deeper into this surprise story and discovered a major clue that three Caterpillar offices were about to be raided. This is a major whistleblower story that will continue to dominate headlines well into the future.
- In deal news, General Motors Inc. (NYSE: GM) announced it has sold its European businesses to PSA Peugeot for roughly $2.3 billion. Both Germany subsidiary Opel and British brand Vauxhall had been losing business and weighing down GM's balance sheet.
- Shares of Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE: DB) are back in focus after the company attempts to rebound from a 4.2% decline Friday. On Sunday, the company's directors announced that it will attempt to reboot efforts to raise capital and abandon its 17-month-old turnaround effort. The company will try to raise roughly $8.5 billion in a share sale.
- Keep an eye out for earnings reports from Thor Industries Inc. (NYSE: THO), Ascena Retail Group (Nasdaq: ASNA), Casey's General Stores (Nasdaq: CASY), Black Diamond Inc. (NYSE: BDE), Korn Ferry International (NYSE: KFY), Quanex Building Products (NYSE: NX), American Vanguard Corp. (NYSE: AVD), Analogic Corp. (Nasdaq: ALOG), RigNet Inc. (Nasdaq: RNET), Shenandoah Telecommunications (Nasdaq: SHEN), and Harvest Natural Resources (NYSE: HNR).
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EST)
- PMI Services Index at 9:45 a.m.
- Gallup US Consumer Spending Measure at 8:30 a.m.
- Factory Orders at 10 a.m.
- Four-Week Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- Three-Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
- Six-Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
- TD Ameritrade IMX at 12:30 p.m.
- Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari speaks at 3 p.m.
- Treasury STRIPS 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.