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.
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.
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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.