Top Stocks to Watch Today (March 9, 2017): DIS, PRTY, SPLS

stocks to watchThe top stocks to watch today (Thursday) are Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), Party City Holdco Inc. (NYSE: PRTY), and Staples Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS).

Today, investors are bracing for the rate hike announcement following the FOMC meeting next Tuesday and Wednesday, March 14-15.

World Interest Rate Probability has raised the likelihood of a March rate hike to 100% after yesterday's jobs report. The private sector created almost 300,000 jobs in February. The market expectation for jobs created in February was only 190,000.

Now that we know what's moving markets, here are three top stocks to watch today...

Top Stocks to Watch Today: Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS)

Disney stock is up 0.5% in early morning trading.

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Yesterday, Disney's annual shareholder meeting was held in Denver. Many shareholders used the meeting to urge CEO Bob Iger to step down from Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum.

Iger defended his continued participation saying he believed in the importance of having "a voice in the room." Important decisions are being made and Iger wants to have a say in those decisions. He did point out that being on the council is in no way an endorsement of policies coming from Trump's White House.

Shareholders must have been satisfied with his response since DIS stock closed higher yesterday, at $110.84. DIS stock had been down 0.5% in intraday trading, but when news broke, the stock quickly reversed those losses.

DIS stock is up 6.35% so far this year.

Top Stocks to Watch Today: Party City Holdco Inc. (NYSE: PRTY)

Party City stock rose 4% in early morning trading after posting positive earnings.

The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.98 for the year. Last year, EPS stood at $0.73.

Revenue decreased 0.5% to $2.3 billion despite opening/acquiring 48 new stores in 2016 across the United States and Canada.

Currently, PRTY stock is trading at $14.05 for a loss of 1% year to date.

Top Stocks to Watch Today: Staples Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS)

Staples stock is down 6.6% in early morning trading after posting a disappointing earnings report.

The company reported a net loss of $0.94 per share. Staples reported EPS of $0.20 for the same quarter the previous year.

Sales are also declining for Staples. This year the company had Q4 sales of $4.6 billion. Last year, sales were at $4.7 billion for the same quarter.

SPLS stock is trading at $8.96 a share for a loss of 1% so far in 2017.

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