On Tuesday, the Dow fell 44 points as airline stocks faced pressure due to blizzard conditions on the East Coast and markets weighed a decline in crude oil prices.
Must See: Secret test site at New Mexico "ghost city." What exactly is going on there? Read more...
Let's look at the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 20,837.37; -44.11; -0.21%
S&P 500: 2,365.45; -8.02; -0.34%
Nasdaq: 5,856.82; -18.97; -0.32%
Here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a look at Wednesday's economic calendar.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average projected a 30-point gain as markets expect the third interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve in more than a decade. This afternoon, the Fed will release an announcement on its monetary policy decisions and Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference.
The markets expect an increase in benchmark rates by 25 basis points. The Fed had hinted toward a rate hike last week after stronger economic data in job creation and inflation expectations bolstered confidence in the U.S. economy.
Don't Miss: Will the Stock Market Crash Soon?
Crude oil prices have bounced off a three-month lows this week thanks to a surprise drawdown in U.S. inventory levels and optimism about OPEC's production deal to cap excessive output. The American Petroleum Institute announced yesterday that domestic inventory levels decreased by 500,000 barrels. Markets will turn to the official inventory report from the Energy Information Administration later this morning.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency released a surprise support hinting that OPEC simply needs more time to reach its goals of cutting production by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). The global oil cartel has been working with non-member nations like Russia to reduce excessive output and support crude prices.
This morning, the WTI crude oil price today added 2.2%. Brent crude slid 2.0%.
But the big news comes from MSNBC...
Last night, MSNBC released information from President Donald Trump's 2005 tax returns. The story was hyped as a game changer before the release as the president was the first leader in decades to refuse to release his tax records during his campaign.
However, the 2005 return indicated that President Trump paid $38 million in taxes on income of $150 million. That works out to a tax rate of roughly 25%, a figure that is higher than the tax rate paid by Trump's predecessor (19%) and MSNBC as an organization (24%).
[mmpazkzone name="in-story" network="9794" site="307044" id="137008" type="4"]
Up Next: The Best Stocks to Buy (and When to Sell) for Mega-Profits in 2017
Follow Money Morning on Facebook and Twitter
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.