In Dow Jones news today, the Dow fell 118 points thanks to a sharp downturn in crude oil prices, ongoing geopolitical tensions around the globe, and dismal earnings from International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM).
Let's look at the numbers from Wednesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 20,404.49; -118.79; -0.58%
S&P 500: 2,338.17; -4.02; -0.17%
Nasdaq: 5,863.03; +13.56; +0.23%
Today's market highlights:
- IBM shares plummet after Big Blue reported its 20th straight decline in quarterly revenue figures.
- Oil prices plunged after the EIA reported a small inventory decline and rising shale production.
- Markets are keeping a close eye on the first round of the French presidential election, which is set for Sunday, April 23.
Now, here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Wednesday's economic calendar.
DJIA Today: Dow Slides as Oil Prices Crash and IBM Disappoints
- The Dow was dragged down by another weak earnings report from International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM). Shares of Big Blue fell 4.9% after the firm reported its 20th consecutive quarterly decline in revenue. It was the largest drag on the Dow and the S&P 500.
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- Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren said he wants the central bank to begin cutting its balance sheet sooner than later. However, he believes that a graduate reduction is required to prevent the Fed from being able to continue rate normalization.
- On Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Theresa May asked the House of Commons to approve snap elections for June 8. The government body voted overwhelmingly in favor of the proposition of moving the nation's elections up.
- Crude oil prices had their largest one-day decline since March. According to the Energy Information Administration, domestic crude inventories had a smaller than expected decline last week. At the same time, U.S. production increased. Those two factors offset optimism that OPEC is prepared to extend its deal to cap excessive production.
- The WTI crude oil price today was off 3.5%, while Brent crude fell 3.4%.
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- Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) fell more than 0.7% thanks to the slump in crude prices. But the company is making headlines for another reason. The Wall Street Journal reports that XOM has requested a waiver from the U.S. Treasury Department to work around Russian sanctions to continue projects with a state-owned energy company in the Black Sea and the Arctic Sea.
- But the big story is happening in France this week. France will hold the first round of its presidential election on Sunday. While Syria and North Korea have generated the bulk of geopolitical concerns around the globe, the twists and turns of France's presidential election are creating a great deal of uncertainty around the nation's future. Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani shares his insights, right here.
Stock Market News and Top Stocks to Watch Today: April 19, 2017
- Shares of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (Nasdaq: FOXA) fell 0.8% after CNN and other media outlets reported that famed broadcaster Bill O'Reilly could soon be out of his evening chair. O'Reilly has been embroiled in a series of sexual harassment cases. This would be another popular anchor departing the network in a year. Recently, Megyn Kelly left FOX for NBC, which is owned by Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA).
- Shares of Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) continued to climb. Shares added another 0.9% today after the social media giant announced a new augmented reality platform. At Money Morning, we project Facebook stock is a healthy candidate to reach $250 per share by 2020. Here's everything you need to know about this bold prediction...
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- In other earnings news, shares of BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) fell more than 1.7% despite posting gains in profit, revenue, and assets under management. BlackRock is the largest money manager in the world.
- Other top stocks to watchtoday (Wednesday) included Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) and Textron Inc. (TXT). Here's why those companies were generating headlines.
- Look for additional earnings reports from Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM), eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY), American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS), and Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI).
Thursday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
- Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell Speaks at 8 a.m.
- Jobless Claims at 8:30 a.m.
- Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey at 8:30 a.m.
- Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index at 9:45 a.m.
- Leading Indicators at 10 a.m.
- EIA Natural Gas Report at 10:30 a.m.
- Three-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- Six-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- 52-Week Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
- Two-Year FRN Note Announcement at 11 a.m.
- Two-Year Note Announcement at 11 a.m.
- Five-Year Note Announcement at 11 a.m.
- Seven-Year Note Announcement at 11 a.m.
- Five-Year TIPS Auction at 1 p.m.
- Fed Balance Sheet at 4:30 p.m.
- Money Supply at 4:30 p.m.
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