In Dow Jones news today, the Dow rallied more than 200 points on April 24, 2017, as investors weighed yesterday's French presidential election.
Let's look at the numbers from Monday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 20,763.89; +216.13; +1.05%
S&P 500: 2,374.15; +25.46;+1.08%
Nasdaq: 5,983.82; +73.30; +1.24%
Today's market highlights:
Markets are watching Friday's deadline for a bill to fund the U.S. government and prevent a shutdown.
Anti-EU leader Marine Le Pen will face off against centrist Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the French presidential election on May 7.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) - largely considered the markets' fear gauge - fell by 25% on the day.
Now, here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Tuesday's economic calendar.
DJIA Today: Dow Rallies on French Election Results and Tax Reform Optimism
Banking stocks offered the biggest boost to the Dow Jones. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (NYSE: KBE) and the Regional Banking ETF (NYSE: KRE) both added more than 2% on the day. Meanwhile, shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) all added more than 3%.
Investors were also paying close attention to President Donald Trump's economic goals. President Trump is reportedly asking his advisors to put together a tax package that would drop the U.S. corporate tax rate down to 15%.
Crude oil prices fell again Monday on doubts that OPEC producers will move to extend their deal to cap excess global production. Despite a strong commitment in 2017 among cartel members and non-members like Russia, crude oil prices have remained stubbornly low due to rising U.S. production and inventory levels.
While investors are glued to weekly inventory and production rig counts, Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors argues that investors should be turning their attention to Asia. He offers the best way to make money on China's rising demand, right here. The WTI crude oil price today fell 0.7%, while Brent crude dipped 0.6%.
But the big story is the inaction in Washington, D.C.
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Despite today's rally, markets are facing the possibility of a government shutdown later this week as Republicans and Democrats are battling over funding to keep the lights on. Right now, the biggest sticking point appears to be President Donald Trump's demand for money to build a wall along the southern border between the United States and Mexico. We cover the top stocks to own and ones to avoid if you want to make money from the government shutdown. Read it, right here.
Stock Market News and Top Stocks to Watch Today: April 24, 2017
The White House has rejected a bid by Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) to sidestep sanctions against Russia and restart production in the Arctic and Black Sea with a state-owned company. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is the former CEO of Exxon and a decision by the Treasury Department could have been viewed as a conflict of interest.
In earnings news, shares of Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) fell 0.6% after the oil field service company topped Wall Street earnings but fell victim to sliding oil prices.
Markets are looking forward to earnings reports later this week from Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), and 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM).
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.