In Dow Jones news today, the markets were flat because of ongoing geopolitical concerns and tensions in Washington.
Here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Closing
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
20,979.75
-2.19
-0.01%
S&P 500
2,400.67
-1.65
-0.07%
Nasdaq
6,169.87
+20.20
+0.33%
Now here's a closer look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus Wednesday's economic calendar.
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Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) co-founder Biz Stone is returning to the company after leaving in 2011 to pursue other projects. His new role is vague, but the announcement sent shares of TWTR stock up over 1% today.
Home construction stocks were moving higher despite a lackluster report from the U.S. Commerce Department about homebuilding in April. The federal agency reported that housing starts declined by 2.6% to their lowest levels in five months. Despite a major shortage of available properties in major markets, homebuilding companies have been unable to take advantage of a supply gap due to a shortage of labor and the rising cost of building materials. Nonetheless, shares of KB Home (NYSE: KBH) still gained more than 1%, while Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) gained 0.4%.
In economic news, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced that U.S. factory output accelerated at its fastest pace in three years. The 1% jump in manufacturing production could provide the central bank with enough confidence to increase interest rates in June. The probability of a rate hike in June currently sits at 78.5%, according to CME FedWatch.
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Crude oil prices were falling as markets await weekly updates to U.S. inventory levels. In early trading, crude was rising on expectations that OPEC nations will extend their deal to cap excessive production. Yesterday, both Russia and Saudi Arabia voiced their support to extend the deal by another nine months. However, the deal has largely failed to push prices toward $60.00 per barrel thanks to rising inventory levels in the United States. The American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly inventory reading after the bell. The WTI crude oil price today fell 0.57%. Brent crude dipped 0.5%.
Following Monday's deadline for quarterly SEC filings, investors are parsing through these documents to determine what stocks the world's top money managers are buying and selling. Let's take a look at what Soros Fund Management (run by George Soros) did last quarter. Soros' fund bought shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB), and FireEye Inc. (Nasdaq: FEYE). Meanwhile, his firm sold shares of Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL), and eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY).
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Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) were down 0.1% despite news that the automotive giant plans to slash roughly 10% of its global workforce. According to reports, the primary cuts will take place at the company's North American and Asian offices. Ford's ultimate goal is to slash expenditures by $3 billion.
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In earnings news, shares of Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) climbed 0.6% after the company reported first-quarter earnings and raised its 2017 earnings expectations. Home Depot, the nation's top home-improvement retailer, reported a 5.5% jump in same-store sales thanks to a strengthening housing sector. The firm has been a bright spot in an otherwise weak brick-and-mortar retail industry.
Shares of Dicks Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) plunged roughly 14% after the sporting goods retailer reported a dismal quarterly earnings report. The retailer reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.54 on revenue of $1.83 billion for the first quarter. Those figures were below Wall Street's expectations.
The consensus one-year price target among analysts who cover Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) sits at $1,089.37. From today's opening price of $961, that's a potential profit of 13.35% in the next 12 months. The company continues to dominate its retail competition while expanding into a number of other sectors. But with the stock price on the verge of $1,000 per share, many are wondering if an Amazon stock split will happen in 2017. We answer that question, right here.
Look for earnings reports after the bell from Urban Outfitters Inc. (Nasdaq: URBN), Jack in the Box Inc. (Nasdaq: JACK), and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. (Nasdaq: RRGB).
Wednesday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)