The Dow Jones news today will focus on stocks rebounding as Wall Street looks beyond the controversies surrounding President Trump. Markets are also preparing for a light day of earnings reports and weighing the latest developments out of Washington, D.C.
Here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Global markets were on pace for their worst week of the year as investors continued to weigh mounting political scandals in Washington. But Dow Jones futures are up 38 points this morning as stocks stabilize. Markets are also eyeing developments out of Brazil, where a corruption scandal continues to weigh on its President Michel Turner. The nation is experiencing its sharpest currency downturn of the century.
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Silver prices are in focus as markets continue to weigh concerns about the Trump administration's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey and a pending special investigation. Markets have seen a flight to safe-haven assets. Precious metals like gold and silver had experienced their strongest uptick since the Brexit vote. Money Morning Resource Specialist Peter Krauth says that these investments are just getting started. In fact, we lay out the best silver investments of 2017, including our favorite stock to capture big gains from the coming silver rally. Read it all, right here.
Crude oil prices are ticking slightly higher on speculation that OPEC may extend a deal with cooperating non-members to cap excessive protection. Markets will now be looking for clues into the impact of rising U.S. production and how it will impact OPEC's influence in the months ahead. Keep an eye on the weekly production rig count from Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) this morning. The WTI crude oil price today added 1.3%. Brent crude gained 1.2%.
On of the biggest stories generating headlines is a massive infrastructure project being spearheaded by Chinese leadership. This mega-project will span across three continents - Asia, Africa, and Europe - and traverse both land and sea. It's called the new Silk Road, and investors have a massive opportunity to tap into the largest infrastructure project since the Marshall Plan. Here's more on China's $1 trillion initiative.
Talking heads will certainly be debating the latest bad idea from Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). The financial institution is aiming to reduce the amount required for a home loan from 20% down to 10% down. Executives said it would be easier to service loans and bolster funding if the credit requirements were altered.
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Shares of Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL), Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), and Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) are all in focus this morning as the companies prepare to report quarterly earnings before the bell.
In other earnings news, shares of Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) added more than 3.5% after the retailer topped Wall Street earnings expectations. The firm reported earnings per share of $0.36, a figure that topped consensus expectations of $0.07 per share. The retailer also beat revenue expectations.
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Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM), is taking a victory lap. On Thursday, he appeared on CNBC to brag that his company was "crushing" Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL). The announcement came shortly after his firm easily topped Wall Street earnings expectations and hiked its earnings guidance for 2018 by $100 million. The firm said that its cloud-computing services continue to beat rivals like Oracle, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), and SAP SE (NYSE ADR: SAP).
Friday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard speaks at 9:15 a.m.