The Dow Jones news today focuses on a new bear market for oil prices. Dow Jones futures are up just two points ahead of trading as low oil prices drag down the energy sector.
Here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
| Index | Previous Close | Point Change | Percentage Change |
| Dow Jones | 21,467.14 | -61.85 | -0.29 |
| S&P 500 | 2,437.03 | -16.43 | -0.67% |
| Nasdaq | 6,188.03 | -50.98 | -0.82% |
This Could Make Big Oil Obsolete: One gallon of this new fuel could produce enough energy to power a car for 42,325 miles. It's being hailed by many experts as energy's "Holy Grail." Read more...
Now here's a closer look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus Wednesday's economic calendar.
The Five Top Stock Market Stories for Wednesday
- The U.S. Federal Reserve's next interest rate hike is back in focus. Yesterday, Dallas and Chicago Fed Chiefs Robert Kaplan and Charles Evans both expressed serious concerns about the Fed's inability to press inflation levels higher. Inflation has remained below the benchmark expectation of 2%. Interestingly, Evans and several other prominent thinkers are turning their attention to one possible reason why consumer prices have remained low and inflation isn't moving higher: Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN). There is now serious debate on whether Amazon's massive reach into the retail space is driving prices lower and hindering the policy goals of the U.S. central bank. Look for more on this story later this week at Money Morning.
- U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda appears safe for another day. On Tuesday night, Republican Karen Handel won a special election in Georgia just as Republicans prepare to tackle the Trump tax agenda. Handel topped Democrat competitor Jon Ossoff for a seat that was vacated by new Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. More than $50 million was spent in the district during the campaign. In fact, there has been so much advertising that local television stations have added additional news programs to ensure the running of the political ads.
- Crude oil prices were ticking slightly higher as traders debate whether OPEC's deal to cap excessive production through March 2018 will be enough to reduce a swelling glut around the globe. New data suggests that U.S. shale production continues to rise at a time that nations like Nigeria and Libya are bringing more crude to the market. Prices have been cratering in recent weeks, and traders are facing the worst six-month downturn to start a year since 1997. The WTI crude oil price today added 0.4%. Brent crude gained 0.4%.
- It's over for Uber founder Travis Kalanick. The embattled CEO at the world's most valuable startup has resigned from his position after shareholders pressured Kalanick to walk away permanently upon taking an indefinite leave of absence. Yesterday, five major investors pressed for his resignation. Naturally, the future of the company is up in the air, and it throws the potential Uber IPO in doubt....
- Finally, investors are keeping a close eye on Bitcoin, which saw its price hit $2,737 this morning. The uptick comes after the price fell more than 14% in a week thanks to increased volatility around the globe. Here's more on what to expect out of the Bitcoin price in the future.
Four Stocks to Watch Today: ORCL, FDX, ADBE, UPS
- Shares of Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) are in focus as the global cloud computing giant prepares to report fourth-quarter earnings. Wall Street expects earnings per share (EPS) of $0.79 on top of $10.46 billion in revenue. The cloud computing giant, led by Larry Ellison, has been engaged in a major battle against Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), Amazon.com Inc., and Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) in the cloud computing space.
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- FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) fell more than 0.9% after the company reported fourth-quarter results Tuesday. The company easily topped EPS expectations of $3.89 on top of $15.56 billion in revenue. Despite a 28% gain in quarterly earnings, Wall Street appears concerned about competitive pressure in the shipping space. On Monday, rival United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) announced plans to bolster its prices around the holiday season to offset rising costs from e-commerce.
- Adobe Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: ADBE) topped Wall Street earnings expectations Tuesday afternoon. The software giant reported EPS of $1.02 on top of $1.77 in revenue. That beat Wall Street EPS expectations of $0.95 on revenue of $1.73 billion. ADBE shares added 3.2%.
- Look for earnings reports from CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX), HB Fuller Co. (NYSE: FUL), Actuant Corp. (NYSE: ATU), Winnebago Industries Inc. (NYSE: WGO), and Steelcase Inc. (NYSE: SCS).
Wednesday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
- MBA Mortgage Applications at 7 a.m.
- Existing Home Sales at 10 a.m.
- EIA Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 a.m.
Up Next: Why 2017 Is the Year for Investing in Renewables
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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.