Dow Jones News Today: Stock Prices Climb Ahead of Blue Apron IPO

In Dow Jones news today, stock prices climbed ahead of the Blue Apron IPO, one of the most anticipated public offerings since Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP).

Here are the numbers from Wednesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Now here's a closer look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus Thursday's economic calendar.

The Five Top Stock Market Stories for Wednesday

• Banking stocks helped push the Dow higher thanks to a slight uptick in U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds and a widening spread between bond prices set for different maturity dates. Shares of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) both climbed today.

• Republicans are facing a serious uphill challenge to replace and repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act. The criticism is not only coming from Democrats on the hill, but also from the American public. According to a poll from USA Today, support for the Republican plan sits at just 12%. Polls from NewsHour/Marist and Quinnipiac University don't fare much better. The Republicans are looking for ways to garner support after five members of their party said they would not support the current form of the bill. The Senate has delayed any vote until after the July 4 weekend.

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• In IPO news, Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (NYSE: APRN) slashed its IPO range for its debut to a range of $10 to $11. That range is much lower than the $15 to $17 previously expected. The expected valuation dropped from $3.2 billion to a little under $2.1 billion. So what went wrong? Investors are worried about the impact Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) will have in the global food and grocery business. Blue Apron is the first meal-kit company to go public. Before tomorrow, make sure to read our free and exclusive Blue Apron Stock and IPO Guide.

• Crude oil prices pressed higher after the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. gasoline inventories. The WTI crude oil price today added 1.2%. Brent crude gained 1.5%.

• Finally, President Donald Trump is drawing criticism after he accused Amazon of not paying "Internet taxes." The attack was aimed at Amazon and its newspaper subsidiary, The Washington Post.

Four Stocks to Watch Wednesday: MON, SPLS, FDX, PIR

• Shares of Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) added 1.2% after the global agricultural giant topped Wall Street earnings expectations. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.93 on top of $4.23 billion in revenue. Those numbers surpassed consensus expectations of $1.74 over $4.09 billion in revenue.

• Shares of Staples Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) climbed 8.4% and temporarily surpassed $10.00 per share after rumors of a takeover bid hit the markets late in the afternoon. According to CNBC, Sycamore Partners is close to a deal to purchase the firm for $10.25 per share.

• Shares of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) added 1.3% despite the company's announcement that yesterday's massive ransomware attack affected its TNT Express operations. Investors have been parsing through the wreckage after the attack disrupted servers and systems in Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.

• After the bell, look for an important earnings report from retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR). Wall Street is anticipating a small EPS loss of -$0.05 and $421.2 million in revenue.
• Additional companies reporting earnings after the bell include HB Fuller Co. (NYSE: FUL), Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR), and Progress Software Corp. (Nasdaq: PRGS).

Thursday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)

• GDP at 8:30 a.m.
• Jobless Claims at 8:30 a.m.
• Corporate Profits at 8:30 a.m.
• Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index at 9:45 a.m.
• EIA Natural Gas Report at 10:30 a.m.
• Four-Week Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
• Three-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
• Six-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
• Louis Fed Bank President James Bullard speaks at 1 p.m.
• Farm Prices at 3 p.m.
• Fed Balance Sheet at 4:30 p.m.
• Money Supply at 4:30 p.m.

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Garrett Baldwin

About the Author

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Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.

Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.

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