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.
Must See:This small $6 U.S. defense firm with a new top-secret technology could help the Pentagon stop a Chinese sneak attack dead in its tracks. Read more...
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.
Video
The 5 Jobs That Robots Will Take First
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.
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.