In Dow Jones news today, the Dow gained more than 20 points as U.S. President Donald Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Stocks traded into record territory as investors also weighed comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who testified before Congress for the second straight day.
Here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
| Index | Closing | Point Change | Percentage Change |
| Dow Jones | 21,553.09 | +20.95 | +0.10% |
| S&P 500 | 2,447.83 | +4.58 | +0.19% |
| Nasdaq | 6,274.44 | +13.27 | +0.21% |
Now here's a closer look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus Friday's economic calendar.
The Five Top Stock Market Stories for Thursday
- Technology stocks led today's gains, with Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL), Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) offering the largest boosts to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
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- This morning, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its analysis of President Donald Trump's proposed budget. According to its insight, Trump's budget would reduce the federal deficit over the next decade. However, the plan would fail to balance the budget. The CBO used a more restrained growth estimate for the U.S. economy to reach its conclusion.
- Fed Chair Janet Yellen testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Markets were looking for additional insight into the timing of the central bank's next interest rate hike and plans to wind down its balance sheet. However, Yellen generated headlines after saying that the central bank would be willing to take action against Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) at the end of an investigation. Yellen said that the Fed has the power to replace the bank's board of directors. The statement came after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) questioned the Fed's supervision over Wells Fargo.
- Crude oil prices pushed higher as markets largely dismissed news that OPEC production increased in June. Markets instead focused on evidence of rising consumption in the United States and Germany. WTI crude oil price today added 1.2%, and Brent crude gained 1.3%.
- On Friday, earnings season kicks into full swing when we receive reports from three of the nation's largest financial institutions. Tomorrow morning, we're looking for reports from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C).
Three Stocks to Watch Thursday: SNAP, TGT, YNDX
- Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) added nearly 3% after the company received a contrarian recommendation from an analyst at Stifel. The analyst upgraded the owner of social media giant Snapchat from "Hold" to "Buy," and hyped the company's user engagement figures and business growth. Shares are still below their IPO price of $17, and many investors are wary of the stock ahead of the company's 150-day lockout expiration.
5 Facts You Didn't Know About Amazon.com
- Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) stock added more than 4% after the firm released an upbeat second-quarter forecast and hiked its same-store sales outlook. The company cited stronger customer traffic and improving fundamentals in its decision to increase its second-quarter earnings per share (EPS) expectation to hit the higher end of a range between $0.95 to $1.15. The statement was a positive factor for competing retailing giants. Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Costco Wholesale Corp. (Nasdaq: COST) both added more than 1.2% on the day.
- Shares of Internet search giant Yandex NV (Nasdaq: YNDX) rallied 15.9%. The company, which has a massive presence in Russia, announced plans to combine its local ride-sharing business with Uber. With Uber continuing to expand around the globe, many investors are curious on the timing of the company's initial public offering. Here are the latest updates on the Uber IPO.
- Look for additional earnings reports from Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), ClubCorp Holdings Inc.(Nasdaq: MYCC), National Beverage Corp. (Nasdaq: FIZZ), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE: TSM).
Friday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
- Consumer Price Index at 8:30 a.m.
- Retail Sales at 8:30 a.m.
- Industrial Production at 9:15 a.m.
- Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan speaks at 9:30 a.m.
- Business Inventories at 10 a.m.
- Consumer Sentiment at 10 a.m.
- Baker-Hughes Rig Count at 1 p.m.
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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.