The Dow Jones news today is highlighted by Senate Republicans' failure to repeal and replace Obamacare. But Republicans might now attempt an outright repeal of Obamacare. The announcement comes just as earnings season begins to kick into full swing with a busy round of reports in Tuesday's trading session.
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Here are the numbers from Monday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Republicans have given up on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. Two additional Senate Republicans indicated they would not vote for the bill to replace the signature legislation of the Obama era. Markets are concerned that this failure may make it more difficult for the Trump administration to get other pro-growth policies like tax reform passed in 2017. Investors also do not anticipate that Republicans will rewrite the law or simply repeal the ACA in the future.
The U.S. dollar has hit a multi-month low thanks to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Fed's interest rate policy and the announcement that the Senate will not move forward with a new healthcare plan. Despite the downturn, a new poll by Reuters indicates that economists widely anticipate that the central bank will raise rates again in the fourth quarter and start to unwind its more than $4 trillion in assets by September. Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani has been covering the Fed's actions for years, and he issued a warning to investors this week about the impact of the central bank's balance sheet. Here's what you need to know.
The weaker dollar is offering support to silver prices, which ticked higher yet again Tuesday morning. A recent report indicating weak inflation levels and falling prospects of another interest rate hike in 2017 are also affecting the dollar. Money MorningResource Specialist Peter Krauth covered silver's recent slump and sees significant room for growth in commodity prices in the weeks and months ahead. Just how high will silver go in 2017? Find out, right here.
With earnings season hitting its stride, investors are cheering Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX). The stock rallied more than 10% this morning after the company topped Wall Street earnings expectations yesterday. The firm announced it added 5.2 million new customers during the second quarter. Analysts are confident the firm will continue to expand its international subscriptions to help bolster growth. In June, the firm announced its international subscription base of 52.03 million surpassed its U.S. base of 51.92 million.
Crude oil prices were pushing higher as markets cheered from increased evidence that global demand is on the rise. Data from China indicated that the amount of crude going through the nation's refineries hit the second-largest total on record in June. The news comes at a time that traders are keeping a close eye on OPEC to determine the global oil cartel's next step in preventing a global supply glut from reemerging. The WTI crude oil price today added 1.0%. Brent crude gained 1.1%. Here's the latest insight on where crude prices are heading next.
Three Stocks to Watch Today: BAC, GS, AMD
Shares of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) are falling after the company reported second-quarter earnings before the bell. BAC stock dipped 0.7% after the financial institution failed to impress investors with its earnings report. But the company easily topped Wall Street top- and bottom-line estimates.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) stock fell more than 1.1% in pre-market hours after the Wall Street icon announced second-quarter earnings. Goldman reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.95 on top of $7.88 billion in revenue. Those figures easily beat expectations from analysts.
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Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) fell more than 3.8% in pre-market hours after receiving a downgrade from Barclays Plc. (NYSE ADR: BCS). The investment bank raised concerns about the stock's valuation, reasoning there is little evidence that the stock can maintain its current success. With the downgrade, the bank issued a price target of $9.00.
Look for additional reports today from International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX), Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG), Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT), and UnitedHealth Corp. (NYSE: UNH).
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.