What Trump's Government Shutdown Threat Means for the Dow Jones Today

Garrett Baldwin

The Dow Jones today will see share prices drop after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to shut down the government at his rally last night. President Trump said if Congress won't fund his border wall plan he'll "close down our government." Dow Jones futures are down 72 points this morning.

A government shutdown threat could send stock prices lower, but we don't recommend exiting the stock market. Here's how to profit when stock prices fall...

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

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

• In addition to threatening a government shutdown, President Trump also said his administration will likely end up "terminating NAFTA [the North American Free Trade Agreement]," a statement that led to a sharp downturn in the Mexican peso this morning. Trump has argued that NAFTA saps manufacturing jobs from the U.S. economy and allows firms to pay workers far lower wages in foreign nations.

• Brick-and-mortar stores are on notice again this morning. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is hitting back at Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN). In order to take on the e-commerce giant's at-home assistant, Alexa, Wal-Mart has announced a partnership with Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL) to develop a platform for voice-activated shopping. Wal-Mart shoppers will be able to link their accounts to Google Express, a platform designed to target major brick-and-mortar chains across the nation.

• Markets continue to speculate on tomorrow's big event in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will host European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and other central bank leaders at the annual Economic Policy Symposium. The three-day event will feature speeches from Draghi and Yellen. Markets are hoping for more clarity into the Fed's plan to start winding down its balance sheet in September. However, traders will also be looking for views into the impact of inflation on the central bank's plans.

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• Crude oil prices pushed lower in premarket hours on concerns about Libyan output and broader oversupply in the global markets. Yesterday, the American Enterprise Institute announced a surprise uptick in U.S. gasoline inventories. The announcement sets the stage for the weekly crude stocks report from the Energy Information Administration later this morning. Oil traders are waiting to see if oil inventories are also growing. The WTI crude oil price today fell 0.4%. Brent crude dipped 0.6%.

• Finally, Mark Cuban announced he is backing a $20 million cryptocurrency venture capital fund. In an email to CNBC, Cuban said he has grown interested in the cryptocurrency space and plans to learn more about it. But that isn't the only news that was driving coins like Ripple and Bitcoin higher. For the latest insight on the booming cryptocurrency market, go here.

Three Stocks to Watch Today: LOW, CRM, APRN

• Shares of Lowe's Co. Inc. (NYSE: LOW) fell more than 6% in premarket hours after the company fell well short of earnings expectations before the bell. The home improvement retailer reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, off from the $1.62 that analysts had expected. The company fell just short of revenue expectations, but it did top same-store sales. Shares of Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) were off 1.1% on the news.

• Shares of Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) dropped nearly 2% after the Silicon Valley giant reported earnings after the bell Tuesday. The company topped Wall Street adjusted EPS by one cent, and topped revenue expectations as well.

• The problems for Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (NYSE: APRN) continue to go from bad to worse. The embattled home meal kit maker saw shares fall another 0.7% in premarket hours after it announced a temporary hiring freeze and fired more than a dozen member of its recruiting team. It was also announced that the firm is facing a class action lawsuit and has been accused of making misleading claims ahead of its initial public offering. The stock is now off more than 50% since it debuted earlier this summer.

• Look for additional earnings reports from The Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO), Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM), PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH), Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES), Express Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPR), Lannett Co. (NYSE: LCI), Eaton Vance Corp. (NYSE: EV), and Tilly's Inc. (Nasdaq: TLYS).

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

• MBA Mortgage Applications at 7 a.m.
• PMI Composite Flash at 9:45 a.m.
• New Home Sales at 10 a.m.
• EIA Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 a.m.
• Two-Year FRN Note Auction at 11:30 a.m.
• Dallas Fed Bank President Robert Kaplan speaks at 1:05 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, 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.

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