How Japan Is Fueling Another Record-Breaking Day for the Dow Jones Industrial Average

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is going to open at another record high today after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won re-election over the weekend.

Dow Jones futures are up 20 points as Abe's election sets the path for even more stimulus activity in the world's third-largest economy. The Nikkei hit a two-decade high in the wake of Abe's re-election.

But as the bull market rages on, investors are wondering if it's still possible to find "huge winners" in today's market. It absolutely is – here's how to do it…

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

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

The Five Top Stock Market Stories for Monday

• Shinzo Abe's victory in Japan was not surprising, but the win helped push the nation's stock market to its highest levels in two decades. While Japan is helping fuel global stocks, Spain is generating bigger headlines. Over the weekend, Spain's government announced plans to displace the Catalonian government and ensure greater control of the region. Catalonian residents have been marching and demanding independence from Spain after a vote last month to declare autonomy.

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• It will be another big day of earnings reports on Monday. Kicking off today's earnings report calendar is Arconic Inc. (NYSE: ARNC). The metals engineering giant is expected to report earnings per share of $0.27 on top of $3.129 billion in revenue.
• Over the weekend, the price of Bitcoin jumped above $6,200. Markets have largely shrugged off concerns about China's decision to halt Bitcoin trading, ban initial coin offerings, and shutter local exchanges. With those concerns in the rear-view mirror, several major catalysts have some analysts' projecting that Bitcoin will rally up to $10,000 by 2019. Here's what you need to know about Bitcoin prices right now.
• This morning, Amin Nasser, the CEO of Saudi Aramco, said that the pending IPO of the global energy giant is on track for 2018. The Saudi-owned oil giant is tantalizing investors with what could be the largest public offering in market history with a market capitalization of more than $2 trillion. But rumors that the IPO might be called off while the IPO faces a series of setbacks have investors skeptical it will ever happen.
• Crude oil prices were mixed once again as traders focus on rising geopolitical tensions and falling U.S. production numbers. Traders remain on edge over brewing conflict in northern Iraq. Meanwhile, Baker Hughes announced on Friday that the number of domestic production rigs decreased for the week. The WTI crude oil price today added 3%. Brent crude dropped 0.2%.

Three Stocks to Watch Today: TSLA, AMZN, CSCO

• Shares of Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) are in focus after the electric vehicle manufacturer announced that it plans to build a new factory in China. Elon Musk's firm is aiming to tap into China's rapidly growing EV market and utilize Shanghai's free-trade zone. Though the company expects that it will be able to slash production costs significantly as a result of its outsourcing, Tesla may face up to a 25% import tariff in the future.

• This week will be one of the most important weeks of this earnings season. Perhaps the most important earnings report this week will come from e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN). On Thursday, analysts will be looking for insight into the firm's recent purchase of Whole Foods Market. Amazon has been aggressively cutting the grocer's prices in order to generate new customer traffic. Wall Street analysts anticipate that the firm is going to lose two cents per share as a result of its aggressive promotion schedule.
• Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) are in focus on news that the company is nearing a deal to purchase BroadSoft Inc. (Nasdaq: BSFT). Reuters reports that a possible deal would be worth roughly $2 billion. Rumors of a deal have been floating around since August, when BroadSoft announced that it was exploring a possible deal.
• Look for earnings reports from Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL), Seagate Technology Plc. (NYSE: STX), Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS), F. Corp. (NYSE: VFC), Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR), Core Laboratories NV (NYSE: CLB), Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW), and Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB).

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

• Chicago Fed National Activity Index at 8:30 a.m.
• Four-Week Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
• Three-Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
• Six-Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.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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