Why Dow Jones Futures Are Surging 130 Points Today

Garrett Baldwin

Dow Jones futures are up 130 points before the bell today, as investors anticipate the positive earnings season will continue as Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) and Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) release their numbers later today.

The Dow Jones today is also aided as observers are keeping a close eye on this week's FOMC meeting. The U.S. Federal Reserve isn't expected to raise interest rates during the meeting. With stocks soaring, here's a simple strategy to making your first million…

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

• Wednesday is all about the Federal Reserve. Later today, the central bank will release its latest decision on monetary policy. The markets do not anticipate that the Fed is going to raise interest rates this month. In fact, the CME FedWatch Tool places the probability of a hike at less than 2%. However, investors are looking for clues into the timing of the next rate hike, which the markets have pegged for December. In addition, we will be looking for additional insight into the Fed's plan to cut back on its large balance sheet.

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• Investors need to pay attention to a major stock market indicator. The Shiller CAPE ratio, which is a ratio of stock prices to their earnings over a 10-year period, just hit 31.43. It's one of the best measures of overall stock market valuation, and it's more than 80% above its historical average. In fact, it's only reached a higher level twice, once before the 1929 stock market crash, and once in 1999 before the dot-com bubble popped. Here's what you can do to protect your money now…

• It will be at least another day before the U.S. House of Representatives unveils its latest iteration of a tax reform plan. Authors of the latest bill announced that they will delay the release of the plan until Thursday while they place a "few finishing touches" on the document. While the GOP is still debating key provisions of the bill, the decision is a bit of a setback for the House, as leaders had pushed Nov. 1 as the day of the announcement.

• Bitcoin turned nine years old Tuesday, and it's been a wild ride since developers released the original whitepaper outlining the vision for a peer-to-peer version of electronic cash. The price of Bitcoin surged above $6,500 as investors continue to pile into the cryptocurrency. What is driving the price surge? We cover big moves in the cryptocurrency markets each day at Money Morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Crude oil prices were on the rise on news that OPEC leaders have remained committed to a deal to cap excessive production. According to numbers released by the cartel, OPEC's compliance level hit 92% last month. Crude prices are now trading at a two-year high. The WTI crude oil price today added 1.1%. Brent crude gained 1.1%.

Three Stocks to Watch Today: GPRO, FB, QCOM

• Shares of GoPro Inc. (Nasdaq: GPRO) are on the move as the firm prepares to report earnings after the bell. Wall Street expects zero profit for the quarter as the firm continues to struggle with high costs. Revenue expectations are set at $314.32 million.

• Shares of Facebook Inc. are on the move as the social media giant prepares to report fiscal third-quarter earnings. Wall Street analysts expect that earnings will come in at $1.29 per share. Revenue expectations call for $9.879 billion.

• Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) will be in focus this afternoon as the semiconductor company prepares to report quarterly earnings. But today's investor conference call will center on the expected earnings per share level of $0.81 on top of $5.78 billion in revenue. Investors will be asking a lot of questions about rumors that Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) will drop the semiconductor giant in future iterations of the iPhone and iPad.

• Look for additional earnings reports from Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA), FitBit Inc. (NYSE: FIT), Yelp Inc. (Nasdaq: YELP), Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), Ctrip.com International Ltd. (Nasdaq: CTRP), FireEye Inc. (Nasdaq: FEYE), Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE: SHAK), SodaStream International Ltd. (Nasdaq: SODA), Allegan Plc. (NYSE: AGN), The Cheesecake Factory Inc. (Nasdaq: CAKE), Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), and Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO).

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

• MBA Mortgage Applications at 7 a.m.
• ADP Employment Report at 8:15 a.m.
• Three-Year Note Announcement at 8:30 a.m.
• 10-Year Note Announcement at 8:30 a.m.
• 30-Year Bond Announcement at 8:30 a.m.
• Treasury Refunding Announcement at 8:30 a.m.
• PMI Manufacturing Index at 9:45 a.m.
• ISM Manufacturing Index at 10 a.m.
• Construction Spending at 10 a.m.
• EIA Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 a.m.
• FOMC Meeting Announcement at 2 p.m.

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Garrett Baldwin

About the Author

Browse Garrett's articles | View Garrett's research services

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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