What Trump's China Trip Means for the Dow Jones Today

The Dow Jones today is barely rising in pre-market hours, even as S&P 500 futures fall. The flat stock market today shows how uncertainty over President Trump's stop in China is affecting the markets…

Dow Jones futures are up 12 points so far as President Donald Trump's tour of Asia sends him to China. Xi Jingping and President Trump are expected to talk about trade and North Korea's nuclear missile plans. Here's how to protect your money when tensions abroad create a volatile market at home…

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

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

The Five Top Stock Market Stories for Tuesday

• While markets weigh the metrics around the latest tax bill, President Donald Trump is traveling to Asia this week. Trump visited Japan on Monday, where he met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Trump raised eyebrows when he expressed disappointment that Japan did not shoot North Korean rockets out of the sky when fired over the nation's territory. Trump also said that Japan can protect itself from North Korea by purchasing U.S. weapons systems, according to The New York Times.

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• The U.S. Federal Reserve is back in focus after Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley announced plans to retire next year. Dudley would step down about six months prior to his planned departure. Just last week, President Donald Trump nominated Fed Gov. Jerome Powell to replace current Fed Chair Janet Yellen. Although Yellen could stay on the Fed board as a governor, such a decision would be unprecedented.

• Wall Street is watching Capitol Hill for updates on Congress's progress on tax reform. The Senate will release an iteration of its own tax plan this week. Both the House of Representatives and Senate will need to reconcile the differences between their two plans. The House plan has faced scrutiny from liberal economists and advocates who argue that the plan will raise taxes on lower-income Americans. The Tax Policy Center said that households earning more than $730,000 (the top 1%) receive 22% of the benefits.

• The auto market just received a warning after the bell Monday. Shares of TrueCar Inc. (Nasdaq: TRUE) plunged more than 27% after the company's earnings report fell well short of Wall Street analysts' expectations. The company operates a popular online platform dedicated to the sales of new and used vehicles.

• Crude oil prices fell slightly in pre-market hours as traders continued to monitor the ongoing political purge in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began what he called "Phase One" of a crackdown on corruption. Others view it as a consolidation of power. Meanwhile, tensions are rising between Saudi Arabia and Iran as a proxy war continues in Yemen. The WTI crude oil price today dipped 0.2%. Brent crude fell 0.3%.

Three Stocks to Watch Today: PCLN, RCL, SNAP

• Shares of Priceline Group Inc. (Nasdaq: PCLN) fell nearly 9.5% after the company reported earnings after the bell Monday. Though the company topped Wall Street earnings and revenue expectations, its forward-looking profit forecast fell short of expectations. The company set a profit forecast for this current quarter between $13.40 and $14.00. This range is well below the $15.56 expected by analysts covering the stock.

• Also in earnings focus will be Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL). The cruise operator is expected to report earnings per share of $3.43 on top of $2.577 billion in revenue. Analysts will be looking for insight into the impact of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria on the company's bottom line.

• Later today, Snapchat parent Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) will report earnings. Wall Street expects that the firm will report a quarterly loss of $0.14 on top of $233.08 million. The social media stock is trading about 50% below its 52-week high as traders remain highly concerned about the firm's ability to compete against Facebook Inc.'s (Nasdaq: FB) Instagram and other technology rivals.

• Tuesday will feature a busy day of earnings reports. Keep an eye out for additional results from Zynga Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNGA), Zillow Group Inc. (NYSE: ZG), Tapestry Inc. (NYSE: TPR), Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR), and Fossil Inc. (Nasdaq: FOSL).

Tuesday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EST)

• NFIB Small Business Optimism Index at 6 a.m.
• Gallup US ECI at 8:30 a.m.
• Redbook at 8:55 a.m.
• JOLTS at 10 a.m.
• Four-Week Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
• 52-Week Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
• Three-Year Note Auction at 1 p.m.
• Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks at 3 p.m.
• Consumer Credit at 3 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, 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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