Investors are closely watching the Dow Jones today after the Republican tax cut plan is thrown in doubt as more senators defect...
Dow Jones futures are up 41 points this morning even though Republican senators, including Bob Corker, are currently considering a "no" vote on the tax bill. Here's the truth about what tax cuts mean for the stock market and whether we're really going to get them...
Here are the numbers from Monday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
| Index | Previous Close | Point Change | Percentage Change |
| Dow Jones | 23,580.78 | 22.79 | 0.10% |
| S&P 500 | 2,601.42 | -1.00 | -0.04% |
| Nasdaq | 6,878.52 | -10.64 | -0.15% |
Now here's a closer look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus Tuesday's economic calendar.
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The Five Top Stock Market Stories for Tuesday
- Markets will be reacting to updates from Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) and other e-commerce giants to determine their performance on Cyber Monday. Yesterday, sales were estimated at $6.59 billion in a single day. That is the largest figure for spending for an American day of shopping ever. But it turns out there's a Cyber Monday deal for investors too; read more and start profiting, right here...
- Today, the Senate Banking Committee will start the confirmation hearing of Jerome Powell, who has been nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump to head the Federal Reserve. Powell, who is currently a Fed board governor, would be the first investment banker to ever lead the U.S. central bank. Though Powell is likely to keep raising rates, senators will be curious about his views on regulations put in place after the 2008-09 financial crisis.
- Get ready to hear a lot about the possible pitfalls of the Uber IPO. The ride-sharing company has been embroiled in a string of controversies over the last year. Ongoing problems in the executive suite are costing investors upward of $20 billion and knocking value off the firm. This comes at a time when Uber needs to raise more money. Now, SoftBank Group Corp. (OTCMKTS: SFTBY) is poised to make a big investment in the company, but the catch is that it will buy in at a 30% discount. The firm and an investment partner want to offer $33 per share and an extra $1 billion in cash for a 14% stake. The deal would knock Uber's valuation down to $48 billion.
- Crude oil prices fell in pre-market hours as markets turn their attention to two bearish factors for the sector. First, doubts are starting to kick in that OPEC will extend its production deal to cap excessive crude output past the March 2018 target. Meanwhile, TransCanada Corp. (USA) (NYSE: TRP) announced it will reopen the Keystone XL pipeline following maintenance to fix a leak discovered last week. The WTI crude oil price today added 0.3%. Brent crude gained 0.4%. But these are the two high-profile oil scandals every investors needs to know about...
- The Bitcoin price topped $10,000 for the first time ever early Tuesday morning. The incredible run in Bitcoin has been fueled by relentless optimism and increased expectations that institutional investors are on the verge of pouring into the sector. According to reports, Coinbase, a massive Bitcoin exchange, now has more users than Charles Schwab. In addition, Mike Novogratz, a bullish Bitcoin investor and former hedge fund manager, forecasted that Bitcoin could surge as high as $40,000 in 2018. Here are the other factors driving cryptocurrency prices.
Stocks to Watch Today: WFC, BWLD, UNH
- Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is generating more bad headlines on Tuesday morning. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the firm's managers swindled clients in order to pad their bonus checks. The firm overcharged on trading fees and passed on costs that were much higher than initially billed. The report indicates that just 35 of 300 clients paid the price they were actually quoted.
The 3 Craziest Corporate Scandals of 2017
- In deal news, shares of Buffalo Wild Wings (Nasdaq: BWLD) jumped more than 6.4% on news that an investment group plans to take the restaurant chain private. Private equity firm Roark Capital said that its Arby's Restaurant Group will purchase Buffalo Wild Wings for roughly $2.4 billion.
- Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) slumped more than 1.1% after the company issued a new full-year outlook for 2018. The firm said that its annual profits will increase from 5.5% to 8.5%. The stock's decline in pre-market hours comes because the range is below investors' and analysts' expectations.
- Tuesday will feature a busy day of earnings reports. Keep an eye out for additional results from Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (Nasdaq: MRVL), Autodesk Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), Nuance Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAN), Pure Storage Inc. (Nasdaq: PSTG), Momo Inc. (Nasdaq: MOMO), Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: WAIR), and China Lodging Group Ltd. (Nasdaq ADR: HTHT).
Tuesday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EST)
- International Trade in Goods at 8:30 a.m.
- Redbook at 8:55 a.m.
- FHFA House Price Index at 9 a.m.
- S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller HPI at 9 a.m.
- New York Fed Bank President William Dudley speaks at 9:15 a.m.
- Consumer Confidence at 10 a.m.
- Fed Gov. Jerome Powell Speaks at 10 a.m.
- Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index at 10 a.m.
- State Street Investor Confidence Index at 10 a.m.
- Four-Week Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
- Seven-Year Note Auction at 1 p.m.
- Gallup US ECI at 2 p.m.
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About the Author
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.