The Dow Jones today is climbing, but Monday could see a pullback if Congress doesn't pass a short-term funding bill to keep the lights on in Washington until Feb. 16.
Dow futures gave back 50 points this morning after peaking at 77 points on news that House Republicans passed a bill to avert a government shutdown. The Senate will now take up the vote; however, it appears that there are not enough votes right now to ensure its passage.
Here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
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The Top Stock Market Stories for Friday
Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) has narrowed the list for its second North American headquarters down to 20 cities. Companies expected to make the list like Boston, Denver, and Chicago joined surprises like Nashville, Tenn., and Columbus, Ohio, as finalists. The city that wins could end up hosting 50,000 new jobs and receive a $5 billion investment. The final 20 companies were selected from an initial list of 238 U.S. and Canadian cities. The biggest snubs that didn't make the cut included Detroit, Mich.; Charlotte, N.C.; and San Antonio, Texas.
According to multiple reports, the nation of Hungary may introduce "Stop Soros" legislation targeting the advocacy of billionaire investor George Soros over immigration. But it's not Hungary or its anti-Soros goals that matter. What matters is that Soros costs American taxpayers' money... a lot of money. Here's how this billionaire affects your wallet.
Gold prices pushed to $1,335.00 per ounce thanks to a weaker U.S. dollar. Gold has been off to such a strong start in 2018 that this week might be its first weekly loss in six weeks. That could change, however, if concerns about a government shutdown accelerate into the afternoon. The threat of the government shutting down has hurt the dollar, while pushing Treasury bond prices higher. Maybe that's why the U.S. government still hoards $10 billion of gold bullion. Click here to find out more.
Crude oil prices fell on news that U.S. oil production is outpacing declines in American inventory levels. That said, the decline was far more muted thanks to a very bullish report from the International Energy Agency on global supply and demand. The IEA said that international inventory levels have fallen significantly thanks in part to OPEC's deal to cap excessive production. The agency also cited news that Venezuela's production output recently hit a 30-year low. WTI crude oil price today dipped 1.1%, while Brent crude fell 0.9%.
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The price of Bitcoin fell below $12,000 as investors continue to mull the possibility of increased clampdowns in South Korean and China. Ethereum hovered below $1,100, while Litecoin pushed past $200 per coin. The big winner, once again, is Ripple, which is up more than 9% over the last 24 hours.
Three Stocks to Watch Today: SLB, AXP, IBM
Shares of Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) were off 0.8% in pre-market hours after the company reported earnings. The oilfield service company topped Wall Street estimates. The firm reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.48 on top of $8.72 billion in revenue. Wall Street analysts expected EPS of $0.44 on $8.116 billion.
Shares of American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) slumped more than 2.5% after the company announced plans to suspend its buyback program. The company cited tax reform as the reason to end the program, slated for the first half of 2018, and said it plans to rebuild its capital. The announcement complimented news that AXP topped Wall Street earnings and revenue expectations in the fourth quarter.
Shares of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) slipped another 3.5% this morning despite news that the company reported its first revenue growth in five years. Even though sales increased by 1%, investors don't remain convinced that this growth is sustainable.
Additional companies reporting earnings on Friday include SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI), Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU), Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF), and Wipro Ltd. (NYSE: WIT).
Friday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EST)
Consumer Sentiment at 10 a.m.
Baker-Hughes Rig Count at 1 p.m.
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles speaks at 1 p.m.
San Francisco Fed Bank President John Williams speaks at 1:30 p.m.
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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.