The Dow Jones today dipped in early morning trading, but investors are optimistic the start of earnings season will be better than expected thanks to the new tax reform bill.
Dow futures fell 59 points this morning as the government shutdown enters its third day. Bearish pundits are concerned the shutdown will overshadow a busy day of earnings reports and economic data. On Sunday, leaders from both the Democratic and Republican parties held talks to try to break the impasse. However, it remains unclear when and if the government will reopen.
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Here are the numbers from Friday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
| Index | Previous Close | Point Change | Percentage Change |
| Dow Jones | 26071.72 | 53.91 | 0.21% |
| S&P 500 | 2810.30 | 12.27 | 0.44% |
| Nasdaq | 7336.38 | 40.33 | 0.55% |
Now here's a closer look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus Monday's economic calendar.
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The Four Top Stock Market Stories for Monday
- The U.S. government shutdown continues into its third day. On Saturday night, the government shut down after the U.S. Senate failed to pass a bill that would have funded operations through mid-February. Democrats and Republicans are fighting over immigration policies, and the finger pointing is expected to accelerate over the first shutdown since 2013. The Senate is expected to take up a vote today that will try to reopen the government on a temporary basis.
- In deal news, consolidation in the agriculture space is picking up again. According to Reuters, Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) has pitched a deal to purchase commodity giant Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG). Shares of BG popped 11% on Friday on rumors of the deal and added another 1% on Monday morning. A deal between the two companies would establish an agribusiness giant roughly the size of Cargill.
- The best gold stock to buy in 2018 is 2.6 times more profitable than gold. And the government shutdown is also distracting investors from the bevy of global geopolitical issues that are heating up around the globe. In fact, Money Morning Resource Specialist Peter Krauth projects that gold will surpass $1,400 this year. But should problems erupt around the globe, there's a real case for gold to skyrocket from $1,500 to $3,000. Here's what you need to know, and how you can make monster returns playing gold's surge.
- Crude oil prices dipped Monday. The downturn was surprising after Saudi Arabia hailed the success of OPEC's deal to cap excessive production around the globe. The oil cartel's largest producer announced that OPEC and participants like Russia would likely extend this deal beyond 2018. The news comes as the United States prepares to surpass 10 million barrels per day in production. The WTI crude oil price today fell 0.2%. Brent crude dropped 0.2%.
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- Another day, another downgrade for shares of Apple Inc. (NYSE: AAPL). The technology giant received its second downgrade in a week over concerns about stagnating iPhone demand. Atlantic Equities dropped its rating for AAPL stock from "overweight" to "neutral" and said it expects iPhone demand to slide during the company's first quarter. The downgrade comes after Longbow Research cut its rating of AAPL last Wednesday.
- Shares of Juno Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: JUNO) gained more than 27% on news that it received a $9 billion takeover offer from biotech giant Celegene Corp. (Nasdaq: CELG). The Wall Street Journal reported today that Celegene is seeking to expand its portfolio of blood cancer drugs before its top-selling Revlimid loses its patent protection. The paper speculates that a deal could be finalized by the end of the first quarter.
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- Shares of Haliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) popped nearly 2% after the oilfield serve giant topped Wall Street earnings expectations before the bell Monday. HAL reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.53 on top of $5.94 billion in revenue. Consensus expectations called for EPS of $0.46 on top of $5.57 billion in revenue.
- Look for earnings reports from Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), Wynn Resources Ltd. (Nasdaq: WYNN), TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: AMTD), Steel Dynamics Inc. (Nasdaq: STLD), Brown & Brown Inc. (NYSE: BRO), ResMed Inc. (NYSE: RMD), Woodward Inc. (NYSE: WWD), PetMed Express Inc. (Nasdaq: PETS), and Logitech International SA (Nasdaq: LOGI).
Monday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EST)
- 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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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.