Dow Jones Today Opens Flat as Earnings Season Continues

Dow futures traded four points off Tuesday's closing as the first week of earnings season drew to a close. One of today's biggest market movers is likely to be General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) – the U.S. conglomerate appears to have turned a corner after a year plagued by legal and financial challenges, which forced the firm to divest about $20 billion in assets.

General Electric's rebound is a great example of how oversold stocks present an "undervalued" buying opportunity to the enterprising investor. Money Morning Technical Trading Specialist D.R. Barton, Jr., recently identified another company that is undervalued by 20% – and is set for a strong comeback. Check out Barton's findings here…

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

Now here's a closer look at today's Money Morning insight, the most important market events, and stocks to watch.

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Money Morning Insight of the Day

Earnings season is well underway. Money Morning Quantitative Specialist Chris Johnson argues that the markets are at a tipping point. And with just a few smart plays in today's classic stock-picker's market… you can pull in triple-digit gains with just a small investment. Read those picks right here.

The Top Stock Market Stories for Friday

• Markets are raising concerns about Apple Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AAPL) largest chip provider, suggesting that sales of the iPhone could be worse than previous estimates. Despite Apple's downturn, many of the market's biggest players are providing gains thanks to a robust spread of Q1 earnings. Money Morning's options trading specialist, Tom Gentile, has identified three trade strategies to help investors make the most of this historic earnings season – check them out here…

• Shares of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) are in focus after the company reported earnings before the bell. GE stock popped 5.6% after the firm topped earnings per share (EPS) estimates by $0.05 and backed its 2018 outlook. The firm reported EPS of $0.16 on top of $28.66 billion in revenue. GE stock had been off nearly 18% from its last earnings report on January 24 due to ongoing financial and legal problems.

• Crude oil prices dipped Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at OPEC. Trump accused the cartel of keeping oil prices "artificially high" despite "record amounts of oil all over the place." Brent crude and WTI crude oil both hit three-year highs this week after Saudi Arabia suggested that it was working to press oil prices back above $100 per barrel.

Three Stocks to Watch Today: PM, MO, WFC

• Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) fell this morning after the firm experienced its worst trading day since its spin-off from Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO). Shares of PM fell as much as 16% after the firm fell short of revenue expectations after the bell. MO stock fell roughly 6% on the day.

• Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) are under pressure after The New York Times reported that the firm may be facing a $1 billion fine. The fines would cover a variety of "alleged" misdeeds that include the firm's push on customers to purchase auto insurance they didn't need and charging mortgage customers fees for services that they were not using. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will most likely announce the fine today. Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani weighed in on the topic this week, and he offers a scorching indictment.

• Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) is on the move today after the semiconductor giant announced plans to lay off 1,500 employees. The cuts are expected to hit employees in California and cities around the globe. The cuts are part of the firm's $1 billion plan to restructure the organization. The company was recently a $117 billion takeover target from rival Broadcom Ltd. (Nasdaq: AVGO). However, the Trump administration rejected the deal ahead of time and cited national security concerns.

• Other firms reporting earnings include Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON), Roper Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ROP), SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI), Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF), Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU), and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB).

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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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