The Dow Jones today jumped 57 points in pre-market trading after Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) posted better-than-expected earnings. Facebook beat revenue estimates by 4% and announced that it had increased its workforce by 48%. Much of the market expected Facebook to report losses on the heels of the multiple scandals that plagued the company throughout the first quarter.
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Here are the numbers from Wednesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
24,083.83
59.70
0.25%
Nasdaq
7,003.74
-3.61
-0.05
S&P 500
2,639.40
4.84
0.18%
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
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The Top Stock Market Stories for Thursday
Markets are still trying to make sense of yesterday's surprise suspension of trading on shares of Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL). Amazon will lead another busy day of earnings reports. Wall Street projects that the e-commerce giant will report earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22 on top of a whopping $50.19 billion in revenue.
Shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) may face additional pressure today after another surprise update from one of its biggest suppliers. Austria-based supplier AMS, a maker of optical sensors for the iPhone X, warned that sales for the second quarter will fall by roughly 50% from the first quarter. This comes not long after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE: TSM) offered a lower-than-expected Q2 revenue forecast. Now, Wall Street analysts could soon follow with cuts to iPhone sales forecasts, especially after rival Samsung warned of a slowdown in display panel sales.
This morning, the European Central Bank announced it will maintain its record-low interest rates and accommodating monetary policy. At a time when the U.S. central bank is raising rates, the ECB failed to provide a timeline on when it will end its massive stimulus package, which features monthly bond purchases of $37 billion.
Four Stocks to Watch Today: DNKN, QSR, GM, FB
Hedge fund manager and notable short-seller Jim Chanos is lining up positions against two of the restaurant industry's best-known firms. Shares of Dunkin Brands Group Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN) and Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR), which owns Burger King, were both sliding after Chanos said he was short the firms over sales concerns. The news comes the same morning that DNKN topped Wall Street profit estimates of $0.62 by $0.11. However, DNKN quarterly revenue fell short of expectations.
Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) stock doesn't appear to be facing any significant fallout due to its ongoing data scandal. The social media giant shattered revenue expectations after the bell Wednesday. Shares popped 7% after the company reported a 50% year-over-year revenue surge. The firm reported 1.45 billion daily active users and 2.2 billion monthly users. This was the first earnings report since the Cambridge Analytica scandal that happened in March. Shares are rebounding, as the firm had lost billions in market cap.
Shares of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) fell 0.5% in pre-market hours after the automotive giant reported earnings before the bell. GM topped profit and revenue expectations with an EPS of $1.43 on top of $36.1 billion in revenue. Wall Street analysts forecasted $1.22 on top of $34.1 billion. The company cited record revenue levels for its Chinese business and a strong performance from its financial division.
Look for additional earnings reports from Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX), Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU), First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR), Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP), Southwest Airlines Inc. (NYSE: LUV), and Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC).
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.