The Dow Jones today futures fell 187 points this morning after President Donald Trump suggested that any discussion of a thaw in Chinese trade relations were premature. Trump said that he is "not satisfied" with the current state of trade discussions, even though other members of his administration, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, appeared optimistic about a deal.
Despite the recent market turmoil, oil stocks have locked in substantial gains over the last few months. In fact, earlier this week, SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE Arca: XLE) overtook the S&P 500's performance over the last year. In order to take advantage of these gains, we've identified the best oil stock to buy as international prices continue to rise. Check it out here...
Here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
24834.41
-178.88
-0.72%
S&P 500
2724.44
-8.57%
-0.31%
Nasdaq
7378.46
-15.58
-0.21%
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 Wednesday
In addition to Trump's concerns about China and trade, the President also stated that he is unsure whether a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un will take place as planned. Multiple media outlets this morning are questioning if the event will take place. The summit is tentatively planned for June 12.
Banking stocks were on the move after Congress passed new laws designed to reduce regulations for thousands of financial institutions. The new rules will ensure that smaller banks are not facing the same strict rules as the bigger giants. The financial sector has been lobbying to changes to the Dodd-Frank Act since its inception after the 2008-09 financial crisis.
Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with members of the European Union on Tuesday. The CEO of the social media giant outraged European Parliament members after reportedly dodging questions about user privacy and the firm's collection of personal data. During the conversation, EU members questioned whether Facebook is a monopoly and pondered if the firm should be broken up due to antitrust concerns.
Three Stocks to Watch Today: TGT, LOW, TIF
Shares of Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) fell nearly 6% after the retail giant fell short of earnings expectations before the bell. The firm reported earnings per share of $1.32. This figure missed Wall Street earnings expectations by six cents. The retail giant blamed poor spring weather for its performance and said that its bottom line has been impacted by the costs of upgrading its physical locations.
Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) stock gained 3% after the firm reported earnings before the bell. Even though the firm fell short of EPS and revenue expectations, investors piled into the stock. Quarterly sales increased just 0.6% compared to the 3% that had been anticipated by Wall Street.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) easily beat Wall Street earnings and revenue expectations. Shares popped more than 10% after the firm reported EPS of $1.14. Wall Street had expected earnings of just $0.83. The company also hiked its 2018 full-year guidance.
Look for additional earnings reports from NetApp Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP), L Brands (NYSE: LB), Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL), Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSB), and SeaDrill Limited (Nasdaq: SDRL).
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.