The Dow Jones today dropped 60 points in pre-market hours, as markets processed developments between the Trump administration and the North Korean government. On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he had canceled the planned summit between the United States and North Korean, on June 12. While disruptive to market stability, the cancellation isn't surprising to Money Morning. In fact, we saw it coming months ago.
Here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
24,811.76
-75.05
-0.30%
Nasdaq
7,424.43
-1.53
-0.02%
S&P 500
2,727.76
-5.53
-0.20%
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 Friday
Meanwhile, the United States will continue to meet with China to discuss ways to accelerate a deal between the two nations on trade. U.S. Commerce head Wilbur Ross will be visiting the nation next month to lead the next round of talks. Last weekend, the two nations agreed in principle to avoid a trade war. Here's the thing... the U.S. government doesn't want you to know the full story of what is happening. Here's a look at the backroom details....
U.S. crude oil prices slumped below $70 per barrel Friday thanks to reports out of Russia on its plans to hike production. Russia says it may increase production as part of a plan to ease portions of its deal with OPEC to cap excessive global output. Oil traders have long suspected that Russia would be one of the first countries to turn away from the ongoing deal with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the global oil cartel as soon as prices and inventory levels stabilized. This could be a blow to predictions among OPEC nations, as well as some traders who were hoping that oil could push back toward $100 per barrel.
Three Stocks to Watch Today: FL, NFLX, AMZN
Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) leads a light day of earnings reports. Shares of the shoe retailer popped 13% after the firm reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.45. Wall Street had anticipated EPS of just $1.24. The retailer benefited from stronger same-store sales and higher revenue, which also beat Wall Street expectations.
On Thursday, Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) surpassed The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) in market capitalization to become the most valuable media property on the planet. It's worth noting, however, that Netflix's market capitalization of $163 billion is being bolstered by a P/E ratio of 209, while Disney's market cap of $153 billion is supported by a P/E ratio of roughly 16.
Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) is under fire thanks to a major security lapse. According to a Portland-based family, an Amazon Echo secretly recorded their conversation only to randomly send it to a person on their contact list. The latest episode again raises concerns about voice-assistant devices as they continue to grow in popularity. The company said that Alexa has misinterpreted background conversation as commands to reach a contact.
Other firms reporting earnings include Hibbett Sports Inc. (NYSE: HIBB) and Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE).
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.