The Dow Jones today opened lower on Friday morning following the imposition of $34 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese exports overnight. China responded to the new trade restrictions with tariffs of its own and accused the United States of fostering a potentially catastrophic trade conflict.
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Here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
24,356.74
181.92
0.75%
S&P 500
2,736.61
23.39
0.86%
Nasdaq
7,586.43
83.75
1.12%
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
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision opened the sports gambling floodgates. And while investors are scrambling to find the best gambling stocks to soak up that money, we're already one step ahead...
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) recently purchased Empire City Casino and Yonkers Raceway. The deal will allow the company to capitalize on the sports gambling craze. But there's another company trading at an incredible discount that presents an amazing opportunity for investors. This is how you could make an easy 100% in the weeks ahead.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Friday
Following the U.S. tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods, the economic rival hit back. China returned with its own list of American products totaling $34 billion, including soybeans, pork, and electric vehicles. Many analysts anticipate that the conflict will continue to escalate. Tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese goods are expected to go into effect in a few weeks. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on another $500 billion in Chinese goods should there be further retaliation.
This morning, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the nation's unemployment rate increased to 4%. The U.S. economy added 213,000 new jobs in June, a figure that topped expectations. The report also showed a 2.7% uptick in hourly earnings year over year. The report indicates a tightening U.S. market that continues to face shortages of talent. There are currently more open position in the United States than people looking for work.
Shares of CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) have slumped nearly 7.9% over the last week thanks to the Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) takeover of online pharmacy PillPack last week. The conventional wisdom is that Amazon is poised to massively disrupt the pharmaceutical retail space the same way it has dismantled the brick-and-mortar retail and grocery industries. But the consensus has it wrong, and following the herd could cost you a lot of money...
Three Stocks to Watch Today: F, TSLA, BIIB
Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) were flat despite dismal news out of China. This morning, the company reported a 38% slump in Chinese sales during the month of June. It was a terrible first six months for the iconic vehicle manufacturer. The company said that its Chinese operations saw a 25% slide in sales over the first half of the year. That was the largest six-month decline since launching its Chinese operations in 2001.
Shares of Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) are off more than 1% after California regulators announced a new probe into the company. The probe was announced following a safety complaint filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The agency has not provided any details on the case.
Shares of Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) popped more than 14% after the company announced positive results from a trial for an Alzheimer's drug. The phase 2 study examined BAN2401, an anti-amyloid beta protofibril antibody. It was tested on 856 patients with early stages of Alzheimer's disease. In a research note, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) announced that the results would be positive for Biogen's drug pipeline.
Look for an earnings report Friday from InnerWorkings Inc. (Nasdaq: INWK). Wall Street projects that the company will report earnings per share of $0.09 on top of $284.9 million in revenue.
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.