The Dow Jones today jumped 55 points in pre-market hours as traders showed optimism for a resolution on trade between the United States and China. Last week, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow announced that the United States would engage with China in a new round of trade negotiations later this month.
Here are the numbers from Friday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
25,669.32
110.59
0.43%
Nasdaq
7,816.33
9.81
0.13%
S&P 500
2,850.13
9.44
0.33%
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
This will be an extremely busy week in the retail sector thanks to earnings season. And if you're looking to make real money, it's not too late to get started. Money Morning Quantitative Specialist Chris Johnson argues the markets are at a tipping point.
Today will feature a light day of earnings reports, but things will heat up later this week for traditional retail stocks. We'll be looking for stronger earnings thanks to improved consumer confidence and spending. Retail firms reporting earnings include Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Ross Stores Inc. (Nasdaq: ROST), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL), and TJX Co. Inc. (NYSE: TJX).
PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) announced it will purchase the at-home carbonated drink manufacturer SodaStream International Ltd. (Nasdaq: SODA) in a deal worth $3.2 billion. The news sent SODA shares up 32% this morning and gives Pepsi a distribution channel to reach customers outside of traditional stores and vending machines. Pepsi appears to be getting out ahead of the growing trend of consumers purchasing groceries online instead of at traditional retail locations. Shares of PEP added 0.4% before the opening bell.
Football season is now just three weeks away from kicking off. And America's top spectator sport is trying to resurrect itself from an ongoing public relations battle over the National Anthem. Here's the thing: Esports don't face such a problem... and they are on their way to becoming the world's largest sport in the world - scoring more fans than baseball, basketball, football, and soccer combined within two decades. Best of all, we found the perfect stock to help Money Morningreaders cash in on this booming trend.
China is coming down on Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL). According to state media reports, Tim Cook's company has pulled about 25,000 illegal lottery applications from its application store in China. The news comes as China continues clamp down on illegal apps that sold lottery tickets or provided gambling services.
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (NYSE: EL) shares were off 0.3% after the cosmetics giant reported earnings before the bell. The firm reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.61. That figure topped analysts' expectations by $0.05. The downturn came due to the firm's weaker-than-expected quarterly forecast and news that it will incur larger marketing costs for a number of new product initiatives.
Look for earnings reports from Fabrinet (NYSE: FN) and Nordson Corp. (Nasdaq: NDSN).
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.