The Dow Jones industrial average fell 51 points in pre-market hours as investors kept a close eye on NAFTA developments. Today is the deadline for Canada to enter into the bilateral trade deal the United States struck with Mexican officials on Monday.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland arrived in Washington earlier this week to discuss trade relations between Canada and the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to exclude Canada from the deal and impose tariffs if they fail to reach an agreement by the end of today.
Here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
25,986.92
-137.65
-0.53%
S&P 500
2,901.13
-12.91
-0.44%
Nasdaq
8,088.36
-21.32
-0.26%
Now here's a closer look at today's Money Morning insight, the most important market events, and stocks to watch.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Friday
Yesterday, Bloomberg published an interview with President Trump that stated he planned to withdraw from the World Trade Organization unless the United States received better treatment from the organization. In addition, Trump said that he had rejected a recent offer from the European Union to drop tariffs, calling the deal "not good enough." Trump said that the European Union was as bad as China, but "only smaller."
Public Law 92-313 Creates $11.1 Billion Cash Bonanza. Thanks to an obscure law, over 100 government agencies are required to pay rent, including the DOJ, FBI, and NASA. This money is being funneled into the Treasury. And it's helped create an enormous $11.1 billion pool of money. If you add your name to a special distribution list, you could begin collecting $1,795 or more every month from this powerful investment income stream. Click here to learn more...
The $86 billion pet industry is booming right now... every week, we hear rumors about takeover targets and confirmation of record profits in this sector. The question that investors need to ask themselves is how to stay ahead of the wave of merger and acquisition activity in the sector. Well, we've identified the best stock to buy if you want to stay ahead of the curve. In fact, this firm is a major producer of private-label pet foods for one of the world's largest retailer giants. And it's a "Screaming Buy" right now.
Marijuana stocks took a beating on Thursday after short-seller Citron Research released a bearish report on Canada-based weed company Cronos Group Inc. (Nasdaq: CRON). Shares of CRON plunged roughly 30% yesterday after Citron issued a "reality check" for the marijuana sector and said that Cronos competes against more than 100 licensed marijuana companies. In the end, Cronos warns, just a few of these companies will end up on top.
Money Morning Insight of the Day
There's an old adage in the markets. "Buy the rumor... sell the news." It's made fortunes for savvy investors for decades. The secret is to have enough insight to know exactly what are whispers on Wall Street and what is the source of ironclad facts.
Luckily, we have Money Morning Quantitative Specialist Chris Johnson. Today, he's unveiling one of the biggest rumors on Wall Street and showing you how Wall Street is giving us one of the best profit opportunities of the year. Read more right here.
Three Stocks to Watch Today: BIG, TSLA, AAPL
Shares of Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) are on the move after the retailer reported earnings before the bell. Wall Street had expected that the firm would report EPS of $0.67 on top of $1.23 billion in revenue.
Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) will be generating some buzz this morning. According to Reuters, investment management giant Blackrock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) voted to replace Tesla CEO Elon Musk with an independent board seat.
Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) will unveil its latest iteration of the iPhone on Sept. 12, according to multiple reports. The company will host an event that day at the Steve Jobs Theater at its headquarters where it will discuss its latest gadgets, including the new smartphones. Shares are up more than 2% on the news and are sitting at an all-time high.
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.