The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 150 points in pre-market hours as indexes staged a tepid recovery following Monday's 3% decline. On Monday, the Dow suffered its worst Christmas Eve trading session in history, shedding 653 points before close. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 officially entered a bear market while tech losses continued to rock the Nasdaq.
For the last trading sessions of 2018, markets are likely to remain volatile as investors react to an increasingly uncertain economic landscape in 2019. Expect indexes to adjust to the effects of the government shutdown and higher interest rates over the next few days.
Here are the numbers from Monday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
21,792.20
-653.17
-2.91%
S&P 500
2,351.10
-65.52
-2.71%
Nasdaq
6,192.92
-140.08
-2.21%
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 Wednesday
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that the Federal Reserve was "raising interest rates too fast because they think the economy is so good." Trump reportedly wants to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, although he may not have the authority to do so. Investors, however, have not liked Trump's tirade on the matter. Firing the Fed chair would undermine global confidence in the U.S. financial system and eliminate the narrative that the Federal Reserve is independent from political persuasion.
Yesterday, President Trump encouraged American investors to buy stocks. Speaking to reporters at the White House, the President stressed the vitality and value of American industry. "We have companies, the greatest in the world, and they're doing really well. They have record kinds of numbers. So I think it's a tremendous opportunity to buy. Really a great opportunity to buy," he stated.
Monday's 2.7% decline in the S&P 500 officially moved the index into a bear market. The S&P 500 is now off 20% since its September highs. Monday's downturn came after Department of Treasury head Steven Mnuchin held a conference call with the CEOs of multiple Wall Street banks. Mnuchin moved to reassure banking executives that the industry has "ample liquidity" to lend to businesses and consumers.
Stocks to Watch Today: INTC, WMT, TGT, AMZN, M
Shares of Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) were up 1% in pre-market hours after the company announced big news out of Israel. The firm has received a $185 million grant from the Israeli government to help bolster a $5 billion expansion of company operations in the country.
Today, we'll be looking for updates from major retail companies as they report numbers from this year's busy shopping season. Look for updates and wild swings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and even Macy'sInc. (NYSE: M).
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.