The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher on Friday as investors cheered reports that China and the United States have made progress on a trade deal.
Investors are also paying close attention to the U.S. government shutdown. House Representatives argued on the floor of the Lower Chamber Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump retaliated against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for requesting that the State of the Union be postponed or delivered outside of the congressional building.
Here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
| Index | Previous Close | Point Change | Percentage Change |
| Dow Jones | 24,370.10 | 162.94 | 0.67% |
| Nasdaq | 7,084.46 | 49.77 | 0.71% |
| S&P 500 | 2,635.96 | 19.86 | 0.76% |
Now here's a closer look at today's most important market events and stocks for Friday...
The Top Stock Market Stories for Friday
- The government shutdown is on the verge of pushing into its fifth week. President Trump made headlines Thursday after he canceled a trip by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and a congressional delegation to Europe and the Middle East. The White House has also canceled its delegation's trip to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. No signs exist that either side will bend at all on the shutdown or a border wall. About 800,000 federal employees remain impacted, and U.S. economic growth will take a hit of roughly 0.1% per week, according to the White House.
- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) will report earnings next week. But that has not stopped the company from announcing a big partnership with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) on a heart research project. The multi-year research project explores whether the firm's heart health app in collaboration with Apple Watch's ECG app and heart rhythm notifications can help diagnose atrial fibrillation and reduce negative outcomes tied to the condition. Roughly 33 million people around the globe suffer from the condition.
- Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) will slash its workforce by 7%, according to a letter sent by CEO Elon Musk to his employees. The CEO projects that Tesla faces a "very difficult" path in the future. Musk told employees that the cuts will be necessary to boost Model 3 production and to improve overall engineering standards in the months ahead. Earlier this week, Tesla announced it will no longer produce the Model S sedans and Model X SUVs.
Three Stocks to Watch Today: NFLX, AXP, APRN
- Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) stock fell 4.2% in pre-market hours after the company fell short of fourth-quarter revenue expectations after the bell Thursday. Despite stronger-than-expected subscriber growth (the firm added 8.8 million new users globally), the firm reported $41.9 billion in quarterly revenue. That latter figure was slightly lower than the $4.20 billion projected by Wall Street analysts. The firm did top earnings expectations by reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.30. That topped consensus forecasts of $0.24 per share. The company also defended its recent announcement to hike subscription costs across all levels in order afford new original television and film content.
- American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) stock slumped by 4% in pre-market hours after the iconic credit card giant fell short of top- and bottom-line expectations. The firm reported EPS of $1.74 for the fourth quarter. That figure was $0.06 below consensus expectations. Revenue of $10.47 billion was about $90 million short of Wall Street forecasts. The news of American Express' earnings miss has raised concerns among analysts about the state of American credit use and growing consumer debt.
- The problems have deteriorated for meal-kit giant Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: APRN). Shares plunged another 13% on Thursday after a media outlet pronounced that the company could go bankrupt in 2019. The meal-kit firm has seen shares go from its IPO price of $10 to under $1 thanks to big financial losses and word that it will slash another 4% of its staff.
- On Friday, look for earnings reports from Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB), VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC), Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU), SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI), State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT), and Wipro Ltd. (NYSE: WIT).
About the Author
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.