The Dow Jones today is poised to pounce back after breaking its streak of four consecutive days of gains.
Investors are shrugging off concerns about Chinese economic growth as earnings season rolls on.
However, new developments in the trade war with China could send stocks tumbling again. More on that in just a second...
Here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
24,404.48
-301.87
-1.22%
S&P 500
2,632.90
-37.81
-1.42%
Nasdaq
7,020.36
-136.87
-1.91%
Now here's a closer look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus Wednesday's economic calendar.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Wednesday
Markets are trying to rebound from Tuesday's 300-point decline for the Dow. The index snapped a four-day winning streak as concerns about the government shutdown, trade disputes, Brexit, and Chinese economic growth all turned the market sideways.
The ongoing trade spat between the United States and China shows no sign of abating. A day after U.S. officials canceled a meeting with Chinese negotiators, new developments emerged in the ongoing case against Chinese tech giant Huawei. The tech firm faces sales restrictions in the U.S. on concerns that its products can be used for spying. Now China's central bank may cut off investment capital to Silicon Valley as a form of retaliation. The subject has been a popular point of discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Concerns are rising that the trade war will devolve into a technology war that sees a reduction in cross-border investments from both nations.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) will report earnings on Wednesday. Investors are anxiously awaiting this report just a week after the Detroit-based auto giant said that its fourth-quarter figures would show a profit, but one that was below consensus forecasts. Wall Street expects the firm will report earnings per share (EPS) of $0.32 on top of $37.01 billion in revenue.
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Shares of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) popped 5.8% after Big Blue issued surprise earnings after the bell Tuesday. The tech giant said its revenue declined by 3.5% year over year. However, its adjusted EPS clocked in at $13.90, a figure that topped expectations by $0.09. IBM said that its cloud revenue continued to climb (a 12% jump year over year).
German financial giant Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) is facing a probe from the U.S. Federal Reserve. According to reports, officials are investigating suspicious transactions between Germany's largest financial institution and Danske Bank (OTCMKTS: DNKEY). Fed officials are calling the movement of roughly 200 billion euros between the two institutions one of the largest financial scandals in history. DB stock has been in a free fall over the last year, plunging from about $20 per share to less than $9.
Finally, Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) is facing accusations by federal officials that it underpaid minority and female employees by more than $400 million. After a two-year probe, regulators at the U.S. Department of Labor say that thousands of employees saw their pay come in at 25% less than what white male employees received.
Today, look for more earnings reports from Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP), Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS), Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI), F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), Kimberly Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB), Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX), NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE: NG), Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), and Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN).
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.