The Dow Jones today will get a small boost from investors anticipating the release of positive jobs and inflation data from the Federal Reserve's March meeting.
What else is moving the Dow today? U.S. President Donald Trump continues to explore tariffs on Europe, and Netflix may purchase a legendary Hollywood venue. More on these and other DJIA impacts below.
Here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
26,150.58
-190.44
-0.72%
S&P 500
2,878.20
-17.57
-0.61%
Nasdaq
7,909.28
-44.61
-0.56%
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
Today, the Federal Reserve will release minutes from its March meeting on monetary policy. Investors are looking for the Fed's sentiment on the broader economy. Last month, the central bank held off on raising rates and said it would remain patient on further moves to its benchmark rate. The release of the minutes comes at an interesting time for the Fed, which President Trump has blamed for the recent cooling of the U.S. economy. Trump is looking to appoint advisor Stephen Moore and former presidential candidate Herman Cain to the board of the central bank. Critics have called this decision outright politicization of the U.S. central bank.
According to reports, the Trump administration is exploring an additional $11 billion in tariffs on European aviation imports, olives, jams, and cheese. The only thing that matters is this: It's the latest round of what appears to be a "forever trade war," an ongoing ploy to use import taxes as a way to make demands on other matters. Remember, the United States still has steel tariffs in place with Canada and Mexico despite the revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
While tariffs are back in focus, pay close attention for the word "stimulus" to re-enter headlines. The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast for the world economy. That has many Wall Street analysts expecting that international leaders will coordinate and introduce new stimulus measures to bolster economic growth. The IMF cut its growth rate from 3.5% to 3.3% in its latest update.
Stocks to Watch Today: DAL, NFLX, UBER
Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) topped Wall Street earnings expectations before the bell Tuesday. DAL stock gained 2.1% after the firm reported earnings per share of $0.96, a figure that beat Wall Street expectations by $0.06. The firm also beat revenue forecasts. Delta says it anticipates a busy summer travel season. As we noted Tuesday, Delta is a stock to buy, and its earning call just proved us right.
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Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is in talks to purchase the famous Hollywood Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles. The move is seen as an effort by the global streaming giant to curry favor with the more traditional side of the film industry. Certain trade organizations are demanding that films must be screened in movie theaters to qualify for awards.
Ride-sharing giant Uber is in the works to raise $10 billion through an IPO. According to reports, the firm has aimed for a $100 billion valuation, which would make it the largest IPO of the year. However, the market's appetite for risk in this sector remains uncertain. Rival Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT), which went public on March 29, has seen shares fall 6.3% from its $72 IPO price.
Today, look for more earnings reports from WD-40 Co. (NASDAQ: WDFC), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), and MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE: MSM).
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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.