The Dow Jones Industrial Average Today Surges on Big Bank Earnings

Garrett Baldwin

The Dow Jones Industrial Average will see a triple-digit pop today after stronger-than-expected earnings from two of Wall Street's largest financial firms.

Read further to see which two finance sector giants are carrying the DJIA.

Here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

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

• This morning, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) "officially" kicks off the real start to earnings season as it leads the first round of reports from the banking sector. Shares of JPM stock are up 1.2% after Jamie Dimon's shop reported record profit and revenue during the first quarter. The bank's monster profits increased by 5% to $9.18 billion, while record revenue jumped 5% to a stunning $29.8 billion. Higher interest rates have helped bolster the firm's balance sheet. In a message to shareholders, Dimon noted that financial markets are healthy, employment and wages are stronger, and consumer confidence remains high, despite various elements of global uncertainty.

• Uber unveiled its IPO on Thursday with a stunning warning to investors: It may never be a profitable company. Although the ride sharing app has 91 million customers and values itself at up to $100 billion, the company has been embroiled in multiple scandals and has struggled to retain those customers in an increasingly competitive environment. Concerns about Uber's massive valuation has hurt its rival Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT), which went public on March 29. Shares of Lyft are trading just above $61, well below the IPO price of $72.
• Oil prices are continuing their impressive run, the best in three years. WTI crude is flat this morning at $64.52 per barrel, while Brent crude is sitting at $71.38. Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors says that oil prices will rocket even higher from here. And if you want to make real money, you need to do this now.

Stocks to Watch Today: WFC, DIS, CVX, APC, RDS.A

• Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) are up 1.2% after the company topped Wall Street earnings expectations for the first quarter. The firm reported earnings per share of $1.20 on top of $21.61 billion in revenue. Analysts had expected EPS of $1.09 on $1.01 billion. WFC also hiked its dividend from $0.43 to $0.45 and announced it returned $6 billion to shareholders last quarter through buybacks and dividend payments. This is the first earnings report since CEO Tim Sloan departed the company on March 28. The company is working to rebuild its reputation after a series of scandals rocked Wall Street over fake accounts created by employees to meet quotas.

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• Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) unveiled its highly anticipated streaming service on Thursday. The service, Disney+, will launch Nov. 12 and cost $6.99 per month or $69 per year. The service will include television shows and films from its extended universe of programming - including the Star Wars and Marvel series. Disney said that all of its new films will be available on the service as soon as their theatrical windows have ended.
• In merger news, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) announced plans to purchase Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) as the oil major continues to push into the U.S. shale business. Shares of APC popped 32% in pre-market hours after Chevron announced the $33 billion bid. This is the largest energy merger since 2016 after Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (NYSE: RDS.A) purchased BG Group. The news sent shares of companies that operate in the Permian basin in West Texas even higher this morning.
• Look for other earnings reports from PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) and Infosys Ltd. (NASDAQ: INFY).

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Garrett Baldwin

About the Author

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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.

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