The Dow Jones today is buoyed by rising oil prices and better-than-expected earnings. It's only a day after both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs, fully recovering from their fall at the end of 2018. The DJIA will carry this momentum throughout the day, as it's within 250 points of its own record high.
Read on to see what else is carrying the Dow today, and which social media stock ran ahead of the pack.
Here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
26,656.39
+145.34
+0.55%
S&P 500
2,933.68
+25.71
+0.88%
Nasdaq
8,120.82
+105.56
+1.32%
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
The United States and China will work to accelerate negotiations on a trade deal starting on April 30. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have announced they will lead a delegation to visit Beijing next week. Those discussions will continue a week later in Washington, when a Chinese delegation arrives. Both nations are moving closer to a deal, but they continue to negotiate issues like intellectual property, agriculture, tariffs, and technology transfers, according to the White House.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) shares were off 2.5% despite news that the global manufacturing giant had topped Wall Street earnings expectations. Caterpillar reported EPS of $2.94 per share, a figure that outpaced Wall Street expectations by $0.09 per share. However, the firm did note that China's weakened economy has affected its earnings growth. Just two months ago, the Swiss banking giant UBS had given the firm a rare double downgrade from "Buy" to "Sell." CAT stock is considered a bellwether for the global economy given its products' roles in infrastructure development and construction.
We now have a bidding war in the Permian Basin in West Texas over Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC). Just 12 days after Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) offered $33 billion for the company, Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) has made an even more attractive bid for the oil producer. The half-stock, half-cash offer would value Anadarko at a staggering $57 billion. APC stock popped another 10% in pre-market hours, while OXY shares were off 7% this morning.
Stocks to Watch Today: BA, SNAP, MSFT, FB, TWTR
Shares of Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) were up 1.6% despite news that the company yanked its 2019 guidance, halted share buybacks, and remained guarded about the ongoing public relations problems around its 737 Max program. The firm topped Wall Street earnings expectations but fell just shy of revenue forecasts. Boeing's quarterly profit figure declined year over year by 21%.
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Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) were up 1.75% after the owner of Snapchat reported earnings Tuesday. The firm reported a quarterly loss of $0.10 per share, a smaller figure than analysts had expected. In addition, the company noted that its daily active user base expanded to 190 million people and that its advertising for younger users has performed better than its rival, Instagram. Snap's $320 million in revenue also topped consensus expectations by $13 million for the quarter. While this was positive news for Snapchat, the firm couldn't come close to the performance reported by Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR), which saw its shares pop more than 15% after a terrific quarterly report.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) will lead a busy day of earnings reports on Wall Street. Microsoft is expected to again top expectations and chug along as it competes to become the world's most valuable company. Its market capitalization is valued just shy of $1 trillion. Facebook, meanwhile, will likely report an uptick in user growth and strong advertising revenue. The social media giant has avoided outrage over data security problems in recent months.
Today, look for more earnings reports from Anthem Inc. (NASDAQ: ANTM), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM), Domino's Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ), Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC), Spirit Airlines Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVE), and Visa Inc. (NYSE: V).
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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.