Expect the Dow Jones Today to Weaken on Troubling Jobs Numbers

Garrett Baldwin

The Dow Jones today got a negative start after the highest weekly jobless report in 19 months.

Jobless claims came in at 230,000, well above the expected estimate of 200,000, raising new concerns about the health of the U.S. economy.

Read on for more Dow impacts – and one company that just hit a $1 trillion market capitalization.

Here are the numbers from Wednesday 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 Thursday

• A busy earnings season continues on Thursday. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) will be reporting its quarterly numbers after the bell this afternoon. However, this morning's dip for the NYSE has been driven by 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM). The firm fell short of Wall Street earnings expectations before the bell and slashed its full-year guidance. The manufacturing icon will also slash roughly 2,000 jobs this year.

• We have another $1 trillion company by market capitalization. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) reached the 10-figure mark this morning after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings Wednesday. The software giant topped analysts' earnings expectations by 14 cents and easily beat revenue forecasts. Microsoft reported a big jump in revenue from cloud computing and software subscriptions.
• Finally, it's a great time to invest in 5G stocks. The revolutionary technology is going to completely alter the future of the U.S. economy. And leading the way will be Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ). The firm announced that the very first – and by first, we mean one that doesn't require an accessory to connect to the network – 5G phone will cost $1,300. While that seems like an extremely high cost for a smartphone, understand that it will be worth it. The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G will be released on May 10. In addition, Verizon announced that it will activate 5G in 20 new markets this year: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Des Moines, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Little Rock, Memphis, Phoenix, Providence, San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Washington, D.C. See how you can profit from this innovation here.

5G Is Coming: The tech breakthrough of the century could rest on this $6 stock – get all the details here.

Stocks to Watch Today: FB, TSLA, ABBV

• Shares of Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) popped more than 7.5% after the social media giant crushed earnings yesterday. Despite a $3 billion expense for legal costs related to a privacy policy inquiry by the Federal Trade Commission, the firm still reported earnings per share of $0.85. The firm reported an 8% year-over-year increase in daily active users and easily topped revenue expectations.
• Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) remains a terrible company, and earnings have once again brought up questions about Elon Musk's leadership. Earlier this week, Musk said that his firm would have 1 million robo-taxis on the street by next year. Some speculate it's another bold proclamation aimed to distract from an abysmal earnings report after the bell Wednesday. The firm reported an EPS loss of $2.90 on top of $4.54 billion in revenue. Wall Street had expected a loss of just $0.69 on $5.19 billion in revenue.
• Look for earnings reports from AbbVie Inc. (NASDAQ: ABBV), Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), Barclays Plc. (NYSE: BCS), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY), Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF), Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX), Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV), United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS), Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO), and Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM).

5G Is Coming: The Breakthrough of the Century Could Rest on This $6 Stock

CNBC reports that this opportunity is worth $12.3 trillion… and it's gearing up to make an appearance all over America.

In fact, some of these devices are showing up right in your neighborhood – and I'm willing to bet you didn't even notice.

Our Silicon Valley insider mapped out all the details in this report.

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Garrett Baldwin

About the Author

Browse Garrett's articles | View Garrett's research services

Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.

Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.

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