The Dow Jones today is recovering from yesterday's loss as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a deal between the United States and China is roughly 90% complete.
Investors are optimistic that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will make progress on a deal when they meet at the G-20 conference in China this week. More on what else is moving markets below.
Here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
26,548.22
-179.32
-0.67%
S&P 500
2,917.38
-27.97
-0.95%
Nasdaq
7,884.72
-120.98
-1.51%
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
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin predicts that the United States and China are just 10% away from a deal that would help calm the markets. However, the nation's top financial regulator failed to offer any insight into what must be done to ensure a deal reaches the finish line. Trade tensions have accelerated in recent weeks after the Trump administration slapped new tariffs on China and threatened to hit the exporter with even more levies if they fail to reach a deal.
Markets are coming off their worst June trading session after investors reacted negatively to a speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. On Tuesday, Powell didn't commit to an interest rate reduction. The markets have already priced in a 100% probability of a rate cut next month. However, Powell suggested that the central bank is taking a "wait and see" approach to monetary policy. Markets rallied last week after the central bank leader hinted that a cut was coming. Markets anticipate that the Fed will cut its benchmark rate by at least 25 basis points, and the Dow is already up 6% in June.
Oil prices ticked higher thanks to a drop in U.S. inventory levels and the ongoing outage at a U.S. oil refinery. Look for an update from the Energy Information Administration later this morning on crude inventories. Shares of Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) added another 1% on the day.
Money Morning Insight of the Day
If you had invested in Blackberry after the 3G rollout, you could've made 1,947% in less than one year.
If you had invested in Apple after the 4G rollout, you could have made 56,465%. That's enough to turn $1,000 into $565,640!
Now, 5G is coming fast. And the gains could be spectacular.
Shares of Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) popped more than 6% after the firm reported earnings after the bell Tuesday. The firm said that it might soon be able to "lawfully resume" shipments to Chinese telecom giant Huawei. The company reported earnings per share of $1.05, a figure that easily topped expectations of just $0.79. In addition, Micron reported revenue of $4.79 billion, crushing analysts' expectations of $4.69 billion.
President Trump took a shot at Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR). The president said that technology firms like the social media giant are "all Democrats" and accused Silicon Valley of suppressing his political reach. The statement comes a day after a conservative media watchdog released video of an Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) employee saying the firm doesn't want a person like Trump coming into power again. "We all got screwed over in 2016," said Jen Gennai, head of Google's responsible innovation team, in a hidden-camera video. Google responded to the video by taking it down from YouTube.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) has added Fox Corp. (NASDAQ: FOXA) to its "Conviction Buy" list. Its price target is now up to $4 a share thanks to a bullish outlook on the U.S. gambling industry. Shares were flat in pre-market hours.
Today, look for earnings reports from General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS), Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX), KB Home (NYSE: KBH), and National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: FIZZ).