Why the Dow Jones Industrial Average Is Flat Today (Wednesday)

The Dow Jones today is flat, despite many positive earnings reports, after U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S.-China talks have "a long way to go."

Here's what to expect from Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM).

But first, the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Index Previous Close Point Change Percentage Change
Dow Jones 27,335.63 -23.53 -0.09
S&P 500 3,004.04 -10.26 -0.34
Nasdaq 8,222.80 -35.39 -0.43

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

  • A busy earnings day features reports from Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM). This will be one of the last earnings reports for Netflix before rival Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) releases its Disney+ service and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) releases its own streaming service. Wall Street expects that Netflix's earnings are going to slump by 34%, year over year.

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  • Chip stocks are moving higher Wednesday after a solid earnings report from ASML Holding NV (NASDAQ: ASML) and news that the U.S. government requested that a federal appeals court drop the enforcement of an antitrust ruling against Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM). The Justice Department made the request after the U.S. Defense Department wrote in a court filing that Qualcomm's role in 5G technology can be replaced by other companies in the short term.
  • Oil prices are up slightly as investors continue to weigh various supply and demand factors around the globe. WTI crude added 0.7% to top $58, while Brent crude was up 1% and just under $65 per barrel. Yesterday, the American Petroleum Institute announced that U.S. weekly crude inventories fell less than forecasts had projected. The Energy Information Administration will release the official U.S. inventory report later today. Markets are still waiting for crude production in the Gulf of Mexico to come back online in the wake of Hurricane Barry. Just half of production has started following the storm's passing. Finally, crude prices have faced additional downward pressure on news that the White House is expected to restart negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.

Stocks to Watch Today: BAC, AMZN, CSX

  • Shares of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) are slipping despite news that the U.S. bank topped Wall Street earnings expectations. The firm reported EPS of $0.74 this morning, beating forecasts by $0.04. The figure represented an 8% increase from the same period last year. Its $23.2 billion in revenue matched Wall Street expectations. The firm cited improved retail banking performance for its positive report.
  • Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is facing new pressures in the European Union. According to reports, the EU has opened a new antitrust investigation against the retail giant over how it utilizes the data of firms that sell on its platform. The EU questions whether Amazon is using other merchants' data to gain an advantage over them when selling its own products. Should the EU conclude that Amazon is breaking EU competitive practices, it could fine the e-commerce giant up to 10% of its global annual revenue. This investigation comes on the heels of an unrelated announcement by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), who committed to breaking up large Silicon Valley tech companies should he become president in 2020. AMZN stock was off 0.3% this morning.
  • Shares of CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) plunged more than 7.6% after the railroad giant fell short of revenue expectations this morning. The company also slashed its forward guidance on revenue by 1% to 2%. The sharp downturn comes a day after CSX stock received a pop from a positive earnings report by Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP).
  • Look for earnings reports this morning from Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) and United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI).

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