The Dow Jones today projected another solid gain as investors cheered news that the United States and China will begin a new round of trade talks next week. More on this below.
Plus: A big week of earnings is underway. Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) leads headlines. Read on to find out why...
Here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
27,349.19
+177.29
+0.65
S&P 500
3,005.47
+20.44
+0.68
Nasdaq
8,251.40
+47.27
+0.58
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
Earnings season will continue today with a fresh round of reports from blue-chip companies like Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). The earnings reports so far have topped Wall Street expectations and helped push stocks higher again this week.
THREE STOCKS: Any one of these cannabis companies could potentially deliver a 1,000% windfall. Click here to learn more...
Markets are cheering news that the United States and China will resume face-to-face trade talks starting next week. The White House is looking for a long-term time frame to strike a deal with China. The announcement came just as the International Monetary Fund released new economic forecasts. The IMF's new figures show that a global slowdown has largely hit emerging economies over the last six months.
Tech stocks are under pressure after the U.S. Department of Justice launched a massive antitrust review of the industry. Attorney General William Barr made his most aggressive move yet to explore the possibility of increasing regulation on companies like Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN).
Ongoing geopolitical tensions offered a boost to global oil prices. According to various news reports, the U.S. Navy announced it might have downed a second Iranian drone. This announcement further escalates tensions between Iran and the United States, a week after the former seized a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, analysts are cheering news that U.S. crude inventory levels fell again last week, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute. The trade organization announced that U.S. inventory levels fell by 11 million barrels last week. Analysts will seek confirmation of this trend when the Energy Information Administration releases its weekly inventory figures today.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has struck a deal with the struggling real-estate brokerage Realogy Holdings. The new partnership is called TurnKey, and will allow users to search for real estate agents on Amazon. Buyers who use Realogy's services will receive up to $5,000 in Amazon credit for smart home devices and other home services like cleaning and furniture assembly.
In deal news, Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) has announced intentions to purchase $5 billion in digital and wireless assets from T-Mobile US Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) and Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S). That deal will clear antitrust concerns from the U.S. Department of Justice and clear the way for the two wireless giants to merge. A deal between the two wireless carriers would create the third largest network in the United States behind AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).
Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) hit an all-time high after the company topped Wall Street earnings and hiked its full-year outlook after the bell on Tuesday. Chipotle reported earnings per share of $3.99 on top of $1.43 billion in revenue. Those figures beat Wall Street forecasts of $3.76 on $1.41 billion in revenue. The company continues to show strong growth, better technological integration, and new product development under the leadership of CEO Brian Niccol, who took over the firm in 2018.
Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) popped more than 14% after the social media firm behind Snapchat topped Wall Street earnings Tuesday. The firm reported a quarterly loss of $0.06, beating analysts' expectations for a loss of $0.14 per share. The firm reported a 48% year-over-year jump in quarterly revenue. That figure was also well above analysts' expectations.
Look for earnings reports from Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL), ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS), Spirit Airlines Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVE), VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC) and Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS).
John Boehner Just Revealed Why He's Going ALL IN on Marijuana (Did You Miss It?)
Former Speaker of the House John Boehner - once the cannabis industry's most staunch opponent - just revealed an UNCENSORED prediction about America's most controversial, misunderstood, and what's quickly becoming our most lucrative industry. If you missed seeing this historic announcement live, go here for a special rebroadcast.