The Dow Jones today will hang on today's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Investors have effectively gone "all in" on expectations for a rate hike. More on this below.
Plus: Did Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) really fall short?
Here are the numbers from Monday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
27,221.35
28.90
0.11
S&P 500
3,020.97
-4.89
-0.16
Nasdaq
8,293.33
-36.88
-0.44
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 Tuesday
Today, the FOMC kicks off its two-day meeting on monetary policy. The U.S. markets have 100% priced in a cut to the Fed's benchmark rate. The U.S. Central Bank will kick off its meeting with the United States in great economic standing (the unemployment rate and the number of Americans seeking jobless benefits currently sit at multi-decade lows). That said, the Fed is largely expected to cut rates in order to boost the U.S. economy during the second half of 2019.
Markets are paying close attention to Tuesday's earnings calendar. Today, look for an earnings report from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which reports earnings after the bell. Investors will put a sharp focus on sales in North America and China.
Oil prices continue to rise as international investors anticipate a rate cut Wednesday by the Federal Reserve. Brent crude ticked above $64 per barrel as markets also continue to speculate on the stability of oil shipments in the Middle East.
Money Morning Insight of the Day
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Stocks to Watch Today: COF, BYND, FB
Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) is under pressure after the credit giant reported a massive breach that exposed the private data of tens of thousands of customers. Shares fell more than 4.7% on news that the social security numbers of 140,000 people were compromised in addition to 80,000 bank account numbers. The breach also exposed phone numbers, credit score, and other private data.
Shares of Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) plunged more than 14% in pre-market hours after the company fell short of Wall Street expectations on Monday and announced a secondary stock offering. The producer of "alternative meat" said it plans to hold a secondary offering of 3.25 million shares. BYND stock is still up almost 800% since its May IPO.
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) has warned that its cryptocurrency, Libra, may never be a thing. Although the social media giant expects to launch its proprietary cryptocurrency in 2020, the company cited ongoing pushback from U.S. regulators as a potential reason why it may not launch in the coming few years. Facebook remains under intense scrutiny over customer data privacy.
Look for additional earnings reports from Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA), Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU), Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA), Electronic Arts Inc. (NYSE: EA), GrubHub Inc. (NASDAQ: GRUB), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD), Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) and Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK)
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