The Dow Jones Industrial Average will remain flat as Brexit and the trade war create uncertainty in the global economy.
More on this below.
But first, here are the numbers from Friday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
26,835.51
38.05
0.14
S&P 500
2,978.43
-0.28
-0.01
Nasdaq
8,087.44
-15.64
-0.19
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
The Dow projected its first downturn in five days as investors continue to cheer speculation that the United States and China will work on a trade deal in October. U.S. Treasury Secretary Stevin Mnuchin said that both nations have a "conceptual agreement" around intellectual property rights in China. The ongoing dispute between both nations has centered around IP theft. The recent optimism in the market has fueled a flurry of buying. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq are all up more than 1.5% to start the month of September.
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Things continue to devolve in Britain around Brexit. Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to gain support in Parliament for a snap election. Now, Johnson is seeking a deal for the United Kingdom to depart the European Union by Oct. 31. This was the sixth straight defeat for Johnson in the House of Commons. Johnson said that he will go to Brussels (home of the EU) in October for a summit to find a way to exit the world's largest economic trade bloc.
Despite the uptick in stock prices, the trade war continues. China is facing a shortage of pork thanks to a swine flu outbreak and its ongoing dispute with the United States. Things are going so poorly with pork prices that Beijing may tap into its strategic pork reserve in order to lower costs for consumers. Pork prices surged in August (up 47% year over year) after China was forced to kill millions of hogs due to the swine flu outbreak.
Stocks to Watch Today: WFC, XOM, TGT, UPS, AMZN
Warren Buffett can't like this first stock update. Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) were off this morning after the bank received a downgrade from Swiss investment firm UBS Group AG (NYSE: UBS). Analysts at UBS cut the bank's outlook on profitability and raised concerns about its ability to generate more revenue in the face of falling U.S. interest rates.
In deal news, Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is considering a deal to sell some offshore assets in the Gulf of Mexico for $1 billion. The firm is reportedly in talks with Spanish energy giant Repsol.
Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) announced plans to hire up to 130,000 temporary employees ahead of the holiday season. The announcement comes two months before Black Friday; however, it's a sign that retailers are competing for skilled workers in a tight labor market. The news comes after reports that Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) plans to hire another 30,000 employees, while United Postal Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) aims for at least 100,000 new employees as the holiday season approaches.
Look for additional earnings reports from Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS), GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), Dave & Busters Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAY), Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RH), and HD Supply Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: HDS).
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