The Dow Jones today is heading for a rough open, with Dow futures down over 100 points this morning. President Trump thwarted investor optimism on Friday when he said the United States wasn't ready to sign a trade deal with China. Wall Street is anxious to see more specifics on the pending trade deal with China today.
But that's not all that will impact the Dow Jones on Monday. I'll break down everything you need to know, including details on a blockbuster day for one of the world's biggest tech firms.
First, here are the numbers from Friday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
| Index | Previous Close | Point Change | Percentage Change |
| Dow Jones | 27,681.24 | +6.44 | +0.02 |
| S&P 500 | 3,093.08 | +7.90 | +0.26 |
| Nasdaq | 8,475.31 | +40.80 | +0.48 |
Learn How You Could Make $25,344 in Just 11 Days: Tom Gentile's giving his readers an arsenal of what can be unique and highly lucrative options trading secrets in this 7-day video training series. And it only costs $1...
Now here are what I think will be the most important market events and stocks on Monday morning.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Monday
- First up, markets again hang on trade developments between the United States and China. Last week, China's Commerce Ministry said that the United States agreed to cancel existing tariffs, a statement that was backed up by a U.S. official. However, on Friday, rumors floated that President Donald Trump wasn't entirely behind such an agreement. Despite the uncertainty, U.S. bond prices rallied Friday in the single largest move since the election of President Trump. Monday will likely be quiet around trade. But expect fireworks to emerge and speculation to bubble after President Trump speaks on trade and the economy at The Economic Club of New York on Tuesday.
- Pay close attention to tobacco stocks on Monday. The Trump administration announced Friday that it plans to hike the age limit for vaping to 21 years old. The administration plans to formalize an announcement this week and issue its final report on the impact of vaping products. U.S. officials have tied vaping to a variety of lung illnesses. The Trump administration had said in September that regulators planned to ban all flavored e-cigarettes.
- Finally, Saudi Aramco continues to gain momentum as it prepares to launch its IPO in the Saudi Arabian markets. The company will float about 1% of its shares on the markets and create the largest IPO in the history of public markets. That said, the firm's prospectus drew a lot of attention to its "risk factors." The company listed terrorism, climate change, and its significant reliance on Asian demand as three top factors. It also noted that clean energy, electric vehicles, and ridesharing threaten the firm.
Money Morning Insight of the Day
You've probably seen stories about this person or that person making an absolute fortune from some unknown startup suddenly becoming a household name... like Uber, Airbnb, SpaceX, or Bird.
Now, it's your turn.
Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec is showing how easy it is for anyone to turn as little as $50 into what can be life-changing windfalls... all from investing in startups.
Stocks to Watch Today: BABA, AAPL, GS, TWTR, GD
Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) will generate a lot of buzz as investors digest the numbers from Singles' Day in China. The annual shopping holiday saw Alibaba gross $13 billion in its first hour, and it's already broken its singles day record with more than $30 billion in sales. The annual event dwarfs U.S. spending on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Last year, Cyber Monday notched just $7.9 billion in sales.- The New York Department of Financial Services is reportedly investigating the algorithms behind the credit approval decisions for the credit card recently released by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and administered by Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). Tech entrepreneur David Heinmeier Hansson tweeted this weekend that he received 20 times the credit limit as his wife despite her having a higher credit score. That set off a storm of criticism and stories of similar experiences from users on Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR). Now, the head of the NY Department of Financial Services said her agency will look into the algorithm behind credit decisions.
- Shares of General Dynamic Corp. (NYSE: GD) will likely tick higher Monday. The defense contractor won a massive $732 million award from the Pentagon for the sustainment of its Mobile User Objective System ground system. The system is a narrowband military satellite communications system.
- Look for additional earnings reports from DXC Technology Co. (NYSE: DXC), PFSweb Inc. (NASDAQ: PFSW), Amicus Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: FOLD), FibroGen Inc. (NASDAQ: FGEN), and UGI Corp. (NYSE: UGI)
Follow Money Morning on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.