The Dow Jones Today Is Up 120 Points as the Latest Report on China Shows a Deal Is Close

The Dow Jones today gained more than 120 points out the gate after a Bloomberg report that the United States and China are close to a phase one trade deal.

But U.S. President Donald Trump could be escalating another trade dispute with a European country. More on this below.

First, here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

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

• This morning, markets are rebounding from a three-day slide tied to trade concerns. Yesterday, President Trump suggested that the White House might not attempt to reach a deal with China until after the 2020 election. The statement raised new concerns about economic growth and tariffs. However, a new Bloomberg report suggests that the two nations are narrowing in on a phase one deal. The report states that the two sides are addressing the rollback of tariffs in this possible deal.

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• While one trade battle might be narrowing down, another major trade battle is now escalating. President Trump is reportedly considering 100% tariffs on French goods after France announced a digital services tax. The Trump administration argues that this digital tax negatively affects American technology companies. Other European nations like the UK plan to introduce digital taxes as well. The Trump administration could expand tariffs on the EU in retaliation to include automobiles from the trade bloc.
• It will be another important day on the economic data front. This morning, ADP reported a sharp decline in job creation in November. The private payrolls report showed an increase of just 67,000 for the month. That figure was well below the 150,000 expected by economists. It's the lowest since May. This report could sour expectations for Friday's official jobs report from the U.S. Labor Department. The consensus forecast shows 187,000 new positions ahead of Friday. Economists are hoping for a boost from the return of striking General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) employees. However, manufacturing companies have been cutting jobs at a frantic pace in recent months.

Stocks to Watch Today: GOOGL, MSFT, CPB, MA

• Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) announced that CEO Larry Page will step down, while co-founder Sergey Brin plans to depart his role as President. The firm announced that Google CEO Sundar Pichai will take over as the CEO of the parent company. The two Google founders still plan to remain on the board of directors. As one of the top tech companies in Silicon Valley, the firm will attempt to move on from its founders in leadership roles. The most recent example of this is Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), which has fared very well since appointment of Satya Nadella.
• Shares of Campbell's Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) were up slightly in this morning after the company reported an uptick in soup market share for the first time in 10 years. The company topped earnings expectations for the quarter, although it reported that organic sales dipped by 1%. This was an important day for a company which has experienced an incredible rebound in 2019. Shares are up more than 44% this year. The firm did cut its sales growth guidance but maintained its earnings per share estimate for the year.
• Shares of Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) are on the rise as the stock continues to break out in 2019. The credit card giant just reported a 21% increase in its quarterly dividend. It also announced plans to repurchase roughly $8 billion in company stock.
• Look for an earnings report from Slack Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: WORK), Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE), Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RH), Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTC), Greif Inc. (NYSE: GEF) and Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT).

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