The Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed 200 points on positive earnings reports from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) today. We have more details on this further down.
Also: The U.S. Federal Reserve just announced its first interest rate decision of the year. Here's what it's doing...
Before we get into these stories, here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
28,722.85
+187.05
+0.66
S&P 500
3,276.24
+32.61
+1.01
Nasdaq
9,269.68
+130.37
+1.43
Now here's a closer look at today's most important market events and stocks. We'll also discuss the stories that slipped under the radar of the mainstream financial press on Wednesday.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Wednesday
Investors are pouring back into bonds as the Federal Reserve announces its first interest rate decision of the new decade. The three-month bond inverted against the 10-year for the first time since October 2019. Investors expect that the federal funds rate will remain in the range of 1.5% to 1.75%.
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The high drama will continue Wednesday in Washington, D.C., at the Senate impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump. The Senate will now have 16 hours to present written questions to the Trump administration. After that discovery period, Senators will vote on whether to demand more documents or call witnesses. It appears that Republicans do not have the votes to prevent witnesses from testifying. Reports indicate that if Democrats push for John Bolton to testify, Republicans will make it a priority to subpoena Hunter Biden, the son of the former Vice President.
British Airways has suspended all flights from mainland China on worries over coronavirus, and the White House has suggested that U.S. carriers might want to do the same. Reports indicate that Health and Human Services leaders will "not take anything off the table" when asked about efforts to prevent a spread of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has pushed for an early-stage trial for the coronavirus vaccine within three months. Not only is that an optimistic timeline, but it doesn't mean that the country would have a successful vaccine to deploy to its citizens. China said Wednesday that the outbreak has claimed 132 lives with total cases just under 6,000. That latter figure has surpassed the number of cases from the SARS outbreak.
Stocks to Watch Today: AAPL, BA, LB, and TSLA
Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) are on the move after the company topped Wall Street earnings Tuesday. The U.S. tech giant now has a whopping $207.66 billion in cash at its disposal, according to its conference call. Shares rallied more than 1.2%.
Shares of Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) gained 3% after the firm reported earnings. The airline manufacturer lost $2.33 in the fourth quarter and experienced an annual loss in 2019. This was the first time that the firm experienced an annual loss since 1997. The company said that the grounding of the 737 Max jet has cost the firm $18.6 billion.
Shares of L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) are up more than 13% on news that founder Leslie Wexner may step down from his role as CEO while the firm explores a sale of its Victoria's Secret brand. Wexner was a confidant of disgraced former fund manager Jeffrey Epstein and has faced increased criticism around their relationship.
Look for earnings reports from Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL), Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA), and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE).
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