Markets Live Recap: Bank Earnings, New York Manufacturing, Safety Stocks, and Gold

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Huge declines in year-over-year bank earnings were in focus on Wall Street this morning as some of the heavyweights reported before the opening bell.

The market opened down about 2% and closed near the same levels.

But that certainly isn't the only news you should be taking into account today...

You see, bank earnings have "knock-on effects" that can ripple throughout the economy in a variety of ways.

Here's what our experts - Chris Johnson, Tom Gentile, D.R. Barton, Jr., and Shah Gilani - saw in real time today, April 15...

Chris covered the massive drop in year-over-year earnings released by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC).
- Reality will continue setting in for market participants as earnings season continues to disappoint, and stocks will likely fall to new lows as a result.
Two of Chris' favorite "base builder" stocks to own now are Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).
- Both just raised their dividends and are unlikely to experience large drops like the broader market if this downturn continues.
Tomorrow, Chris will be revealing his No. 1 opportunity to make money using puts, so be sure to tune in then for that trade.

Tom is still short-term bearish on oil and junk bonds, so he's recommending investors use put spreads to capture upside with limited risk.
And since he's long-term bullish on gold, Tom thinks holding the physical metal will act as a great hedge, providing substantial returns over the short and long term.
Tom spent much of his live stream teaching his viewers how to use odds and probabilities in their favor when trading options with his proprietary tools that you can't get anywhere else.
- If you want to see what Tom is looking at before placing short-term bearish and long-term bullish trades on Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL), you can access them at TomsTradingRoom.com and www.TomsOptionTools.com.

D.R. covered the worst Empire State (New York) Manufacturing Index number in history (-78.2 for April) reported this morning.
- It was twice as bad as expected and more than double the worst rating during the Great Recession. D.R. said this does not bode well for companies relying on physical storefronts to drive sales in the near term.
D.R.'s trading system correctly predicted the recent drop for Macy's Inc. (NSYE: M) and J.C. Penny Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) over the past three days. Keep your eye on these companies in the next couple weeks, but don't look to short here.
D.R. is extremely bullish on gold and thinks everyone should get their hands on the physical metal.

Shah broke down the relative support and resistance levels he's eyeing as he tries to trade in and out of this volatile market.
Shah likes the momentum and fundamentals behind Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) and thinks it's worth an investment before it reports earnings on April 22.

Catch us tomorrow - starting LIVE again at 8:45 a.m. EDT with Chris Johnson, right here.

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