The Dow Jones now has dropped this morning as the economy reopening sparks more COVID-19 fears.
In addition, markets digested the latest news from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which concluded its two-day meeting on monetary policy Wednesday afternoon. Here's everything moving the Dow today.
First, here are the numbers from Wednesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
26,989.99
-282.31
-1.04
S&P 500
3,190.14
-17.04
-0.53
Nasdaq
10,020.35
+66.59
+0.67
Now here's a closer look at what I'm following today. These are the most important market events and stocks.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Thursday
The Federal Reserve concluded its two-day meeting on monetary policy on Wednesday. Policymakers decided to hold interest rates at near-zero levels and suggested that the economy will not see any changes on policy until 2022. The central bank also said it will maintain its commitment to bond purchases over the next few months. The Fed anticipates that the U.S. economy will contract by 6.5% in 2020 before rebounding next year by roughly 5%. This morning, we will receive more clarity on U.S. jobless rates when the Department of Labor releases its weekly unemployment benefits report.
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Next, airline, cruise, and retail stocks were all slumping this morning as investors fret about the state of the economy and the second wave of COVID-19. Texas has reported three straight days of record-level hospitalizations. The number of cases in the United States topped 2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This morning's downturn is part of a broader concern about the state of the U.S. markets. With bankrupt companies and penny stocks rallying in recent days, investors might discover that the recent rally went too far, too fast. Shares of Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ), which filed for bankruptcy at the end of May, have fallen another 26% this morning after plunging 39% yesterday.
Stock to Watch Today: GRUB, UBER, AMZN, AAPL
In deal news, shares of GrubHub Inc. (NASDAQ: GRUB) rallied more than 8% on news that the company plans to merge with European delivery service Just Eat. The news is quite surprising given that the U.S. food delivery giant had the ability to merge with Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER). But it turned down that offer. Analysts say, however, that Grubhub's decision to merge with a European company is rooted in the fact that it will face less regulatory scrutiny from the U.S. government.
Shares of Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) are in focus on news that the European Union plans to file a formal complaint against the firm's treatment of third-party sellers. The EU is investigating claims that Amazon uses third-party selling data to create products and compete against them. Amazon has denied these charges. Meanwhile, with U.S. unrest in focus over the death of George Floyd and police brutality, the company announced that it will ban its facial recognition technology for one year.
Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) slipped 1.7% despite news that the company received a huge upgrade on Wall Street. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) hiked its price target for AAPL stock from $340 to $390 and held onto its buy rating. The analysts said that emerging trends in 5G and its upcoming release of new iPhone products could bolster sales in the coming year.
Six-Figure Payday Opportunity Opens after the FCC Launches $10 Billion Initiative
Working from home, telemedicine, and even online grocery shopping are trends that have been here for years without causing any problems... until February.
The 88 most populous cities across the United States are now seeing their Internet speeds tumble by 44% (and this could just be the start).
That's why the FCC had to step in - and their $10 billion initiative could translate to a huge payout because of it.
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.