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The Dow Jones now could pop in anticipation of a busy week of earnings. Blue Chip leaders like McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and AMD (NYSE: AMD) are set to report.
Investors are also eyeing the economic relief plan for the U.S. economy. Here's everything moving the Dow today...
First, the numbers from Friday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
| Index | Previous Close | Point Change | Percentage Change |
| Dow Jones | 26,469.89 | -182.44 | -0.68 |
| S&P 500 | 3,215.63 | -20.03 | -0.62 |
| Nasdaq | 10,363.18 | -98.24 | -0.94 |
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
This morning, Johns Hopkins University reports that more than 4 million Americans have contracted COVID-19 since the outbreak began earlier this year. The number of deaths surpassed 146,500 over the weekend. Concerns about a second wave of COVID cases have now ripped across Europe. There are new concerns about the spread in Luxembourg, Romania, Bulgaria, Sweden, and Spain. Those nations have experienced the largest number of new COVID cases over the last two weeks. The growing concerns, mixed with increased economic uncertainty, rattled European stocks this morning.
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- Next, Senate Republican leaders may unveil a new stimulus package for the U.S. economy as soon as today. Over the weekend, economists noted a significant gap between Republicans and Democrats on what should be part of the newest package. White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow hinted that new measures will include a $1,200 check and the possibility of a continued eviction moratorium. Republicans reportedly want to spend $1 trillion on this relief bill, while Democrats in the House of Representatives have already passed their own bill that is valued at $3 trillion.
- A weakening dollar is pushing up the price of gold and Bitcoin. The U.S. dollar index fell to a two-year low on expectations that the U.S. government will again introduce new stimulus plans. Gold added 2.1% to push to $1,938 per ounce, while silver added another 7.5% this morning. Meanwhile, Bitcoin rallied back above $10,000 for the first time in several months. The combination of stimulus expectations mixed with increasing concerns about Sino-American relations continue to weigh on the dollar's strength.
Stocks to Watch Today: AMD, INTC, TSM, HAS, MRNA
- Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) were off about 1% as the company prepares for earnings this week. Shares of AMD popped 16.5% on Friday after Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) announced significant delays to its next generation of semiconductor chips. Meanwhile, shares of Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) rallied another 5.4% as the company attempts to wrestle away market share from Intel.
- Shares of Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) slumped 4.6% after the company struggled during the second quarter due to COVID-19. The firm reported that retail store closures, shortages of products, and weak inventory levels hurt the firm's top and bottom line. The company reported Q2 earnings of $0.02 per share on top of $860 million in revenue. Both figures were well below the expected EPS forecast of $0.23 on top of $992 million.
- Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) added 9.1% after the company announced it will soon begin a new vaccine study for a COVID-19 treatment. The new Phase 3 study will incorporate 30,000 volunteers and test shows created by the U.S. government. The vaccine is part of an experiment between the National Institutes of Health and Moderna.
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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.
