Dow Jones Now Falling on Biggest U.S. GDP Drop in History

The Dow Jones now has a rough day ahead after the U.S. economy saw its worst quarterly decline in history: 32.9%.

In addition, tech stocks were falling after several prominent tech executives testified before Congress on antitrust matters. More on this below, and all else moving the Dow today...

Before we dive into the latest stories and more, here are the numbers from Wednesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

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

• According to the U.S. Commerce Department report this morning, the U.S. economy slumped by a staggering 32.9% - a figure that was actually lower than the projected by economists. There has never been a larger quarterly decline in the U.S. on record - not even during the Great Depression or the 2008 Great Financial Crisis. The report complemented another troubling update on the state of the U.S. labor market. Last week, roughly 1.43 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time. It will be interesting to see what the state of the U.S. labor market looks like when we receive the official July jobs report next Friday. Weekly benefits that include a $600 per week bump will expire later this week.

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• Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins University reports that the number of Americans who have died due to COVID-19 has surpassed 150,000, an ugly milestone that represents a scattered response by states and the Federal government. This morning, the number of daily U.S. cases also topped 70,000 again, raising concerns about the ongoing outbreaks in states like Florida, Texas and California. Total cases in the U.S. are now above 4.4 million. In Washington, Democrats and Republicans are attempting to reach common ground on a new stimulus bill to address unemployment benefits and support for a number of U.S. industries as the outbreak continues.
• Finally, it's going to be a very important day of earnings reports for the Nasdaq and S&P 500. After the bell on Thursday, the four major tech companies - Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) - will report earnings. The earnings reports come a day after the respective companies' chief executives testified before the House of Representatives on the state of Big Technology and the debate over antitrust.

Stock to Watch Today: CMCSA, KODK, UPS, CI, DNKN

• Shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) added 2.5% after the cable giant topped earnings expectations before the bell. The owner of NBCUniversal reported EPS of $0.69, a figure that beat expectations by 14 cents. It also topped revenue forecasts. The company said that despite weaker advertising numbers, the broadband business helped sustain its top and bottom line.
• Shares of Eastman Kodak Company (NASDAQ: KODK) rallied another 18% as its incredible surge continues this week. Shares traded under $3 on Monday. But they have surged so much that it tripled 20 circuit breakers in a single day on Wednesday. The stock has surged after the Trump administration announced a $765 million contract to manufacture pharmaceutical ingredients. The company's Executive Chairman James Continenza said on Wednesday that the company has been involved in chemistry for more than 100 years. He said that it had been in high-level talks about the possibility of working with the government two months ago.
• Look for additional earnings reports from Dunkin Brands (NASDAQ: DNKN), Cigna (NYSE: CI), Ford Motors (NYSE: F), UPS (NYSE: UPS), Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), and Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG).

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