The Dow Jones now could take a positive turn despite a slump in tech stocks. There has been a three-day drop of 18% for Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA). Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has also been in a free fall in recent days.
Read on to see what's moving the Dow as we move to close the week...
First, here are the numbers from Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
28,292.73
-807.77
-2.78
S&P 500
3,455.06
-125.78
-3.51
Nasdaq
11,458.10
-598.34
-4.96
Now here are what I think will be the most important market events and stocks on Friday morning.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Monday
This morning, the U.S. Labor Department reported that U.S. payrolls increased by roughly 1.4 million. The official unemployment rate came in at 8.4%. That figure was well below the forecast of 9.8% among economists. The report showed positive gains in retail, professional, leisure, and hospitality markets.
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COVID-19 cases across the United States have topped 6.15 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. However, optimism is building that the United States could have a vaccine in play and ready for deployment by November. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked state governments to prepare to distribute a vaccine shortly before the November election. Meanwhile, the CEO of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Albert Boula, said that the company could have results from its late-stage COVID-19 vaccine by mid-October. The trial consisted of 23,000 volunteers and started in late July.
Finally, China has been trimming its holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds and notes due to increasing tensions between Washington and Beijing, according to the state-run Global Times. Relations between the two nations have worsened due to concerns around COVID-19, trade, technology sharing, IP, and more. China will reportedly slash its holdings from above $1 trillion to around $800 billion, according to a professor at Shanghai University. There is no timetable set for the divestiture. However, the gradual dumping of the U.S. dollar will weaken its global status and lower the greenback's value.
Stocks to Watch Today: AAPL, DOCU, GS
On Thursday, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shed $180 billion in stock market value, the single largest one-day loss ever for a U.S. listed company. Today, it's off another 2.7%. That market cap drop is worth more than market capitalizations of 470 companies listed on the S&P 500. What's even crazier is that, at its peak, Apple was worth more than the 100 companies on the British FTSE - combined. Apple has maintained a market cap north of $2 trillion, which is still larger than the annual GDP of multiple G-7 nations.
Shares of DocuSign Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU) were off 3.1% after the digital company reported earnings on Thursday afternoon. The firm reported earnings per share of $0.17, well above the consensus forecast of $0.08. The firm also topped revenue expectations and issued a solid full-year outlook. DocuSign has benefited from the ongoing of work-from-home trend.
Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is back in the headlines after the Malaysian government dropped criminal charges against three of the bank's units. The change comes a month after Goldman agreed to pay a $3.9 billion settlement in the case linked to the nation's state investment fund 1MDB.
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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.