The Dow Jones now is up after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a spending bill to prevent a government shutdown. The bill will now go to the Senate ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline. The bill will fund the government through Dec. 11, helping to prevent a shutdown ahead of the November election.
Read on for more of what's moving the Dow today.
First, here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
| Index | Previous Close | Point Change | Percentage Change |
| Dow Jones | 27,288.18 | +140.48 | +0.52 |
| S&P 500 | 3,315.57 | +34.51 | +1.05 |
| Nasdaq | 1,063.64 | +184.84 | +1.71 |
Now let's look at today's most important market events and stocks. We'll also discuss the stories that slipped under the radar of the mainstream financial press on Wednesday.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Wednesday
Today, the U.S. Federal Reserve is back in focus as Jerome Powell appears before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. The testimony will center on the central bank's monetary response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact on the broader American economy. Yesterday, Powell appeared before the House Financial Services Committee to discuss the prospect of providing more fiscal support to small businesses. Given the political climate between Democrats and Republicans, it could be difficult for Congress to get additional fiscal support to Americans by the election.
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- Johns Hopkins University reports that the number of deaths in the United States from COVID-19 has surpassed 200,000. The news comes the same day that global fatalities are approaching 1 million. Despite the renewed spike of infections across Europe and the expected lockdown again across Great Britain, U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the United States will not shut down again. Meanwhile, investors of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) are keeping an eye on the firm's progress toward a vaccine. The company is reportedly entering a phase 3 trial.
- Finally, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) bounced back strongly on Tuesday, and shares continue to climb higher. Shares rallied on news that the company will host its delayed Prime Day in October. According to reports, the company has told its warehouse employees that they may not submit vacation requests for the week of Oct. 13 to Oct. 20, signaling that the event will fall in between that time frame. This morning, an analyst at Bernstein upgraded Amazon stock from market perform to outperform.
Stocks to Watch Today: NKE, KKR, TSLA
- Shares of Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) rallied on news that the company crushed earnings expectations on Tuesday. The firm reported earnings per share of $0.95, more than doubling consensus expectations of $0.47. The company also reported strong revenue thanks to an 82% jump in online sales.
- Private equity giant KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR) announced it was buying 1-800 Contacts from its current owner, AEA Investors. The deal comes as many private equity firms continue to seek potential private deals with the public equity markets back within range of record highs. Although neither side reported a price, Bloomberg estimates that the deal was worth north of $3 billion.
- Finally, shares of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) were off more than 5% after the company's "Battery Day." During yesterday's event, CEO Elon Musk announced that the company's latest advancements in battery technology would lead to improved and less expensive vehicles. However, the stock started to slide this morning due to concerns among analysts that it would take at least three years for Tesla to get the cost of a car under $25,000.
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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.