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The Dow Jones today is struggling on stimulus talks ahead of elections, even with positive earnings expectations from companies like Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: VZ).
More on everything moving the Dow Jones now, below.
First, here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
| Index | Previous Close | Point Change | Percentage Change |
| Dow Jones | 28,308.79 | +113.37 | +0.40 |
| S&P 500 | 3,443.12 | +16.20 | +0.47 |
| Nasdaq | 11,516.49 | +37.61 | +0.33 |
Now here's a closer 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.
Top Stock Market Stories for Wednesday
This morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced they are making progress on a stimulus deal. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said that talks are expected to resume today. However, the Republican-led Senate remains a challenge to passing any deal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly told the Trump administration to avoid a lopsided $2 trillion deal with Democrats before the election. The U.S. Senate is planning to vote on a $500 billion measure, which failed in the House and that U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized as "too small."
- Johns Hopkins University reported 221,083 deaths since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. The big news this morning came out of Swiss bank UBS Group AG (NYSE: UBS). The investment bank said that the biggest threat to the success of the U.S. economy is not the election in two weeks. Instead, it's the risk of new shutdowns due to any uptick in new cases. Dr. Scott Gotlieb has predicted that the United States is two weeks away from a very large surge in new cases. UBS says that new lockdowns that last a few weeks could drive U.S. GDP back into negative territory.
- Finally, oil prices were falling this morning after the U.S. Energy Department reported a big spike in inventory levels due to a COVID-driven supply glut. In addition, investors are paying close attention to the return of production in Libya. Brent crude was off $0.22 this morning at under $43. Crude inventories increased by 584,000 in the week for Oct. 16. The United States is currently sitting on 490.6 million barrels of crude.
Stocks to Watch Today: TSLA, VZ, NFLX
- Shares of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) are in focus as the company prepares to report earnings after the bell. Pay close attention to the company's growth levels in California. A recent report by Cross-Sell said that Tesla's third-quarter deliveries hit a new record at 139,900. However, the firm said that registrations were off 13% compared to last year in California, which is Tesla's largest market. The firm saw a large decline in Model 3 registrations. The report could indicate that Tesla is on the verge of hitting market saturation in California.
- Meanwhile, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) shares are up slightly after the company topped earnings by $0.03. The firm reported earnings per share of $1.25 and said that revenue came in line with analysts' expectations. The firm also hiked its full-year guidance for 2021 earnings and projected more subscribers next year.
- Finally, Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) fell more than 5% after the company fell short of third-quarter earnings. In addition, the firm reported that it only brought in 2.2 million global paid net subscribers. That figure was well below expectations. The firm did top revenue expectations at $6.44 billion.
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About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.
Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.