Dow Jones News: Dow Falls 113 Points as Tensions Between U.S. and North Korea Escalate

In Dow Jones news, the Dow fell 113 points Tuesday after the latest round of earnings reports disappointed Wall Street and tensions with North Korea escalated.

Let's look at the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Dow Jones: 20,523.28; -113.64; -0.55%

S&P 500: 2,342.19; -6.82; -0.29%

Nasdaq: 5,849.47; -7.32; -0.12%

Today's market highlights:

• UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) offered the strongest boost to the Dow and the S&P 500 after the health insurance giant raised its profit and revenue forecasts for the year.
• A rising star in France's political system is creating new uncertainty about the first round of national elections.
• FANG stocks are in focus after Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) was the first of the four companies in the acronym to report quarterly earnings. The NFLX stock price is down over 2% after disappointing Wall Street.

Now, here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Wednesday's economic calendar.

DJIA Today: Dow Slides as Geopolitical Concerns, Earnings Woes Hit Sentiment

• In addition to existing tensions in Syria and North Korea, concerns about the United Kingdom and France emerged on Tuesday. The rise of a left-wing candidate has produced new uncertainty over the upcoming first round of national elections. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Theresa May called for a snap election in Britain with the fate of Brexit on the line.

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• These events happened the same day that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned that Congress may fail to push through tax reform by August. Markets have been waiting for the Trump administration and Congress to follow through on policy promises like corporate and income tax reform, infrastructure spending, and deregulation.
• Crude oil prices fell Tuesday after another round of U.S. government data showed that domestic production is surging. A report by the Energy Information Administration projected that the United States will see a daily uptick of 124,000 barrels of shale crude in May. The rising production is weighing down optimism from OPEC's ongoing agreement to cap excessive production to draw down global supply.
• The WTI crude oil price today was off 0.1%, while Brent crude fell 0.5%. Expect a lot of trading after the bell when the American Petroleum Institute reports its weekly crude inventory report.
• While investors are eyeing the banks the U.S. government bailed out eight years ago, people are largely ignoring the news that the current agreement to fund the government itself is set to expire on April 28. That has many people wondering the same question: "Will the government shut down?"Here's everything investors need to know about a looming government shutdown, including a way to book market-beating gains when other investors are panicking...

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• Shares of Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) could rally this week as the company kicks off its annual F8 conference. The two-day event will offer a glimpse into the company's plans and operations for the year ahead. At Money Morning, we project that Facebook stock is a healthy candidate to reach $250 per share by 2020. Here's everything you need to know about this bold prediction...

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• It was another very busy day of earnings reports. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) fell after the financial institution topped Wall Street earnings and revenue expectations.
• One of the few companies to provide a boost in earnings today was UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH). Shares of UNH stock added roughly 1% after the firm said its profit and revenue were in line with analyst expectations. The company also said it has raised its revenue and profit forecasts for 2017.
• Look for additional earnings reports from Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), and Intuitive Surgical Inc. (Nasdaq: ISRG).

Wednesday's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)

• MBA Mortgage Applications at 7 a.m.
• EIA Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 a.m.
• Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren speaks at 12:30 p.m.
• Beige Book at 2 p.m.

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