Dow Jones News: Stocks Fall on North Korea Tensions and French Election News

Today's Dow Jones news is a projected 65-point decline in stocks as mixed earnings reports have investors turning their heads back to ongoing geopolitical concerns around the globe.

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

Dow Jones: 20,636.92; +183.67; +0.90%

S&P 500: 2,349.01; +20.06; +0.86%

Nasdaq: 5,856.79; +51.64; +0.89%

Today's market highlights:

• Geopolitical concerns like tensions with North Korea and Syria, alongside the upcoming French elections, have investors on edge this morning.
• Global markets were weaker overnight after UK Prime Minister Theresa May called for a snap election in June and sent the pound soaring. Here's more on the global front.
• On Monday, the Dow rallied 183 points as investors rallied around quarterly earnings reports and celebrated larger than expected first-quarter economic growth in China.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) reports a rare quarterly earnings miss.
• Today's economic calendar features key reports on housing starts, building permits, and industrial production for March. Construction stocks will benefit the most from positive reports as the housing markets continue to try to build momentum in the spring.

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Here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a look at Tuesday's economic calendar.

What's Ahead for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today

• Dow futures are down 65 points pre-market hours as investors weigh ongoing political tensions and a busy day of earnings reports. While Syria and North Korea remain the two primary spots of global tension, European elections have emerged as yet another place of uncertainty. French left-wing candidate Luc Melenchon has rallied in the polls and made it increasingly unclear what direction France will take in the future.

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• Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) fell nearly 3% after the bank reported a rare miss on quarterly earnings. Although the firm reported an 89% jump in quarterly profit, its earnings-per-share (EPS) figure of $5.15 was short of Wall Street expectations. Wall Street analysts expected the firm to report an EPS of $5.38. Goldman also fell slightly short on revenue expectations. Meanwhile, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) added 1.2% after the financial institution topped Wall Street earnings and revenue expectations.
• 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...
• Gold prices are weaker on a mild corrective pullback from recent good gains that saw prices hit a five-month high on Monday.
• Crude oil prices were falling again on Tuesday after another U.S. government report indicated that production continues to rise across the country. U.S. government data shows that domestic shale production is soaring, particularly in the Permian shale fields. The Energy Information Administration projects that the United States will see an uptick in daily shale production by at least 124,000 barrels in May.
• The WTI crude oil price today was off 0.6%, while Brent crude fell 0.7%.
• But the big story is happening in North Korea, even though investors are downplaying events in the region. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has traveled to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to encourage the denuclearization of North Korea. Over the weekend, North Korea had an embarrassing missile test in which a malfunction led to the immediate explosion of the weapon.
• Money Morning Executive Editor Bill Patalon issued a special report on Friday on the growing tensions between the United States and North Korea. Investors should know about two companies that are likely to help reduce geopolitical exposure. Here are the two stocks to watch right now.

Stocks to Watch Today, April 18, 2017:

• Shares of Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) could rally today 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 Facebook stock is a healthy candidate to reach $250 per share by 2020. Here's where the stock could hit today.
• Shares of Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) gained roughly 1.5% in pre-market hours after the firm reported earnings after the bell Monday. The company fell short of global subscription expectations, but a strong quarterly outlook propelled the stock higher. Netflix reported EPS of $0.40 on top of $2.637 billion in revenue. Consensus expectations called for EPS of $0.38 on top of $2.641 billion.
• Meanwhile, United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) added more than 0.8% in pre-market hours despite news that the airline company reported a 70% decline in year-over-year quarterly revenue. The firm reported EPS of $0.41 on top of $8.42 billion. Wall Street expected EPS of $0.37 on top of $8.362 billion in revenue.
• Look for additional earnings reports from Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Intuitive Surgical Inc. (Nasdaq: ISRG), Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG), W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE: GWW), Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH).

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

• Housing Starts at 8:30 a.m.
• Redbook at 8:55 a.m.
• Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George speaks at 9 a.m.
• Industrial Production at 9:15 a.m.
• Four-Week Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.

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