Dow Jones News: Stocks Slide as Rex Tillerson Travels to Russia to Talk About Syria

Tuesday's Dow Jones news features stocks falling in pre-market hours after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson traveled to Moscow to engage in talks about the current geopolitical crisis in Syria.

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

Dow Jones: 20,658.02; +1.92; +0.01%

S&P 500: 2,357.16; +1.62; +0.07%

Nasdaq: 5,880.93; +3.11; +0.05%

Today's market highlights:

• Markets are keeping a close eye on President Trump after the White House said it would authorize additional strikes if the Assad regime used chemical weapons again or deployed barrel bombs.
• On Monday, the Dow added a little less than two points after investors largely shrugged off concerns about rising tensions over Syria and North Korea and instead turned their focus to the beginning of earnings season.
• President Trump plans to meet CEOs to raise support for his $1 trillion infrastructure plan and other policy goals including tax reform and deregulation.
• Markets are looking for more deals after a busy Monday of M&A activity.
• The U.S. auto manufacturing industry now has a new largest company by market capitalization.

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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 Jones futures are down 17-points in pre-market hours as investors continue to monitor the White House over Syria and North Korea.
• President Donald Trump will meet with the CEOs of 20 American companies to discuss his goals on bolstering support for U.S. infrastructure spending and other policy goals. The president is trying to gain support for a $1 trillion infrastructure program, tax reform, and more deregulation. Trump will meet with leaders including the heads of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM).

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• On Monday, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she believes the U.S. economy is now healthy. The comment came at an event at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy. Yellen said the central bank plans to raise interest rates slowly in an effort to keep inflation near the target rate of 2% and the U.S. unemployment rate below 5%.
• Crude oil prices are striving for their sixth straight gain on news that Libya's largest oil field has been shut down. Oil prices are currently hovering near a five-week high; however, crude prices are down slightly on expectations that U.S. inventory levels increased again last week.
• Energy traders continue to monitor geopolitical concerns following the U.S. military strike on Syria last week. According to reports, a militant group blocked a pipeline linking an oil terminal to Libya's Sharara oil field.
• The WTI crude oil price today dipped 0.4%, while Brent crude dipped 0.05%.
• But the big story is happening in the eastern part of the globe. Over the weekend, Japan said it will stop the United States from taking military action in North Korea. Kim Jong-un's country has engaged in six missile tests in 2017, raising new concerns that the rogue country could soon develop the technology to fire a nuclear weapon within range of the United States. Over the weekend, an unnamed military official in Japan said his country and South Korea would prevent any military intervention by the United States.

Stocks to Watch Today, April 11, 2017:

• In deal news, AT&T Corp. (NYSE: T) has made a big bet on 5G. The company has purchased Straight Path Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: STRP) in a deal worth $1.25 billion. Shares of STRP stock added more than 50% on Monday. Meanwhile, trucking giant Swift Transportation Co. (NYSE: SWFT) announced plans to merge with Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX) in a deal worth about $6 billion.
• Shares of RetailMeNot Inc. (Nasdaq: SALE) rallied nearly 50% after the company announced it would agree to be sold to services giant Harland Clarke for roughly $630 million.
• Shares of Whole Foods Market Inc. (Nasdaq: WFM) rallied nearly 10% in the final hours of trading after activist hedge fund JANA Partners announced it has taken a stake in the company. The hedge fund also made seven demands to bolster shareholder value, reduce costs, improve operations, and alter the composition of its board of directors.
• Shares of Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) is generating headlines after the company became the most valuable U.S. auto manufacturer in terms of market capitalization. Tesla surpassed General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) when the firm reached a market cap of more than $50.8 billion. Shares of TSLA stock have gained more than 35% in the last month.
• In earnings news, shares of Bank of the Ozarks Inc. (Nasdaq: OZRK) added more than 3.2% after the company reported record first-quarter earnings results. Wall Street analysts expected the lender to reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.72 on revenue of $226.7 million.
• Look for an additional quarterly report from Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR). Analysts expect the firm to report EPS of $0.51 per share on revenue of $608.38 million. Other companies reporting earnings include Argan Inc. (NYSE: AGX), Layne Christensen Co. (Nadsaq: LAYN), and SeaChange International (Nasdaq: SEAC).

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

• NFIB Small Business Optimism Index at 6 a.m.
• Redbook at 8:55 a.m.
• JOLTS at 10 a.m.
• Four-Week Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
• 10-Year Note Auction at 1 p.m.
• Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari speaks at 1:45 p.m.

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