Volatility has become such a regular, daily occurrence on Wall Street that when stocks don’t really do much of anything, the “lack of market instability” becomes the story of the day. That was pretty much the case today although the one issue that could be counted on was the unpredictability within the oil market. Oil prices went back and forth finally settling at $31.72 a barrel, down 1.7 percent, after rising more than 3 percent at one point during the day. President Barack Obama will propose a $10 per barrel charge on oil to fund clean transportation projects as part of his final budget request next week. Oil companies would pay the fee, which would be gradually introduced over five years. The government would use the money to pay for high-speed railways, autonomous cars and other travel systems, aiming to reduce emissions.
The White House said in a statement:
“By placing a fee on oil, the president’s plan creates a clear incentive for private sector innovation to reduce our reliance on oil and at the same time invests in clean energy technologies that will power our future.”
The proposal would have difficulty clearing the Republican-controlled Congress.
After a terrible start to 2016, when will stocks “bottom out?” CNBC asked that question to its experts today on “Trading Nation.” Watch below.
There been a lot of attention of Japan installing a negative interest rate after the European Union went to negative rates last summer. Now, of the big questions that’s being asked around Washington and New York is: Could negative interest rates be coming to the U.S. next? A few experts CNBC spoke to today said “maybe.” Watch below.
Here are the final numbers from Thursday, 2/4/16 on Wall Street
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,416.58 (+79.92 / +0.49 %)
NASDAQ: 4,509.56 (+5.32 / +0.12 %)
S&P 500: 1,915.45 (+2.92 / +0.15 %)
