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Market Watch: Corp. Earnings End Wall Street’s Win Streak

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Wall Street’s three day winning streak came to an abrupt end today as corporate earnings helped drag down the major averages. Wal-Mart and Goldman Sachs were among the heaviest drags on the Dow. At one point during today’s session Wal-Mart stock was down over 5%.  The retail giant reported that for the fiscal year ending in January, annual revenues totaled just over $482 billion dollars, down 0.7% from the year prior. Wal-Mart has had positive growth every year since the company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962.

See why the latest news from Wal-Mart is having a negative effect on the markets below.

Oil also did little to help out the markets today as the price of a barrel of crude remained stagnant closing up slightly at $30.77/barrel.

To understand the importance of oil costs and why we should keep watch of when oil prices rise and fall, watch the video below.

Here are the final numbers from Thursday, 2/18/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,413.43 (-40.40 / -0.25 %)

NASDAQ: 4,487.54  (-46.53 / -1.03 %)

S&P 500: 1,917.83  (-8.99 / -0.47 %)

Market Watch: Markets Up after Release of latest Fed Minutes

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Markets extended their winning streak to 3 days in a row after all major indices advanced today.  It’s the biggest 3 day gain for stocks since the end of last summer. The Dow inched into positive territory for February for the first time following the release of the latest Fed minutes and some encouraging news from Iran that they would support a freeze in the output of oil.  That news help lift oil prices over 5.5% as crude settled at just over $30/barrel.

More on oil’s wild ride from CNBC below.

The minutes from the Jan. 26-27 Fed policy meeting revealed that Federal Reserve policymakers worried last month that worsening global financial conditions could hit the U.S. economy and considered changing their planned path of interest rate hikes in 2016.

“If the recent tightening of global financial conditions was sustained, it could be a factor amplifying downside risks” to the economy. A number of participants were concerned about the potential drag on the U.S. economy from the broader effects of a greater-than-expected slowdown in China and other emerging market economies.”

Read the complete Fed minutes from the Jan. 26-27 meeting here.

Here are the final numbers from Wednesday, 2/17/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,453.83 (+257.42 / +1.59 %)

NASDAQ: 4,534.06  (+98.11 / +2.21 %)

S&P 500: 1,926.82  (+31.24 / +1.65 %)

Market Watch: Americans are Spending $ despite worries

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Despite the Dow Jones Industrial Average being down over 8 percent-year to date; the NASDAQ down over 13 percent so far this year and the S&P 500 down over 8 1/2 percent, Americans are spending money on retail goods. Consumer discretionary spending gained more than 2 percent to lead the S&P 500 higher today.  The U.S. Commerce Department said that core retail sales, (which exclude cars, gas, building materials and food services) increased 0.6 percent last month after a 0.3 percent decline in December. Today’s gains on Wall St. came despite another 40 cent drop in the price of oil which closed at $29.04 a barrel.

See more from CNBC below as to why the markets turned positive today.

Here are the final numbers from Tuesday, 2/16/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,196.41 (+222.57 / +1.39 %)

NASDAQ: 4,435.96  (+98.44 / +2.27 %)

S&P 500: 1,895.58  (+30.80 / +1.65 %)

Market Watch: “The Smell of Default” says Deutsche Bank

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Markets were closed on this President’s Day but the day was highlighted by an ominous report entitled: “The smell of default”  from analysts at German firm Deutsche Bank that emphasized- “only the Fed can save stocks now.”

The report stated:

“Without policy intervention, there is more downside risk for equities. To avoid a further rise in U.S. defaults, we will likely need to see a Fed relent, leading to a sustainable drop in the dollar, higher oil prices and reduced energy balance sheet stress.”

The Deutsche report infers that the seemingly unrelenting selloff in world markets over the first 6 weeks of 2016 will only slow down if the U.S. Federal Reserve changes its path and begins to loosen its monetary policy. The problem for investors is that is appears, at least for now that the Fed is not yet willing to change its policy course.  Worries about the failing economy in China along with concerns about the energy sector (specifically oil) and stagnant growth in European financial companies are reasons for the poor start to the new year.

Charles Newsome, divisional director at Investec Wealth and Investment explained on CNBC,  “that the equity market is now in a bear-market, and that any rallies are an opportunity to sell.” See more below.

Meantime, while Fed Chair Janet Yellen and the FOMC continue to sit on their collective hands,  the President of the European Central Bank (The ECB) Mario Draghi told the European Parliament today that “the ECB is ready to ease policy in March, if market volatility or the effect of low energy prices impacts inflation expectations.”

Markets closed on Monday, 2/15/16 on Wall Street for President’s Day holiday.

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 15,973.84 (+313.66 / +2.00 %)

NASDAQ: 4,337.51  (+70.68 / +1.66 %)

S&P 500: 1,864.78  (+35.70 / +1.95 %)

Market Watch: Good Day on Wall St. Thanks to Oil

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On the last day of trading for the week oil had its best day since 2009, ending a 5 day losing streak on Wall Street.  The price of a barrel of oil soared over %12 percent as stocks experienced gains across the board.  The financial and banking sector gained %3 percent leading the winners.  JPMorgan’s stock gained 8% after the company’s CEO Jamie Dimon bought over $25 million worth of the company’s own stock.

Amid some relief today came word from Bank of America that they are lowering their expectations for the S&P 500 this year.  See more below.

Here are the final numbers from Friday, 2/12/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 15,973.84 (+313.66 / +2.00 %)

NASDAQ: 4,337.51  (+70.68 / +1.66 %)

S&P 500: 1,864.78  (+35.70 / +1.95 %)

Market Watch: OPEC Deal Saves Stocks from Global Selloff

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Words like “recession” & “sell-off” were no-doubt muttered around the trading floors on Wall Street today as the markets experienced huge losses in the beginning of the day due to a massive global sell-off and falling oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average briefly fell 400 points in afternoon trading, as Boeing and Goldman Sachs took some of the biggest hit. However, stocks rallied to cut half their losses after the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates said OPEC members were ready to cooperate on an oil production cut. At one point today the S&P 500 dropped more than 1.5 percent, as the financial sector fell about 3 percent. The S&P is now getting close to the 1,800 level as it closed today at 1,829.

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial told CNBC:

“There’s a chance we break below the 1,800 level, (on the S&P 500) and then the next level to watch is 1,775.  I think we could see a bounce there. Otherwise, we’re in trouble.”

According to one strategist: Recession fears are real. Watch below.

Here are the final numbers from Thursday, 2/11/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 15,660.18 (-254.56 / -1.60 %)

NASDAQ: 4,266.84  (-16.75 / -0.39 %)

S&P 500: 1,829.08  (-22.78 / -1.23 %)

Market Watch: Yellen Not Sure About Negative Rates

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As word leaked out late yesterday afternoon that the Federal Reserve will be requiring U.S. banks to consider the idea of how they theoretically could handle a “negative interest rate” scenario, Fed Chair Janet Yellen told a congressional hearing today that “the central bank has not completely researched whether that would be legal.”  Yellen said the Federal Open Market Committee discussed charging banks to hold excess reserves at the Fed but never fully researched the issue.

“We didn’t fully look at the legal issues around that,” she said. “I would say that remains a question that we still would need to investigate more thoroughly.”

Asked whether she could the Fed cutting rates after just raising its interest rate in December, Yellen said she did not expect that to happen anytime soon as she considers the risk of recession low.

Watch Janet Yellen’s testimony from today below.

A drop in oil prices and a plunge in Disney and IBM stock marked another down day for the Dow.

Here are the final numbers from Wednesday, 2/10/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 15,914.74 (-99.64 / -0.62 %)

NASDAQ: 4,283.59  (+14.83 / +0.35 %)

S&P 500: 1,851.86  (-0.35 / -0.02 %)

Market Watch: Are Negative Interest Rates Next for U.S. Banks?

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CNBC reported late today that the Fed is telling banks to prepare for the possibility of negative interest rates.

“For the first time ever, the governing agency and U.S. central bank is requiring banks to include, in a round of stress tests commencing this year, to prepare for the possibility of negatively yielding Treasury rates. A source familiar with the tests told CNBC.com that the scenario is purely hypothetical and not a forecast. However, the development is part of a larger scenario of a world where zero rates are morphing into negative rates.”

Two weeks ago the Bank of Japan introduced negative interest rates after the European Union did the same last year.

Read more here.

Meanwhile, it was another plunge in the price of oil that had investors seeing volatility with a capital “V” today.   Earlier in the day, the market was down 100 points- then up 100.  At the end of the day the markets finished with its 2nd straight day of losses for this week. The cost of a barrel of crude oil fell nearly 6% percent to close just below $28 barrel.  It had been down by as much as 8%.  The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that it did not expect global demand for oil to grow quickly enough to erase the over-supply of crude any time soon.  The energy watchdog agency said that, “the world will store unwanted oil for most of 2016 as declines in U.S. output take time and OPEC is unlikely to cut a deal with other producers to reduce ballooning output, said the energy watchdog.”

John Carey, a Boston-based fund manager at Pioneer Investment Management Inc. told Bloomberg.com:

“It’s quite a tussle between the bulls and bears. Some people think this is a temporary setback and that the market maybe got a little ahead of itself — that nothing is really wrong with the economy and this is a good buying opportunity. Others think the market is indicating a slowdown in months ahead.”

CNBC asked the question:

“Who’s responsible for the turmoil on the market & where is investment money going?”

Answers:

* Bank of Japan
* European banks
* Crude Oil
* China

See more below.

Here are the final numbers from Tuesday, 2/9/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,014.38 (-12.67 / -0.08 %)

NASDAQ: 4,268.76  (-14.99 / -0.35 %)

S&P 500: 1,852.21  (-1.23 / -0.07 %)

Market Watch: Global Growth Worries Drive Markets Down

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The market displayed some explosive volatility today and eventually continued its downward slide from last Friday. At one point the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 400 points before recovering half the losses..  The major concern today was worries over global growth. Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones told CNBC:

“I think it’s worries that the global economy is slowing down more than expected and that’s translating into lower oil prices.”

Oil fell another 3% today to $29.92 a barrel. Last week, U.S. oil dropped about 6 percent.  Meanwhile gold soared today-up over $40/ounce at one point before settling $32.50 ahead at $1,190 per ounce.

Also today; an admission from a professor who teaches at one of the country’s top business schools that he was “too bullish” with his market prediction.  Jeremy Siegel, who is a professor at finance at the prestigious Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania backed off his prognostication from last November that he thought the Dow Jones Industrial Average could reach 20,000 in 2016.

Watch and listen to Jeremy Siegel on CNBC from November 9, 2015 (when the Dow was over 15,900) and where he believed the markets were heading.

This past Monday, during an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box”, Jeremy Siegel admitted he was too bullish with his prediction for last November. Watch below.

Here are the final numbers from Monday, 2/8/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,027.05 (-177.92 / -1.10 %)

NASDAQ: 4,283.75  (-79.39 / -1.82 %)

S&P 500: 1,853.44  (-26.61 / -1.42 %)

Market Watch: Economy in “death spiral?”

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Stocks closed down again today on the final trading day of the week and a headline on CNBC today got a lot of people’s attention.

“World economy seems trapped in ‘death spiral.”-according to Citigroup

According to CNBC:

Some analysts — including those at Citi — have turned bearish on the world economy this year, following an equity rout in January and weaker economic data out of China and the U.S. “The world appears to be trapped in a circular reference death spiral,” Citi strategists led by Jonathan Stubbs said in a report on Thursday. “Stronger U.S. dollar, weaker oil/commodity prices, weaker world trade/petrodollar liquidity, weaker EM (and global growth)… and repeat. Ad infinitum, this would lead to Oilmageddon, a ‘significant and synchronized’ global recession and a proper modern-day equity bear market.

See more below.

Here are the final numbers from Friday, 2/5/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,204.97 (-211.61 / -1.29 %)

NASDAQ: 4,363.14  (-146.41 / -3.25 %)

S&P 500: 1,880.05  (-35.40 / -1.85 %)

 

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