The Dow Jones today shed 60 points. The cause? Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece's long-term sovereign-debt rating.
The news offset early gains fueled by U.S. jobs and wage growth. January was the 11th consecutive month of U.S. job gains above 200,000.
Today's Scorecard:
Dow: 17,824.29, -60.59,-0.34%
S&P 500: 2,055.47, -7.05,-0.34%
Nasdaq: 4,744.40, -20.70,-0.43%
What Moved the Markets Today: The Greek debt downgrade came after Greece's new leftist government vowed to reject any deal that would maintain the terms of its current international bailout program.
Despite increased isolation from its Eurozone partners, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said he would seek a "bridge agreement" to stabilize the country's finances until the nation can propose a new plan to address its debts. The ratings agency didn't like the sound of that and downgraded the nation's long-term debt to B-minus from B.
The January U.S. jobs report came in with the economy producing more jobs than analysts expected. The U.S. created approximately 257,000 jobs, topping consensus expectations of 234,000. The unemployment rate climbed from 5.6% to 5.7% due to a rise of Americans entering the workforce.
Following the jobs report, futures contracts priced into the market the expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise rates a second time by December 2016. The markets already expect one rate increase by October 2016.
Now, check out the other top market stories - plus get our new profit tip for investors:
- All About Oil:Crude oil prices climbed again today, fueling stronger performances for energy stocks. Brent oil prices experienced their strongest two-week gains since 1998 on declining rig counts and concerns about Libyan production. The number of rigs in the United States fell to 1,140 - its lowest total since December 2011, according to a survey by Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI ).
- Twitter Today: The markets were hot for Twitter stock. Shares of Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR ) are up more than 16% today after the company announced adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $0.12 per share on revenue of $479.1 million. Analysts were expecting per-share earnings of $0.06. The report could offer CEO Dick Costolo some breathing room from his Wall Street critics. It was a big day for the company, but we advise caution - the market's not getting this one right, and we'll tell you why...
- IPO Boom: Shares of Columbia Pipeline Partners LP (Nasdaq: CPPL) surged 21% on its first day of trading. The company priced its initial public offering at a range of $19 to $21, but shares surged as high as $28 during its debut.
- Fraudulent Filing: In a stunning "preliminary step" to handling increased tax fraud, Intuit 's (Nasdaq: INTU ) TurboTax has stopped the e-filing of all state tax returns. The company said its systems weren't breached; however, the software firm suspects criminals are using e-filing to create false tax returns to steal Americans' refunds. It is currently working with state governments to investigate potential fraud cases. Shares of Intuit slipped 4.2% on the day.
- Stocks to Watch: Shares of LinkedIn Corp. (Nasdaq: LNKD ) hit an all-time high, rising 11% Friday after the company crushed earnings estimates for the fourth consecutive quarter yesterday. The business and social media giant reported adjusted per-share earnings of $0.61, beating estimates of $0.53.
- An Apple a Day: Apple stock was a late-day victim to ongoing geopolitical woes today. Shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL ) slipped 1% on the day. In an interesting development, ISIS militants have banned the use of all Apple products for fear that the United States and allied forces are using them to spy on their soldiers. The company also began seeding the first beta of Mac OS X Yosemite 10.10.3. This was the first time that the company released details about the long-awaited Photos app for Mac products.
Money MorningTip of the Day:Oil prices will continue to be volatile in the near term. But eventually they'll turn and run even higher...
Crude oil is struggling to find its bottom. Prices surged 19% within the span of four trading sessions ending Tuesday, only to fall nearly 9% Wednesday. Then yesterday oil prices rebounded from Wednesday's losses to rise 4%.
At some point, oil prices will finally bottom, stabilize, and rally even higher. And Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors believes that process may already be underway.
As Moors told Money Morning Executive Editor Bill Patalon earlier this week, the bottom is forming because low crude prices have forced U.S. producers to put the brakes on projects. They're delaying more expensive forward projects. They're also taking drilling rigs offline.
But demand will continue to climb, which means "as future supply gluts are pared, the upside for selected operating companies will improve," according to Moors.
Moors doesn't see a return of triple-digit prices anytime soon. But "a range in the mid $50s per barrel will translate into some nice profits for companies already controlling ongoing drilling locations in established basins."
Moors shared his latest pick for profiting from oil's rebound in Bill Patalon's Private Briefing. Get it here:Why "Black Gold" + "The Blue Oval" = Money in the Bank
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
