Dow stocks hitting 52-week highs include Apple (AAPL) 253.48 (+0.97%) and Visa (V) 318.30 (+0.76%). There are no Dow stock 52-week lows.

The Market

Premarket today, the Dow was indicated to be up +85 points.

Tuesday the Dow closed down -267.58 (-0.61%) at 43,449.90.

Year-to-date the Dow is up +15.28%.

Tuesday, (9) Dow stocks were up, none made 52-week lows, and (2) made 52-week highs.

The Dow stock winners Tuesday were led by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 146.41 (+0.78%), Coca Cola (KO) 63.40 (+1.36%) and Nike (NKE) 78.00 (+1.04%).

The Dow stock losers Tuesday were led by UnitedHealth (UNH) 485.52 (-2.60%), Goldman Sachs (GS) 574.68 (-1.99%) and Salesforce (CRM) 350.97 (-1.75%).

The VIX closed Tuesday at 15.87 (+8.0%) and the 10 YR at 4.391 (+0.09%). The VIX is currently at 164 (-1.45%). The 10YR is at 4.400 (+0.30%).

The Fed’s policy decision is due at 2:00 p.m. ET. Fed funds futures trading currently shows a 95% chance that the central bank will cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point.

Investors will also be paying close attention to Fed policymakers’ Summary of Economic Projections and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference, seeking clues about what might happen in the months ahead. The central bank is widely expected to temper expectations of more rate cuts in the approaching year, particularly as inflation remains stubborn.

Mortgage rates moved markedly higher last week, causing overall mortgage demand to drop. Total application volume fell 0.7% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. That was the first decline in five weeks. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) increased to 6.75% from 6.67%, with points remaining unchanged at 0.66 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. That rate was just 8 basis points higher the same week one year ago.

U.S. futures are higher, European stocks are mostly higher and Asian markets ended mostly lower.

The national average price of gasoline is up four-tenths of a cent at $3.034 per gallon.

Earnings Reports

Nike (NKE) reports earnings on 12/19/24 after the market close.

UnitedHealth (UNH) reports earnings on 1/10/24 before the market open.

Today’s Featured Dow Stock

Disney (DIS)

Disney (DIS) 113.02 (+0.81%) is up +25.17% in 2024.

Financial Calendar

07:00 AM ET MBA 30-Year Mortgage Rate, 6.67%
07:00 AM ET MBA Mortgage Applications (WoW), 5.4%
07:00 AM ET MBA Purchase Index, 154.9
07:00 AM ET Mortgage Market Index, 225.5
07:00 AM ET Mortgage Refinance Index, 634.0
08:30 AM ET Building Permits (Nov), 1.430M, 1.419M
08:30 AM ET Building Permits (MoM) (Nov), -0.4%
08:30 AM ET Current Account (Q3), -286.0B, -266.8B
08:30 AM ET Housing Starts (MoM) (Nov), -3.1%
08:30 AM ET Housing Starts (Nov), 1.350M, 1.311M
10:30 AM ET Atlanta Fed GDPNow (Q4), 3.1%, 3.1%
10:30 AM ET Crude Oil Inventories, -1.600M, -1.425M
10:30 AM ET EIA Refinery Crude Runs (WoW), -0.251M
10:30 AM ET Crude Oil Imports, -0.170M
10:30 AM ET Cushing Crude Oil Inventories, -1.298M
10:30 AM ET Distillate Fuel Production, -0.086M
10:30 AM ET EIA Weekly Distillates Stocks, 3.235M
10:30 AM ET Gasoline Production, 0.549M
10:30 AM ET Heating Oil Stockpiles, 0.504M
10:30 AM ET EIA Weekly Refinery Utilization Rates (WoW), -0.9%
10:30 AM ET Gasoline Inventories, 5.086M
14:00 AM ET Interest Rate Projection – 1st Yr (Q4), 3.4%
14:00 AM ET Interest Rate Projection – 2nd Yr (Q4), 2.9%
14:00 AM ET Interest Rate Projection – 3rd Yr (Q2), 2.9%
14:00 AM ET Interest Rate Projection – Current (Q4), 4.4%
14:00 AM ET Interest Rate Projection – Longer (Q4), 2.9%
14:00 AM ET FOMC Economic Projections
14:00 AM ET FOMC Statement
14:00 AM ET Fed Interest Rate Decision, 4.50%, 4.75%
14:30 AM ET FOMC Press Conference