Dow Jones Industrial Average Drops 50 Points As Fed Eyes December Rate Hike

How Did the Stock Market Do Today?

Dow Jones: 17,867.58; -50.57; -0.28%

S&P 500: 2,102.32; -7.47; -0.35%

Nasdaq: 5,142.48; -2.65; -0.05%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average today (Wednesday) slipped 50 points after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen hinted the possibility of an interest rate hike in December remained “live.” Yellen cited improvements in the U.S. labor market and an expected return to the target inflation rate of 2%, according to her statement today. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch, the odds of a rate hike jumped today from 52% to 58%.

Meanwhile, the October private employment report from ADP and Moody’s Analytics showed private employers added 182,000 jobs in October, beating consensus expectations by a slim margin. With the ADP jobs report beating expectations of 180,000 positions for October, all eyes will now turn to Friday’s official jobs report from the U.S. Labor Department.

Top Stock Market News Today

Stock Market News: Eight of 10 S&P sectors were in the red today, with energy stocks sinking more than 1.1%. Today’s biggest losers were media stocks. This afternoon, shares of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) fell 6.6% on news the ratings for its primary domestic entertainment networks are falling over concerns of “cord cutting” by customers. The news dragged down shares of Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), Viacom Inc. (Nasdaq: VIAB), and Discovery Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA), with the latter two falling by more than 6.5% on the day.

Oil in Focus: Oil prices slumped on Wednesday as concerns about rising crude inventories in the United States bolstered ongoing concerns regarding oversupply on the global markets. December WTI oil prices fell 3.3% to settle at $46.32 per barrel, while Brent crude prices dipped 3.9% to hit $48.58. U.S. crude inventories increased for the sixth straight week. The EIA inventory report was largely in line with a boost of 2.85 million barrels. The news was enough to offset supply concerns created by a major oil workers’ strike in Brazil, a port shutdown in Libya, and a pipeline outage in the United States.

On Tap Tomorrow: On Thursday, six members of the Federal Reserve will give speeches and most will likely chime in on the possibility of an interest rate hike in December. On the data side, pay attention to weekly jobs claims – which are hovering near a 42-year low – and the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index. Companies reporting earnings on Thursday include Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), Tripadvisor Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP), Celgene Corp. (Nasdaq: CELG), Monster Beverage Corp. (Nasdaq: MNST), Symantec Corp.(Nasdaq: SYMC), and Weight Watchers International Inc. (NYSE: WTW).