TheStreet Live

With the economy growing below 2%, Real Money contributor Stephen Guilfoyle sees no reason for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates. The Fed makes a policy announcement at 2pm Eastern on Wednesday. Guilfoyle says even after a strong ADP number, he thinks the Fed won't have enough ammunition to raise interest rates three times this year, as was previously expected. He notes Fed futures are pricing in a 6% chance that there won't be any rate hikes in 2017. The market is expecting there won't be a rate increase until June.

It's likely the Federal Reserve will wait to see what changes the new Trump administration will make in trade, tax policy and regulations before making any moves with interest rates. Economist don't expect any changes in interest rates to take place today. Apple snapped its losing streak. It had 3 straight quarters of falling revenue but unexpectedly strong sales of the iPhone 7 gave the company a boost. Apple sold more iPhones than ever before--78.3 million. The bigger 7 plus was especially popular. President Trump unveiled his Supreme Court nominee during a prime time address last night. He chose Neil Gorsuch, an appellate judge from Colorado and a conservative. He has sided with closely held corporations who believed that the so-called contraceptive mandate of Obamacare violated their religious beliefs.

President Donald Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she refused to defend the President's new travel ban. The White House says she had betrayed the Department of Justice. Trump named Dana Boente, a U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve in Yates' place until the President's Attorney General appointee Jeff Sessions is confirmed. Apple reports earnings after the closing bell today. The 4th quarter is generally the company's busiest, as it includes the holiday season when many people give Apple products as presents. The report will also be the first full quarter of iphone 7 sales. Walmart is upping its game against Amazon . It has unveiled free 2-day shipping with no membership. It only applies to orders of $35 or more. The range of items will include 'everyday essentials', like baby needs and pet supplies.

Protests and Court Orders ruled the weekend after President Trump signed an executive order limiting immigration from certain muslim countries, considered to be terrorism threats. Corporate America is reacting as well. Starbucks says it will hire 10,000 refugees as a response to President Trump's order. USA Today reports that Google created a $4 million crisis fund for causes related to immigration. 6 people were killed and 9 people injured in a shooting at a mosque in Quebec. Government officials call it an act of terrorism. The Chicago Tribune quotes officials who say two suspects had been arrested. Delta Airlines has resumed limited operations after a systems outage grounded its domestic U.S. flights Sunday evening. Delta said it had canceled about 150 flights scheduled for departure, with more expected today.

President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May are expected to talk about NATO, fighting terrorism and a direct trade agreement between the two countries. This is President Trump's first face to face meeting with a foreign leader. There is expected to be a joint press conference this afternoon between the two leaders. Microsoft's cloud business is booming. It helped boost earnings for the tech giant by 4%. Azure cloud revenue increased by 93%, more than doubling year over year. Microsoft's older windows software business did not perform too badly either. Alphabet , parent of Google, reported 4th quarter revenue that topped analysts expectations, but missed on the bottom line, sending its shares lower in late trading. Alphabet said the 'paid clicks' in its Google advertising business rose by 36%, but cost per click declined.

Wednesday's history-making rally lost steam on Thursday with markets struggling to remain in record territory. All indexes had closed at new highs a day earlier with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketing above 20,000. New home sales in the U.S. fell to a 10-month low in December, though capped off a robust year for the housing market. Sales of newly constructed homes fell just over 10% last month. Charter surged on reports Verizon is interested in a deal, though other sources have said talks are just that at the moment. A combined company would have a massive market cap of $280 billion. Mattel slumped after reporting a weaker-than-expected holiday season. Gross margins were under pressure as the toymaker slashed prices to clear stock heading into Christmas. Profit declined nearly 20%.

The Dow held onto solid gains through the session after slaying its 20,000 milestone at market open. The index ended with its second straight day of triple-digit gains, a streak last seen following the November election. Textron crumbled after posting a decline in earnings and revenue in its fourth quarter, while announcing the purchase of all-terrain vehicle maker Arctic Cat. The deal is worth just under $250 million. Texas Instruments rose after reporting a double-digit percentage increase in quarterly profit. Analog chip sales increased 10%, sales of embedded processors rose more than 6%. Crude settled lower after a weekly reading on inventories showed an increase for the third week in a row. Crude stocks rose by 2.8 million barrels, far higher than consensus.

A positive quarter for Boeing helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average to finally smash through its 20,000 milestone. The blue-chip index has flirted with the level since clinching 19,000 in November. Caterpillar also led the Dow higher, rallying on the perceived benefits of a Trump infrastructure plan. Overnight, the president suggested he would deliver details today on his promise to build a wall along the Mexican border. Seagate surged following a better-than-expected quarter. The hard drive company also guided for sales in the current quarter above consensus. Seagate has benefited from robust demand for its cloud-storage tech. Brinker fell after warning of weaker sales at its restaurant chains over the full year. The owner of Chili's expects same-store sales over 2017 to decline by as much as 2%.

Stocks clawed back from lows, though the S&P 500 did close with slight losses. Worries President Trump's "America First" policies could hurt growth kept markets on the defensive for much of the day. Kate Spade climbed on reports of takeover interest. Accessories brands Coach and Michael Kors are reportedly both mulling a bid. Aetna fell after a federal judge blocked its proposed $37 billion merger with Humana . The judge said the deal would likely harm competition in hundreds of counties across the U.S. AMC Entertainment agreed to buy Nordic Cinema Group, a Stockholm-based cinema chain, in an all-cash deal worth more than $900 million. The acquisition is expected to close in June.

Uncertainty over policies from a Donald Trump administration contributed to volatile trading. Stocks held lower through the morning session, while the Volatility Index spiked 6%. Halliburton moved lower after falling short of quarterly estimates and reporting a 21% slump in total revenue. Overseas activity showed continued weakness, while its North American business returned to profit. McDonald's was one of the biggest losers on the Dow as investors fretted over domestic weakness. The world's largest burger chain reported a 1.3% percent drop in same-store sales in the U.S. over its recent quarter. Qualcomm was downgraded to neutral from buy at Nomura. Analysts said the company faces increased legal scrutiny, which could affect its pending NXP Semiconductors deal.