Stocks End Mixed With Earnings in Focus
U.S. stocks finished the day mixed, after touching record highs in early trading. The Dow traded on both sides of breakeven, but ultimately ended with a modest loss, as speculators weighed a mixed bag of blue-chip earnings reports, with Travelers (TRV), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Verizon (VZ), and Procter & Gamble (PG) among the stocks in focus. FAANG stock Netflix (NFLX) also garnered a healthy amount of attention after earnings, helping the Nasdaq outperform.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
How options traders are speculating ahead of GE earnings.2 retail stocks to buy before a bullish time of year.Steel stocks seeing heavy options trading ahead of earnings.Plus, Musk sends TSLA soaring; 2 surging tech stocks; and the stock sinking on an MS downgrade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 26,210.81) lost 3.8 points, or 0.01%, though it managed to touch an all-time intraday peak of 26,246.19 in early trading. TRV led the 17 advancing blue chips with a 5% gain, while JNJ paced the losers with a 4.3% drop.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,839.13) picked up 6.2 points, or 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 7,460.29) added 52.3 points, or 0.7%. The indexes touched all-time highs of 2,842.24 and 7,465.39, respectively.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 11.10) gained 0.1 point, or 0.6%, for the day.
5 Items on Our Radar Today
Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger announced today that the company will pay over 125,000 cast members and employees $1,000 cash bonuses this year, while also introducing a $50 million education program. Applicable only to those employees before Jan. 1, the incentives were said to be driven partially from the recently passed tax plan. (CNBC)Two students have died and 12 were injured after a fellow classmate opened fire on his peers early this morning at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky. The governor said the student who opened fire was detained into police custody in a "non-violent way," though no further details have been released. (Reuters)Tesla soared on Elon Musk's new compensation plan.2 tech stocks surging on impressive updates.The tech stock that sank on an Morgan Stanley downgrade.
Data courtesy of Trade-Alert
Oil Climbs to 3-Year High
Oil climbed today, reaching its highest close in over three years, amid expectations for extended Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) supply cuts, and just ahead of tomorrow's Energy Information Administration (EIA) report. March-dated crude futures finished up 90 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $64.47 per barrel.
Gold made a subtle climb higher today, as the U.S. dollar weakened to nearly three-year lows. February-dated futures finished up $4.80, or 0.4%, at $1,336.70 per ounce.