The markets were positive today though not uniformly. The Dow 30 closed higher by 101, the S&P 500 closed higher by 7 and the Nasdaq closed the day with a gain of 5. More meetings in China regarding the trade deal along with President Xi making an appearance at the meetings calmed investors fears of trade issues ahead of the deadline.
Sector News
Oil was higher today despite U.S. inventory reports that showed an increase of 3.6 million barrels. Investors continue to see higher prices on news that Saudi Arabia will reduce production to 9.8 million barrels per day in March which was 500k barrels more than expected.
Retail stocks pulled back today after attempting early in the day to break above it's recent range. The retail sector has been marking time near highs for most of the year. Technical traders are looking for the breakout to offer the next move higher but will have to wait for now.
Stock News
Hilton Worldwide (HLT ) shares blasted off today as the company announced earnings of $0.79 cents which beat Wall Street's expectations of $0.69. The company also reported revenue that was higher than expected along with positive forward guidances as the company said they saw better results from the high end of travel with customers paying higher prices. Technical traders note the gap above the 200 day moving average today as well.
Dish (DISH ) sold off today as the company reported earnings that were less than expected. Revenue was generally inline overall. Investors focused on the decline in the number of subscribers. Dish showed a net loss of 334,000 pay-TV subscribers finishing the year with 12.32 million subscribers.
Activision Blizzard (ATVI ) shares were higher today as the company reported earnings that were just better than expected (+0.01). Revenue was light but the company announced that it would be tightening it's belt by laying off about 8% of their workforce. The company is rapidly trying to increase the number of developers by about 20% so they can pump out new content.
