Stocks closed mostly flat today as investors anxiously await tomorrow's start to the earnings season with the big banks kicking things off. The Dow 30 closed lower on the day by 14, the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq closed lower by 16 in a pretty quiet trading day.
Starting tomorrow with the large banks, earnings are expected to show growth of only 4.3% for the first quarter for the S&P 500, with revenue in the 5% range. Investors will be looking for names to beat and also raise their forward guidance to offset the weak.
Sector News
Industrials recovered slightly today as the sector has been pressured all week so far. Technical traders noted the price support in the short term as well as the bounce off lows yesterday, which hinted at the boost today. Boeing (BA ) was also supportive, as it saw a positive day for the first time this week and represents almost 9% of the popular industrial sector ETF (XLI ).
Financials (XLF ) are headed for earnings season. Large banks as well as the regional banks (KRE ) will begin to take center stage. Both areas have been farily muted this week ahead of the earnings announcements Friday from JP Morgan (JPM ), Wells Fargo (WFC ), and PNC Bank (PNC ).
Stock News
Tesla (TSLA ) shares continued their volatility today as it was reported that the company is freezing their spending expansion at the gigafactory. The report out of the Nikkei cited slowing demand for Tesla's vehicles as the reason for the freeze. Shares remain at the lower end of their years range, continuing to flirt with the $250 long-term support area.
Rite Aid (RAD ) shares broke to new lows today as the company reported an earnings loss of a penny per share, along with revenue that was lower than expected. The company is struggling to come out of the penny stock world and has announced a 1 for 20 reverse stock split that should take place on April 22nd.
Costco (COST ) shares were slightly lower on the day today as they announced store sales that came in just a little less than expected. The company reported a store sales increase of 5.9%, which was impressive year-over-year, but that came in lower than February. Shares remain near highs on the year.
