The markets sold off today as the new President of the United States, Donald Trump had his first business day in the White House. Investors were cautious to make any major decisions until they see more of what a Trump administration will look like. The Dow 30 was off by 21, the S&P 500 lost 5, and the Nasdaq 100 lost 2. Tomorrow traders will look more closely at Trumps actions along with some news about existing home sales due out early in the morning.
McDonald's (MCD ) had a wild day of trade today as the fast food giant announced a beat on its fourth quarter earnings. The company attributed this to "better than expected same store sales overseas and in the US." Global comparable sales rose 2.7%, which beat analysts expectations. The only bad news was that in the US, comparable store sales fell by 1.3% which may have been one of the reasons the stock sold off 0.73% today.
Halliburton (HAL ) sold off 2.94% today despite the oil services provider announcing earnings that beat analysts estimates. The company cited a rise in crude prices which motivated oil producers to put more rigs back to work in North American shale fields. The one blemish on the report was revenue which fell nearly 21% from a year earlier. This was one of the driving forces behind the profit taking seen on shares today.
Qualcomm (QCOM ) sold off another 12.72% today, adding to the 2% drop on Friday. Shares sold off due to the news that Apple (AAPL ) filed a lawsuit against the company accusing it of overcharging for chips and refusing to pay some $1 billion in promised rebates. Shares plummeted ahead of earnings on the 25th with extremely above average volume.