The markets were slightly higher on the day after starting modestly lower. The Dow 30 closed higher on the day by 122, the S&P 500 added 11, and the Nasdaq 100 closed higher on the day by 28. Weakness in retail, the government shutdown, and comments from the Fed chairman helped shape the markets today, with many analysts feeling they've become temporarily overbought.

Sector News

Reits had a nice bump higher today as Federal reserve comments continue to suggest a slowing of rate hikes. Technical traders will note the recent runup has made it back to the 200-day moving average.

Retail stocks were hammered today on a slew of disappointing data from the individual retailers. While technical traders will attribute it to the 50-day moving average resistance, news from Macy's and others helped to pull the sector back as well.

Stock News

Macy's (M  ) made headlines today as the company announced weak results for the 2018 holiday shopping season. The retailer also cut its full-year outlook for 2019. Shares sold off nearly 20% on the news, headed back towards 52-week lows.

Target (TGT  ) shares fell today despite some good news that they saw a sharp increase in the number of shoppers over the holiday season. The company showed that web traffic grew 5.7% compared to 3.4% last year. Despite these positives, the company did not raise their profit outlook for the quarter, which concerned investors.

Boeing (BA  ) topped the list as one of the best performers in the Dow today as the company was upgraded by Morgan Stanley (MS  ). The analyst sees a 30% upside potential from here and "is comfortable" recommending the stock considering its recent 15% slide.