The stock market closed mixed on the day as all eyes were on President Trump's decision to end participation in the Iran Nuclear deal. The Dow 30 closed higher on the day by 2, the S&P 500 came in flat and the Nasdaq 100 closed higher by 1..
Crude Oil (NYSE: USO) was the big focus, and was quite volatile today as various reports came out ahead of the Trump decision on the Iran nuclear deal. Oil sold off over 3.5% as rumors surfaced that Trump would not pull out of the deal. Bloomberg was first to report, ahead of the official announcement that Trump would impose new sanctions, but not exit the deal. As it became clear that he would in fact pull out of the deal, oil swung back towards highs of the session. The move also put pressure on the overall energy sector (NYSE: XLE), which initially sold off, but after the announcement moved back into positive territory.
Snap, Inc (NASAQ: SNAP) shares were higher by 2.14% today as the company announced yesterday that it hired a new CFO. The struggling social company announced that it hired Tim Stone from Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) who was best known for orchestrating the integration of Whole Foods when Amazon acquired it. Snap could use any help it can get as shares are still hovering just above lows, showing losses of over 50% in the last year.
Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) shares were lower on the day by 5.56% as news came out that that company is working on putting together an all cash deal to beat out Disney's (NYSE: DIS) purchase of Fox Media (NASDAQ: FOXA). Comcast has asked investment banks to double the bridge loan of $30 million they initially had so they could make the all cash offer. Previously the company offered as much as $64 billion in an all stock deal, but seems to be trying to sweeten the pot. Disney's current offer is $29.64 per share in an all stock deal.
In economic news Small business earnings rose to the highest levels in at least 45 years last month, according to a survey from the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB). The survey also showed small business optimism increased in April to a level in the top 95th percentile of its all-time average. April was the 17th consecutive month of "historically high readings."