The markets were higher today as they continue to set a new trading range here. Interest rates took the day off which allowed the Dow 30 to be higher by 163, the S&P 500 up 2, but the Nasdaq 100 did close lower on the day by 8. Tomorrow the scheduled news is light though there are a handful of speeches from FOMC members.
Energy was a leading sector today and Oil (NYSE: USO) was the big focus. The weekly inventories report showed a decline in supply. This sent the price of oil higher by almost 2% as investors rushed to be long the commodity. The explorers (NYSE: XOP) also went along for the ride today adding almost 3% to the day. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) was the biggest gainer in the space, adding 20% after a strong earnings report.
As interest rates took a break from their push higher, interest rate sensitive sectors like REIT's (NYSE: ICF) were able to come off lows. The sector added 1.5% on the day and almost every stock in the sector was higher on the day.
Snap, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNAP) shares fell 8% on the day. As the headlines blamed the report on reality star, Kylie Jenner's negative tweet, the real news was the annual report. The company released it's first annual report which showed just how much the CEO is actually in charge. Evan Spiegel was shown to control 48.4% of the company and with his post IPO bonus of another 3%, he will slowly gain more and more control. Investors were not excited about this, and since shares have no voting rights all they could do was sell.