The markets were weak today ahead of Federal Reserve Chairwoman - Jannet Yellen's speech Friday. With health care as one of the weakest sectors today the Dow 30 lost 77, the S&P 500 lost 11, and the Nasdaq 100 sold off 42. Tomorrow the focus will be on some minor economic numbers but traders expect a quiet market going into the afternoon as they prepare for Jannet Yellens speech Friday.
Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) suffered a large gap down today and was unable to recover, losing 3.50%. The maker of TurboTax software provided a weak outlook for its current quarter, even though earnings and revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter came in above expectations. Shares traded with above average volume but were able to hold a technical support area traders are eyeing.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced that it has created improved batteries that will extend the range of its vehicles. Tesla's Model S Sedan will now go 315 miles on a single charge, up from about 200. The car with a speed option called "Ludicrous mode" will go from zero to 60 miles an hour in just 2.5 seconds. Tesla boss Elon Musk claims that makes it the fastest car in the world. Shares were mostly lower (0.99%) with the weakness in the Nasdaq today.
Express (NASDAQ: EXPR) fell apart today losing 25.51% and hitting a new 52-week low first thing this morning. The retailer cut its earnings outlook for the year after delivering a miss on both its top and bottom lines for its fiscal second quarter. Revenue fell nearly 6% from a year ago as sales in existing stores came in much weaker than analysts expected. The company said on its conference call that the results reflected "challenging store traffic."
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) was back in headlines today though its shares were largely unaffected (-0.77%). The US drug maker which just bought cancer drug firm Medivation (NASDAQ: MDVN) just a couple of days ago is now buying part of AstraZeneca's (NYSE: AZN) antibiotics business. The deal is said to be valued at more than $1.5 billion.