The markets were mostly flat today as investors weighed the data from the FOMC minutes. The results of the minutes showed that the members were generally optimistic about the economy, but at a disagreement about when to raise rates again. The Dow 30 was up 29, the S&P 500 up 4, and the Nasdaq 100 gained 1. Tomorrow trades will look to the Manufacturing and unemployment data for further guidance.
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) shot up over 15% first thing today, hitting new 2016 highs along the way after the apparel retailer announced better than expected second-quarter earnings. Revenue also came in above expectations as the company's profit jumped 10% from a year ago. The company attributes this to a rise in sales and fewer markdowns.
Target (NYSE: TGT) was not so lucky. Shares closed down over 6% today as the discount department store chain lowered its profit forecast for the year. They did this because their earnings announcement included a sales decline at existing stores for the second quarter. In addition, overall revenue fell 7% but was still in line with analysts estimates. On the bright side, earnings did exceed analyst expectations, but investors couldn't overlook the profit forecast.
Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) also suffered an earnings drop losing over 5% today. The company cut its outlook for the year after it missed top and bottom line expectations for the second quarter. The company blamed this on weaker same-store sales growth. Remember yesterday their rival Home Depot reported strong quarterly results.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) made the news today as reports announced it is planning to lay off up to 14,000 employees. If this is true, the job cuts represent about 20% of Cisco's global workforce. Shares were down over 1% on the news. But the news isn't over yet as Cisco is set to report quarterly results after the close of trading today.