The markets finished the week with a quiet day of trade. Traders waited for Jannet Yellen to speak in the afternoon and she commented that the economy will continue to do better. She said that this will lead to a slow and steady raising of interest rates. Outside of the bond market, this news did little to spark any real market movement.
The Dow 30 was up 36 (0.21%), the S&P 500 gained 8 (0.42%) and the Nasdaq 100 added 31(0.65%). Next week we will get some consumer numbers, while the main focus will be on Friday's unemployment rate.
Banks were the main beneficiary of the Fed news as the financial sector (NYSE: XLF) closed near the highs of the week (0.68%). Investors continue to anticipate better performance from banks as rates do "slowly" increase.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was unable to muster up a gain today, and was the worst performing stock in the Dow 30 (-0.06%). Traders attribute this news to the downgrade that came from OTR Global. They adjusted their rating from Mixed to Negative.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) popped 5.49% as traders responded to news that the company recieved two M&A offers earlier in the year. This news sent the biotech sector higher on the day and aided in some other names gains.
Shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) were up 1.18% today after a judge ruled that the company does not need a license from Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) for its Android operating system.
In the health care space AbbVie (NASDAQ: ABBV) gained another 1.31% after the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use confirmed a positive opinion on the company's Humira medication. This marks the fourth green day in a row , with shares nearly reaching new 2016 highs.