The markets sold off slightly today as tech stocks and big names like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) were in the red. The Dow 30 lost 14, the S&P 500 sold off 5, and the Nasdaq 100 lost 29. Going into the end of the week investors will notice that it is options expiration day along with news from the housing sector. Traders will be looking at building permits which are expected to show a net increase of 20,000 new permits. Later in the morning will be consumer sentiment numbers which can also move the markets.
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) was in the news today as the company announced it would be laying off workers in its technology and operations division at its headquarters in Charlotte. The company was not clear on how many jobs will be lost. While banking stocks were down slightly today, the stock only lost 0.93%, just a small margin above the average loss of the financials. For the year shares are up almost 4%.
Kroger (NYSE: KR) shares suffered a sharp, 18.89% decline today despite announcing earnings results that were in line with estimates. Revenue was also higher than expected but investors focused in on same-store sales which fell for the second straight quarter. In addition the company was forced to lower its full-year earnings outlook which also disappointed investors. Shares hit new lows on the news, and are now lower by almost 30% on the year.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) was lower today by 1.26% with the overall markets but made headlines as the company is rumored to be looking to purchase the office messaging startup Slack. Bloomberg reported this morning that "Amazon is one of several technology companies interested in buying Slack." Analysts were quick to point out that the deal could value the company at over $9 billion. Shares of the tech giant still remain volatile after the big decline last Thursday.