Stocks were mostly higher today as the focus was placed squarely on the Senate healthcare bill aimed at replacing Obamacare. Healthcare stocks were higher on the news but the S&P 500 fell later in the day, closing lower by 1. The Dow 30 also sold off near the close, losing 13. The Nasdaq 100 was able to close in the green, up 2, but was off its highs of the session. For Friday investors will be looking towards some manufacturing numbers along with new home sales which can be a market moving number.
Oracle (ORCL ) shares popped to new highs today as the company announced earnings after the close yesterday. Earnings were much greater than what Wall Street expected which the company said was driven by its cloud business. Revenue for their cloud business was up a whopping 58% to $1.4 billion. The news puts shares up over 30% for the year.
Southwest (LUV ) shares popped to new highs today after being upgraded by Argus. The company moved its rating on the stock to buy from hold and raised its price target to $68 which would be an additional 11% from where it closed today. Shares of the airline have been steady this year, in a nice uptrend which has added over 23% since January.
Staples (SPLS ) shares broke a multi-week long downtrend today when Reuters reported that private equity firm Sycamore Partners is in advanced talks to buy the office supply retailer. The deal could be worth more than $6 billion which would be a warm welcome for shareholders as the company has struggled in recent years to compete. The move today put shares back into positive territory for the year, up 4%