The markets finished with a small gain on the day after moving into negative territory early in the session. The Dow 30 closed higher by 171, led by positive earnings out of a handful of names while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 added 5 on the day. Earnings continues to be the driving focus as the season ramps up.
Sector News
Utilities continued it's move off lows this week after the end of year sell off. For the last few weeks utilities have traded in a larger range but technical traders note the series of slightly higher highs and higher lows.
Oil sold off again on Wednesday and continues to be one of the downside leaders. The price per barrel has been stuck at a technical resistance area of around $54 as investors await the crude oil inventory report. The number will be out tomorrow due to the holiday Monday. Since hitting a low in December the price of oil is higher by over 20%.
Transports have been one of the downside leaders this week as well. The move so far this week has retracted all of the gains seen on Friday and very nearly erasing all of the gains seen last week. Technical traders will note the resistance along with the downtrending 50 day moving average.
Stock News
Capital One (NYSE: COF) shares sold off today after missing earnings by a wide margin ($2 vs. $2.37). Investors sold off shares today as revenue was also lower than expected along with the company seeing a sharp increase in marketing costs. The stock remains in a downtrend which started back in September.
Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) shares were higher on the day following an earnings beat along with higher revenues than expected. The company also announced a dividend increase of 10% which helped break the stock out of a recent range in the $36 area.
United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) share shot higher today as the company reported earnings ($1.95 vs. $1.53) and revenue that was higher than expected. The recent Rockwell Collins acquisition was cited as a boon to their revenue beat. Shares are now higher by about 16% since hitting a low in December.