The markets surged today and for the first time in a while the sellers couldn't re-gain control. Every market was positive today as buyers dove in on above average volume. The Dow lagged a little, but still posted a nice 210 point gain (1.32%) as American Express' (NYSE: AXP) earnings release held the average back all day. The Nasdaq 100 was the leader all day gaining 119 points (2.66%) and the S&P 500 posted a respectable 2.03% gain. An analyst with very bullish comments helped fuel a nice 5.32% pop in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) today. An analyst with Piper Jaffray recommended investors buy shares of the tech giant ahead of its quarterly earnings report next week. The firm thinks the stock can jump 50 percent helped by the iPhone 7 launch, which expected in September. Piper Jaffray has an "overweight" rating for Apple with a price target of $179 a share, which is about 86 percent above the last closing price.
American Express (NYSE: AXP) held the Dow Jones Industrial back today as it lost 12.10%. Traders noticed that at first glance, the credit card issuer appeared to have a good quarter with earnings coming in 11 cents above estimates. Revenue was also slightly above forecasts. But after comments from the company the stock got hit with several downward revisions by Wall Street analysts. American Express is looking to cut $1 billion in costs and said its 2017 earnings would be far below consensus.
Oil stocks like Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) drove early session gains. The stock spiked after halting its quarterly dividend, in an effort to save cash. The early rally didn't last long though as investors continue to worry about the long term effect of lower oil prices. Chesapeake closed down 1.13% on the day. For the past year, shares are down more than 80 percent. Chesapeake will use the expected $170 million in annual savings to buy its own debt.
Speaking of oil, the popular commodity had a monstrously positive day today gaining 9.4% up to 32.08 per barrel. The positive move stayed strong all day today closing near the highs of the day. This send the oil ETF's screaming higher as United States Oil ETF (NYSE: USO) surged 8.29% and the Oil Exploration ETF (NYSE: XOP) popped 4.13%. Oil hasn't had a 2-day move like this in over 6 months.