The markets were higher today as investors saw efforts by President Trump to help technology firm ZTE as a sign that trade tensions were easing between the two nations. The Dow 30 was higher by 73, the S&P 500 jumped 2, and the Nasdaq 100 gained 8.
Semiconductors (NYSE: SMH) were higher on the day as it was reported that Chinese regulators will restart a review of Qualcomm's (NASDAQ: QCOM) acquisition of NXP Semiconductors. The SMH was higher by 1.74% on the day.
Brinker International (NYSE: EAT) shares were lower by 4% today, now trading almost 7% off their highs. The company, most commonly known for it's restaurant brands, Chili's and Maggiano's said that payment information of some of their guests at Chilis "was compromised in a data incident in March and April." There have been 15 public data breaches at retail companies since last year including Whole Foods (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Under Armour (NYSE: UA).
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) shares popped another 0.18% today adding to their nearly 10% gain in just two weeks. The news was that the company's Waymo Autonomous driving unit had hired a Tesla executive who was the main contact on technology matters with U.S. safety regulators. Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) were lower by 1.60% on the news.
Xerox (NYSE: XRX) shares were extra volatile today, at one point hitting new lows as the company announced it has reached a settlement agreement with Carl Ichan, and will end it's merger deal with Fujifilm. Shares briefly broke to new lows but closed lower by only 4.31% on the day.