The markets pulled back from their highs of yesterday, as is typical after large reversal days but by the afternoon had started a rally that would move the major indices back into the positive. The Dow 30 closed higher on the day by 260, the S&P 500 gained 21, and the Nasdaq 100 closed higher by 25.
Sector News
Oil retraced some of its gains yesterday as the commodity still has to deal with oversupply issues. Investors bought oil heavily yesterday and will await the inventory numbers that are due out tomorrow. For now the commodity remains in a well-defined downtrend.
Retail stocks retreated from their highs as investors saw a complete 180 of sentiment overnight from the consumer. Data came out today that showed consumer sentiment has hit 5-month lows with concerns about the future direction of the economy. Yesterday the consumer was said to be confident and spending record amounts during the holiday season.
Stock News
JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) was in the news today as the company is reportedly paying $135 million to the SEC for errors it made in handling foreign shares traded on US markets between 2011 and 2015. Shares of the stock were lower on the day initially by about 2.5%, erasing about half of yesterday's gains, but the late-day market rally helped pull it back into positive.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Disney (NYSE: DIS) shares were both in the news today as there was no new contract announcement to continue carrying Disney content on the Verizon Fios platform. The deal is set to expire on December 31st.
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares were downgraded by RBC Capital today as the company says that the average sales price has been coming down in the secondary markets. The analyst firm lowered their target from $230 to $200 on these findings, but still says the stock will outperform.