Friends
Earnings season has begun, and by all measures it’s off to a pretty nice start. We got positive numbers from Johnson & Johnson and United Healthcare, and the banks led by J P Morgan Chase and Citigroup also provided a catalyst to the market. Dow component Goldman Sachs was a disappointment, but the stock weathered the storm as the trading session unfolded.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 237 points to close at 27,024. The S&P 500 was up 29 points to finish the day at 2,995. Gold was down $13 to trade at $1,484 per ounce, while oil was down $.68 to trade at $52.91 per barrel WTI.
We get more earnings reports from banks as the week unfolds, including Bank of America tomorrow, but J P Morgan Chase’s number were extremely good. If we are to be heading into a recession any time soon, (yes, we will have a recession again someday), it appears that at least the banks are in much better shape than they were before the great recession 10 years ago. It was a good day for stocks and a strong start to this earnings season, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves-it’s only one day.
Have a nice evening everyone. Go Astros!
