Friends
A much stronger than expected retail sales number sent bond yields higher this morning and stock prices lower. Stocks did recover to work their way into positive territory later in the day, but by the close the market averages had fallen back into negative territory. On the earnings front J&J, Goldman Sachs, Lockheed Martin, and Bank of America all had better than expected numbers. The share price reactions to the good earnings, however, were not impressive.
Anyway, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 13 points to finish the day at 33,997. The S&P 500 was down a fraction to close at 4,373. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 34 points to close at 13,533. Gold was up $1 to trade at $1,935 per ounce, while oil was up $.55 to trade at $87.21 per barrel WTI.
Remember, expectations were pretty high going into this earnings season, so it will be interesting to see if today’s lackluster responses to releases are going to be typical of the action in the next few weeks. We will let you know.
Have a nice evening everyone.
