Friends
We had a somewhat calm weekend on the geopolitical front, though not so on the domestic front. Regardless, stocks rallied right from the start of trading today and were able to hold those gains throughout the trading session. Turmoil seems to be becoming the norm, whether at home or abroad, and it appears that markets continue to adapt and deal with it. For a couple of days last week it looked like the North Korean rhetoric escalation was finally taking a toll on stocks. If today is any indication, traders seem to have moved on – well, for the moment anyway. Tomorrow’s another day.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 135 points to finish the day at 21,993. The S&P 500 was up 24 points to close at 2,465. Gold was down $6 to trade at $1,287 per ounce, while oil was down $1.25 to trade at $47.57 per barrel WTI.
Though we are past the bulk of the earnings season, we still have several retailers scheduled to report. Tomorrow we’ll get numbers from Home Depot and TJX. On Wednesday we get Target, L Brands and Stein Mart. Finally on Thursday we get Wal-Mart and Ross Stores. Last week the box stores laid a big egg as their numbers continue to slump. Let’s see if any retailer not named Amazon can flourish in today’s environment. Stay tuned.
Have a nice evening everyone.
