Friends
Stocks were quiet for much of the trading session as things were “relatively” calm on both the geopolitical front and also on the domestic front. Home Depot’s earnings were better than expected and they raised their outlook going forward, but the stock suffered anyway and was a major drag on the Dow, of which it is a member.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5 points to finish the day at 21,998. The S&P 500 was down 1 point to close at 2,464. Gold was down $12 to trade at $1,277 per ounce, while oil was up $.06 to trade at $47.65 per barrel WTI.
Ironically the retail sales number this morning was better than expected, but the retailers (not named Amazon) in general were under siege. Some are operating fine (such as Home Depot despite today’s price action), but many are struggling mightily and the group in general has been sold extensively for some quarters now. We have more retailers reporting this week. Let’s see how their shares respond.
Have a nice evening everyone.
