Stocks opened mixed, with the Nasdaq in positive ground and the Dow and S&P just below the flat line. The early action dictated how the rest of the day would go as the averages moved in a narrow range all session. The market seemed to strike a cautionary tone following mixed messages from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who said the U.S. and China were "miles and miles" from a trade deal, while also stating he sees a fair chance a deal could be reached. The market drifted through most of the afternoon as investors prepared for the next round of earnings reports and lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle dug in as the government shutdown drags on.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims dropped 13,000 to 199,000 in the week ended January 19. Markit's flash manufacturing PMI bounced 1.1 points to 54.9 in January, in contrast to weakening trends overseas. The leading economic index unexpectedly fell 0.1% to 111.7 in December, which was weaker than projected.
In Capitol Hill news, the U.S. Senate could not pass two separate bills to fund the government and U.S. President Donald Trump's border wall. A Democratic measure to reopen agencies until February 8 failed by a vote of 52-44, which was below the 60 needed to advance it, while another bill that would have included $5.7B for border security fell in a 50-47 vote. The news comes after the president tweeted earlier that he and Republicans "will not cave" on the border wall.
COMPANY NEWS: Shares of U.S. airlines advanced after American Airlines (AAL), JetBlue (JBLU) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) beat Wall Street estimates. The trio of better than expected reports come in contrast to the recent report from peer Delta (DAL), which was seen as more downbeat.
Semiconductor stocks dominated the top of the gainers list on the S&P 500 after Xilinx (XLNX) reported Q3 results and guided Q4 "well above" consensus estimates, Lam Research (LRCX) delivered results and guidance that were better than feared and Texas Instruments (TXN) reported a Q4 earnings beat but gave a Q1 earnings outlook that was below consensus at the midpoint.
Meanwhile, PG&E (PCG) shares surged 75% higher after the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection determined that the Tubbs Fire that happened during the October 2017 Fire Siege was caused by a private electrical system adjacent to a residential structure. Cal Fire said that investigators did not identify any violations of state law, Public Resources Code, related to the cause of this fire.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Triumph Group (TGI), which rose 26% after Bombardier (BDRBF) agreed to acquire the Global 7500 aircraft wing program from the company. Also higher were Teradyne (TER) and Ford (F), which gained a respective 13% and 3% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Canada Goose (GOOS), which slid 7% after Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform. Also lower were Briggs & Stratton (BGG) and McKesson (MCK), which fell 16% and 0.5%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow slipped 22.38, or 0.09%, to 24,553.24 , the Nasdaq gained 47.69, or 0.68%, to 7,073.46, and the S&P 500 advanced 3.63, or 0.14%, to 2,642.33.
American Airlines
+2.09 (+6.62%)
JetBlue
+0.89 (+5.17%)
Southwest
+3.255 (+6.39%)
DallasNews
+ (+0.00%)
Xilinx
+16.49 (+18.41%)
Lam Research
+21.92 (+15.74%)
Texas Instruments
+6.59 (+6.90%)
PG&E
+6.09 (+75.84%)
Triumph Group
+3.47 (+26.15%)
Bombardier
+ (+0.00%)
Teradyne
+4.07 (+12.75%)
Ford
+0.26 (+3.12%)
Canada Goose
-3.53 (-7.12%)
Briggs & Stratton
-2.185 (-15.91%)
McKesson
-0.665 (-0.53%)