Stocks opened deep in negative territory and just like yesterday saw their lows shortly after the open. The market quickly pared its losses and by the second hour of trading was firmly higher. The Dow has tacked on gains of over 1% that, added to yesterday's big advance, has helped the bluechip index recoup a good portion of its losses from the recent selloff. Oil prices remain under pressure following the weekly DOE inventory report. The price of crude is now down about 2% to trade just above $62 a barrel. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., NYMEX crude prices dipped following the EIA inventory data which showed a 1.9M barrel rise in inventory versus the 3.25M increase the Street had been expecting. Gasoline supplies rose 3.4M barrels, while distillate stocks were up 3.9M barrels, both of which were greater than expected build-ups. A report on consumer credit growth in December is due out at 3pm ET. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Wynn Resorts (WYNN) have jumped 8% after the casino owner announced that its board "reluctantly" accepted the resignation of Steve Wynn as CEO and Chairman of the board following the recent sexual misconduct allegations made against the mogul... Snap Inc. (SNAP) shares have surged 39% higher after the parent of the Snapchat app reported a smaller than expected loss per share and an acceleration in growth of daily active users. Following Snap's quarterly report, at least seven Wall Street research firms upgraded the stock this morning... Dow member Disney (DIS) is down fractionally after its theme parks and the latest "Star Wars" film drove better than expected earnings results last quarter though its revenue fell a bit short of expectations. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Weight Watchers (WTW), which jumped 17% after the company announced strategic initiatives, saying it aims to increase revenue to more than $2B by the end of 2020. Also higher after reporting quarterly results were Model N (MODN), Zendesk (ZEN), and Akamai (AKAM), which gained a respective 25%, 7%, and 4.5%. Among the notable losers was Netgear (NTGR), which fell nearly 10% after it reported quarterly results and announced the planned separation of its Arlo business. Also lower after reporting quarterly results were MACOM (MTSI), Chipotle (CMG), and MagnaChip (MX), which slid 32%, 11%, and 8.5%, respectively. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 313.04, or 1.26%, to 25,225.81, the Nasdaq was up 29.80, or 0.42%, to 7,145.68, and the S&P 500 was up 25.10, or 0.93%, to 2,720.24.
