Stocks opened with modest gains and moved in a fairly narrow range in the early hours before gaining a bit of downward momentum in the afternoon. With the market in the bit of a news vacuum there has been little for investors to key on beyond headlines regarding trade talks between the U.S. and China and comments from President Trump about whether the summit with North Korea will take place in June as scheduled. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Richmond Fed manufacturing index came in at 16, versus the consensus call for a May reading of 10. On the trade front, China's Finance Ministry said that it will cut import tariffs on some vehicles to 15% from as high as 25%, adding that tariffs on some automotive parts would fall to 6%. Additionally, The Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. and China have reached the broad outline of a deal to settle the controversy over ZTE (ZTCOY) that would lift the ban on U.S. companies selling components and software to the Chinese telecom company in exchange for major management changes and fines. According to CNBC, however, U.S. president Donald Trump said that his administration has not yet reached an agreement with China on ZTE. In energy news, Reuters reported that OPEC may raise oil output as soon as June amid worries over Iranian and Venezuelan supply as well as U.S. concerns about the extent of the recent rally in oil prices. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of J.C. Penney (JCP) slid 6% after the department store owner announced that Chairman and CEO Marvin Ellison will resign to take over as CEO at home improvement retailer Lowe's (LOW). Lowe's shares, which initially were reacting favorably to what Baird analyst Peter Benedict told investors was a "best-case scenario" for Lowe's shareholders, reversed and closed about 2% lower... Elsewhere in retail, Kohl's (KSS) shares fell 7.5% after the department store operator reported better than expected first quarter sales and profits that were boosted by a shift in its "Friends & Family" promotion... Micron (MU) shares rose a bit over 6% after the company hosted its investor day event yesterday, where it pre-announced better than expected quarterly results, announced a $10B stock buyback authorization and reported progress in its 3D NAND technology joint efforts with Intel (INTC)... Meanwhile, Amazon (AMZN) was in focus after the American Civil Liberties Union said it objects to the tech giant selling its facial recognition tool to the government. The ACLU said it sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos demanding that the company stop providing such technology to the government, saying that the tool is "primed for abuse in the hands of governments, poses a grave threat to communities already unjustly targeted in the current political climate, and undermines public trust in Amazon." MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Photronics (PLAB), which rose 7.7% after reporting quarterly results. Also higher was Ferroglobe (GSM), which gained 4% after reporting quarterly results and after its board reinstated the dividend with an interim payment of 6c per share. Among the notable losers was Pure Storage (PSTG), which dropped 6% after it reported quarterly results and provided guidance for the second quarter and fiscal 2019. Also lower was Toll Brothers (TOL), which fell about 10% after the homebuilder's report of quarterly results. INDEXES: The Dow fell 178.88, or 0.72%, to 24,834.41, the Nasdaq lost 15.58, or 0.21%, to 7,378.46, and the S&P 500 declined 8.55, or 0.31%, to 2,724.46.
