Stocks opened sharply higher as they bounced from their two-day selloff which had put the market on pace for its worst December performance since 1931. The averages tacked on gains throughout the morning, but as the afternoon progressed the sellers emerged and pushed the market lower. The price of oil hit a new 52-week low as it lost roughly 7% on supply and global growth concerns. As investors remain jittery about the Fed, which began its two-day meeting today, they were also reacting to headlines regarding a looming government shutdown.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., housing starts rose 3.2% to a 1.26M pace in November, which was better than forecast, but that was accompanied by a big downward revision to October.
Concerns about record production from the U.S. and Russia as well as worries about demand amid an economic slowdown pushed WTI crude oil to its lowest settlement in almost 16 months. West Texas Intermediate oil for January delivery fell $3.64, or 7.3%, to settle at $46.24 a barrel on the NYMEX.
In political news, the Washington Post reported earlier that White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the administration wants to avoid a partial government shutdown and sees other ways to get the border wall funding U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding. The Post also said that congressional Democrats immediately spurned a follow-up offer by the Republicans to avoid a partial government shutdown. Bloomberg then reported that Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said that the party would "seriously consider" a stopgap funding measure to avoid a government shutdown.
COMPANY NEWS: Shares of CBS (CBS) finished about 1% lower after the company's board of directors issued a statement last night saying that it has determined there are grounds to terminate the employment of former chairman and CEO Les Moonves for cause. In response, Moonves' lawyer Andrew J. Levander said that the conclusions of the board are "without merit" and that Moonves "vehemently denies any non-consensual sexual relations and cooperated extensively and fully with investigators."
In earnings news, Oracle (ORCL) gained fractionally after it reported better than expected second quarter earnings and revenue and provided an earnings outlook for the third quarter that exceeds Wall Street expectations.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares were 1% higher, regaining some of the stock's losses of the past couple of sessions, after the company announced a $5B share repurchase program and maintained its guidance for fiscal 2018. In addition, CEO Alex Gorsky said on CNBC's "Mad Money" last night that he "unequivocally" believes that the company's baby powder does not contain asbestos and that many studies support the company's claims.
Meanwhile, shares of Boeing (BA) rose 4% after the company's board increased its quarterly dividend 20% and replaced the existing share repurchase program with a new $20B authorization, up from the $18B approved last December.
Additionally, Bloomberg reported that Qualcomm (QCOM) is seeking to extend the ban in China to new iPhones, but is open to a negotiated settlement with Apple (AAPL).
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Tilray (TLRY), which rose 16% after it signed a global framework agreement to collaborate with Novartis' (NVS) Sandoz to increase availability of high quality medical cannabis products across the world. In addition, fellow cannabis stock Aphria (APHA) climbed 8% after Citron Research mentioned the stock positively again, saying shares could be above $8 before the end of the year. Also higher was Navistar (NAV), which gained 16% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Rent-A-Center (RCII), which slid 10% after it terminated its merger agreement with Vintage Capital. Vintage later issued a statement saying that the termination is invalid and that the merger agreement remains in effect. Also lower was Luxfer (LXFR), which fell 12% after it agreed to acquire Neo Performance Materials for $612M in a cash and stock deal.
INDEXES: The Dow rose 82.66, or 0.35%, to 23,675.64 , the Nasdaq gained 30.18, or 0.45%, to 6,783.91, and the S&P 500 advanced 0.22, or 0.01%, to 2,546.16.
Use VIAC, VIACA
-0.6 (-1.28%)
Oracle
+0.1 (+0.22%)
Johnson & Johnson
+1.27 (+0.98%)
Boeing
+11.88 (+3.76%)
Qualcomm
+0.78 (+1.37%)
Apple
+1.76 (+1.07%)
Tilray
+10.88 (+16.51%)
Novartis
-0.4 (-0.47%)
Navistar
+3.75 (+15.73%)
APHA
+
Rent-A-Center
-1.43 (-9.90%)
Luxfer
-2.66 (-12.42%)