The major averages opened mixed and have remained that way throughout the morning. Futures were pointing higher in early trading, but the market's fortunes turned on comments from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who said the U.S. and China were "miles and miles" away from striking a trade deal. At the same time, he said there was a fair chance a deal could be reached. The Nasdaq has stayed in positive ground all morning, while the Dow and S&P have struggled.
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.
COMPANY NEWS: Shares of U.S. airlines were moving higher at midday 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 are dominating 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.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Triumph Group (TGI), which rose 27% after Bombardier (BDRBF) agreed to acquire the Global 7500 aircraft wing program from the company. Also higher were Teradyne (TER), Aspen Technology (AZPN), and Ford (F), which gained a respective 15%, 14%, and 2% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Canada Goose (GOOS), which slid 10% after Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform and cut his price target on the shares to C$68 from C$80. Also lower were Briggs & Stratton (BGG) and McKesson (MKC), which fell 15% and 13%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 52.46, or 0.21%, to 24,523.16, the Nasdaq was up 32.90, or 0.47%, to 7,058.67, and the S&P 500 was down 0.63, or 0.02%, to 2,638.07.
Xilinx
+15.92 (+17.78%)
Texas Instruments
+6.37 (+6.67%)
Lam Research
+21.64 (+15.54%)
American Airlines
+1.84 (+5.83%)
JetBlue
+0.83 (+4.82%)
Southwest
+2.275 (+4.46%)
Delta Air Lines
+0.15 (+0.32%)
Triumph Group
+3.68 (+27.73%)
Bombardier
+ (+0.00%)
Teradyne
+4.7 (+14.72%)
Aspen Technology
+12.69 (+14.25%)
Ford
+0.23 (+2.76%)
Canada Goose
-4.95 (-9.98%)
Briggs & Stratton
-1.98 (-14.42%)
McCormick
-17.84 (-12.83%)