Stocks opened mixed with the Nasdaq higher and the Dow and S&P lagging. The strength in the Nasdaq index was attributed to Facebook (FB) shares, which were up more than 10% at the open following the social media giant's earnings report. The market traded in a mixed fashion for most of the day but the S&P and Nasdaq both finished in the green and the Dow ended little changed, putting the finishing touches on a sold monthly performance that saw the Dow surpass 25,000 for the first time since early December, pulled the S&P out of correction territory, and included the Nasdaq posting its best month since 2015.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims surged 53,000 to 253,000 in the week ended January 26. The Employment Cost Index rose 0.7% in Q4, as analysts expected. The Chicago PMI dropped 7.1 points to 56.7 in January. New home sales jumped 16.9% to a 657,000 unit rate in November, which was much better than expected.
In China, the country's official manufacturing PMI was slightly better at 49.5, up from 49.4 in December. The official government non-manufacturing PMI reading also edged higher, rising to 54.7 from 53.8 in December.
COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Facebook (FB) jumped 11% after the social media giant reported better than expected profit and revenue on higher ad sales and product improvements.
General Electric (GE) gained 12% after the company reported earnings that were below consensus but revenue that was better than expected. GE also reported that it has reached agreement in principle with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle the investigation of WMC, its subprime mortgage unit. GE said it agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.5B, consistent with the prior reserve for this matter.
Shares of Tesla (TSLA) were fractionally lower after the company reported mixed quarterly results and the surprise departure of its chief financial officer.
Microsoft (MSFT) slid 2% after the company reported sales and earnings that were largely in-line with consensus forecasts as component shortages led to a weaker Windows OEM business, offsetting strength in its cloud and Commercial Office businesses.
Intel (INTC) shares were 1% lower after the company named its interim chief executive officer, Bob Swan, to the role permanently, ending a seven-month search for a new CEO.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that many of the biggest U.S. pharmacies and drug distributors do not have Teva's (TEVA) generic version of Mylan's (MYL) EpiPen five months after it was approved for sale in the U.S. Shares of Adamis (ADMS), which also makes an EpiPen rival, rose after the news.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Avon Products (AVP), which rose 24% after it announced plans to cut 10% of its global headcount and take a 15% inventory reduction. Also higher were 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) and Charter (CHTR), which gained a respective 20% and 14% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was H&R Block (HRB), which slid 7.5% after Goldman Sachs analyst George Tong downgraded the stock to Sell from Neutral. Also lower were Cimpress (CMPR) and PayPal (PYPL), which fell 28% and 4%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow dipped 15.19(-0.06%, to 24,999.67, the Nasdaq gained 98.66(+1.37%, to 7,281.74, and the S&P 500 advanced 23.05(+0.86%, to 2,704.10.
Ticker changed to META
+16.29 (+10.83%)
General Electric
+1.09 (+11.98%)
Tesla
-2.02 (-0.65%)
Microsoft
-1.87 (-1.76%)
Intel
-0.44 (-0.93%)
Teva
-0.15 (-0.75%)
Symbol now VTRS
-0.86 (-2.79%)
Adamas Pharmaceuticals
+0.12 (+1.35%)
Avon Products
+0.44 (+23.28%)
1-800-Flowers.com
+2.65 (+19.91%)
Charter
+41.34 (+14.27%)
H&R Block
-1.925 (-7.54%)
Cimpress
-32.96 (-28.40%)
PayPal
-3.76 (-4.07%)