The major averages had a mixed open, with the Dow and S&P higher and the Nasdaq struggling initially under the weight of Amazon’s (AMZN) shares, which fell following the company's quarterly report. After the last of the economic reports were released and showed solid ISM data and a lower, but not terrible, consumer confidence reading, the Nasdaq was able to join the Dow and S&P with gains.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S.:
COMPANY NEWS: Amazon reported what was called a "solid but noisy" quarter, with better than expected sales and profits during the holiday season but a lower than expected revenue outlook for the first three months of 2019. The e-commerce giant, which also spoke about increased investments on its earnings conference call, is seeing its shares slide 4% in reaction to last night's quarterly report.
Oil majors Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) each reported better than expected earnings for the fourth quarter, sending their shares up 4% apiece near noon.
Merck (MRK) reported Q4 earnings and revenue that were each a bit better than expected and gave guidance for the new fiscal year that was fairly close to the consensus forecast. Shares of the drugmaker reacted positively, advancing nearly 4%.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Aphria (APHA), which rose 10% after it introduced its first cannabis strains produced in Europe. Also higher were Symantec (SYMC) and Yum China (YUMC), which gained a respective 11% and 10% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Vedanta (VEDL), which fell 17% after Goldman Sachs analyst Indrajit Agarwal downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy. Also lower was Sony (SNE), which declined 10% in New York after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 165.06, or 0.66%, to 25,164.73, the Nasdaq was up 13.87, or 0.19%, to 7,295.60 , and the S&P 500 was up 10.15, or 0.38%, to 2,714.25 .
Amazon.com
-69.28 (-4.03%)
Exxon Mobil
+2.51 (+3.43%)
Chevron
+4.27 (+3.73%)
Merck
+2.81 (+3.77%)
APHA
+
SYMC
+
Yum China
+3.74 (+10.25%)
Vedanta
-1.91 (-17.08%)
Symbol now SONY
-4.62 (-9.22%)