Stocks have spent a quiet morning trading around the flatline following a report that a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jingping is now likely to happen in April at the earliest. Given the push out in a potential resolution to the trade fight, as well as the S&P's rally of the last three sessions, its not surprising to see investors take a pause.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims rose 6,000 to 229,000 in the week ended March 9, which was roughly in-line with expectations. Import and export prices rose 0.6% apiece in February as the trade price report was stronger than expected. New home sales fell 6.9% to an annualized rate of 607,000 in January, though that's not as bad as it appears due to upward revisions in prior months.
TOP NEWS: Shares of General Electric (GE) initially sold off as the company offered lower than expected guidance for its fiscal 2019 earnings. However, the stock turned around as the company's new CEO Larry Culp held an associated call to describe his view of the "reset" year and the outlook for GE afterward. Prominent GE analyst Stephen Tusa of JPMorgan said General Electric's guidance today had an "optimistic tone," but he sees little reason to change his estimates or view on the company following the outlook call. He keeps a Neutral rating and $6 price target on GE shares, which have advanced 3% to $10.32 near noon.
Facebook (FB) shares are down nearly 2% at midday after The New York Times' Jason Henry reported that federal prosecutors are pursuing a criminal investigation into deals that the social media giant struck with global technology companies that allowed them to see users' personal information. In response to the New York Times report, Facebook said via Twitter: "It's already been reported that there are ongoing federal investigations, incl. by the Dept of Justice. As we've said, we're cooperating w/ investigators and take those probes seriously. We've provided public testimony, answered questions, and pledged that we'll continue to do so."
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Snap (SNAP), which rose 11% after BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield upgraded the stock to Buy from Netural with a price target of $15, citing the "surge in spending in North America on Snapchat from advertisers," who are increasingly focused on its "compelling" return on investment. Also higher were MongoDB (MDB) and Domo (DOMO), which gained a respective 26% and 19% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Dollar General (DG), which slipped 9% after it reported lower than expected quarterly earnings, provided guidance for fiscal 2019, raised its quarterly dividend, and upped its share repurchase authorization. Also lower after reporting quarterly results were Tailored Brands (TLRD) and Smart & Final Stores (SFS), which fell 24% and 17%, respectively.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 30.41, or 0.12%, to 25,733.30 , the Nasdaq was up 4.68, or 0.06%, to 7,648.08 , and the S&P 500 was up 2.56, or 0.09%, to 2,813.48.
General Electric
+0.3 (+2.99%)
Ticker changed to META
-3.13 (-1.81%)
Snap
+0.99 (+9.85%)
MongoDB
+26.92 (+25.80%)
Domo
+6.2 (+19.85%)
Dollar General
-11.64 (-9.65%)
Tailored Brands
-2.71 (-23.22%)
Smart & Final Stores
-1.04 (-16.40%)