The markets enjoyed a bullish day today as the earnings tidal wave picked up steam. The Dow 30 closed higher on the day by 144, the S&P 500 closed up 25, and the Nasdaq closed higher by 105. This marked a record for the S&P and Nasdaq.
This week, investors continue to expect earnings to be the major focus with about 30% of the S&P reporting Q1 performance. Tomorrow, investors will look towards Boeing (BA ), Caterpillar (CAT ), Facebook (FB ), Tesla (TSLA ), and more.
Sector News
Communication Services (XLC ) continues to be a leader overall thanks in part to some of the larger names in the space. Facebook (FB ), which has been steadily moving above the range set from January to March is part of the support. Facebook makes up about 20% of the sector. Netflix (NFLX ) has also been a recent supporter of the sector, as it's moved back towards the high end of its 3-month range.
Oil (USO ) has been a major focus for a number of reasons. First, on Monday the U.S. announced they would not extend the waiver program that allowed some countries to buy Iranian oil. After May 2nd, anyone who continues to buy oil from Iran will be subject to sanctions by the U.S. Analysts have anticipated this will pull over 1 million barrels per day off the global supply, which sent prices to new highs on the year. Oil is now higher by over 40% on the year.
Healthcare (XLV ) has recovered somewhat after last week's collapse. Investors have seen the waterfall drop as a short-term discounted opportunity. Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders continues to support his stance on expanding Medicare for all. The headline that has pulled the sector down.
Financials (XLF ) have been quiet this week but remain at highs for the year. Following the bullish burst seen last week as many names in the sector reported earnings, the financials have been content to sit mostly idle at those highs.
Stock News
Coca-Cola (KO ) shares recovered some of last earnings' gap lower as the company beat expectations by 2 cents. Revenue also beat as the company says they've seen improved sales of some of their new soft drink flavors.
Verizon (VZ ) shares sold off today despite beating Wall Street's expectations on earnings. The company saw revenue just under expectations, which investors focused on in the short term, though the company did raise their guidance for the rest of 2019.
Twitter (TWTR ) shares blasted off today as the company reported earnings 17 cents higher than expectations. Revenue was also higher than expected, but the focus was on daily active users, which the company just started reporting. It came in at 134 million, which was well above expectations, and increased by 8 million from the previous quarter. Technical traders note the breakout above the 8-month range.
