The markets traded in a wild range today as investors continued to digest the recent sell-off along with the start of earnings season. The Dow 30 was higher on the day by 287 after being higher by over 300 at one point and back to even at another point. The S&P 500 closed higher by 38 and the Nasdaq 100 finished the best with a gain of 167 points.
Sector News
The banking sector was in focus today as three of the majors reported earnings. The sector has sold off almost 8% this week alone. Technical traders will note that prices are now trading under all recent support and that this sell-off has left the space extended in the short term.
Tech stocks were one of the bright spots in the markets today as they were the first to try and recover from the markets declines this week. Thanks to strong moves in Netflix (NFLX ), Amazon (AMZN ), Square (SQ ), and others, tech stocks saw a much-needed break from the sell-off.
Stock News
JP Morgan (JPM ) shares initially traded higher on their earnings announcement which showed better earnings and revenue than expected. The company said that their consumer business came in stronger, which helped overall returns. Shares sold off from their highs of the day and ultimately closed lower on the day by about 1%.
Citigroup (C ) shares closed slightly higher today as the company reported earnings that came in better than expected. The company said their bond trading revenue was a big supporter, along with consumer banking businesses in Mexico. The company also said they were able to reduce their operating expenses, helping keep their margins, which pleased the Street.
Wells Fargo (WFC ) also announced earnings today, which came in mixed. The company announced revenue that was better than expected along with cutting costs which helped overall margins. They also stated that the results came from "transformational changes" they've been making and that they will continue to focus on cost-cutting and improving brand image.
