The markets started higher today as China agreed to talks with the U.S. to end trade disagreements. There was even a report that China offered to buy more semiconductors from the U.S. to help cut their surplus. The news sent the Dow 30 higher on the day by 672, the S&P 500 up 70, and the Nasdaq 100 higher by 227.
Facebook (NYSE: FB) shares fell fell over 6% on the open today as the FTC announced that it is looking into the data practices of the social media company. Last week the FTC declined to comment, but today they confirmed that it has an open, non-public investigation following the Cambridge Analytica breach where data of more than 50 million users was improperly obtained. Shares were lower by nearly 20% in just the last seven trading days until investors came in and bought the dip. Shares recovered all of their losses, finishing higher on the day by 0.5%.
Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) shares were higher by 6.5% today as investors cheered the announcement that the CEO, Robert Niblock is retiring. He served as CEO for 13 years and investors are anxious for a change of leadership to better compete with the likes of Home Depot (NYSE: HD). Despite the big move today, shares are still in the red for the year by 3%.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) shares were higher on the day by 7.5% as Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) analysts announced that they think the company will reach $1 trillion in value thanks to their move into the cloud. The analyst went as far as raising their 12 month price target to $130, which implies 40% upside from these levels.
In other news General Electric (NYSE: GE) shares sunk to their lowest levels in almost 10 years. The stock has been under severe pressure over the past few years as the company completely overhauls its legacy model, including a massive breakup.