The markets closed higher for the 5th day in a row today ahead of the State of the Union address tonight. The Dow 30 was higher by 170, the S&P 500 added 12 and the Nasdaq 100 closed higher on the day by 54. Earnings season continues to perform better than expected though analysts are still lowering their earnings expectations for the first quarter.

Sector News

REIT's broke to new highs briefly today as the bullish run seems to continue despite it's short term overbought condition. The ICF has gained over 15% since hitting a low back in December.

Technology continued it's push into the 200 day moving average today. The sector has enjoyed a strong move higher since breaking above the 50 day moving average and is now less than 2% away from what many feel will be the short term resistance area for the sector.

Homebuilders were another area that pushed slightly higher today as it also is just about to hit it's 200 day moving average. The sector has hadded about 3% since breaking out from it's downtrending base.

Stock News

Alphabet (GOOGL  ) shares were lower on the day as the company reported earnings after the close yesterday that showed a beat on earnings as well as a small beat on revenue. Spending became the focus, not only due to the rapid increase but also because of the lack of transparency about how they spent that money specifically. Technical traders will note the continued struggle with the 200 day moving average.

Archer-Daniels Midland (ADM  ) shares fell below the 50 day moving average today as the company reported earnings that were just under expectations ($0.88 vs. $0.92). Revenue also came in light as well. The company reported a "complicated and rapidly changing market" as one of the reasons for the miss. They did announced a small increase in their dividend to $0.35 from 33.5 cents.

Estee Lauder (EL  ) shares blasted off today as the company announced earnings that beat earnings expectations on revenue which also beat. The company cited stronger sales overall for their skin care brands as the driving factor for the beat. They also raised their guidance for FY 2019. Shares are just a few percent away from new highs.