Today the S&P 500 and Dow Jones international Average are still up near all-time highs – in fact not much has changed value-wise from earlier in the week. These indices now appear to be doing the crab crawl the same way that Bitcoin did throughout that calm season prior to the bloodbath at Thanksgiving and the debacle at Christmas.
As for focal points in today’s market, Benzinga is reporting that contemporary earnings reports by three garment makers are getting some focus in today’s Wall Street crowd.
There’s Abercrombie and Fitch, which is reporting quarterly earnings today on revenue of over $1 billion.
American Eagle Outfitters is posting quarterly earnings estimated at $0.042 per share on revenues of $1.26 billion.
Urban Outfitters has already reported positive earnings for Q4.
The first of these three companies experienced a stock increase of around 11% after reporting larger than expected sales numbers.
“The teen-focused apparel maker has been adapting to changing millennial tastes by reworking its image, from dropping its famous logo-emblazoned tees in favor of trendier clothing to giving its once dimly-lit stores a makeover,” Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, Zacks characterizes market activity lately in terms of US/China trade relations.
“On Mar 4, reports surfaced that the United States and China were in the final stages of closing a trade deal,” Zacks analysts write. “China is believed to have agreed to reduce tariffs on farm, chemical, auto and other products from the United States. In return, America was considering nixing most of its sanctions on Chinese products. However, lack of any other catalysts to boost the markets weighed heavily on investor sentiment. Further, market watchers waited for further solid developments on the trade front and refrained from indulging in heavy trading.”’’
Yahoo Finance has this to say about the trade issue:
“President Donald Trump is pressuring U.S. trade negotiators to cut a deal with China soon in hope of fueling a market rally, as he grows increasingly concerned that the lack of an agreement could drag down stocks, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Yahoo Finance also goes into market activity around General Electric:
“GE shares tumbled after the company said it sees ‘significant known headwinds to 2019 cash flow’ for its industrial division,” analysts write.
Look for more as we progress toward today’s closing bell.
