Stock Market News For November 16, 2016

U.S benchmarks finished in the green once again with the Dow hitting an all time high for the fourth straight session on the back of strong rebound in energy and technology stocks. Energy sector gained following jump in oil prices, which was primarily led by increasing possibility of a production cut. Meanwhile, newly created opportunity to grab on quality tech stocks, which took a hit following Trump’s victory, at lower prices helped the sector to regain investor attention.

For a look at the issues currently facing the markets, make sure to read today’s Ahead of Wall Street article.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) increased 0.3%, to close at 18,923.06. The S&P 500 rose nearly 0.8% to close at 2,180.39. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 5,275.62, gaining 1.1%. Meanwhile, the fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) declined nearly 5.6% to settle at 13.37. A total of around 8.4 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, higher than the last 20-session average of 7.8 billion shares. Advancers outpaced declining stocks on the NYSE. For 71% stocks that advanced, 27% declined.

Rebound in Tech & Energy Stocks

Renewed investor focus on investing in tech sector offset concerns that Trump’s policy may have a negative impact on behemoths from the sector. The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLK) gained 1.4% and was one of the biggest gainers among the broader S&P 500 sectors. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). (AAPL) along with the FANG stocks, which comprises of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Inc. (FB), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Inc. (AMZN), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Inc. (NFLX) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc. (GOOGL), significant increase yesterday and helped the Nasdaq to outperform the Dow and S&P 500. Shares of Apple, Facebook, Amazon.com, Netflix and Alphabet rose 1.3%, 1.8%, 3.4%, 0.2% and 2.9%, respectively.

Moreover, speculations resurfaced that Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members may come up with a fruitful solution in their upcoming meeting, which is scheduled to be held on Nov 30. This had a positive impact on oil prices, which eventually boosted energy sector. The prices of WTI and Brent crude jumped 5.4% to their respective two-week high levels of $45.81 a barrel and $46.95 per barrel.

Also, the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLE) rose 2.8% and emerged as the best performer among the broader S&P 500 sectors. Shares of the two Dow components from the domain – Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (XOM) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (CVX) – rose 1.8% and 2.2%, respectively. Both of the these stocks hold a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Encouraging Domestic Economic Data

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that retail sales jumped 0.8% in October following a revised 1% increase in previous month, also higher than the consensus estimate of 0.6% rise. It was the best two-month gains registered in more than two years. Retail sales also surged 4.3% last month from the year-ago period.

Separately, the reading of New York Empire State Index, which is considered to be a potential indicator of the condition of the manufacturing sector in New York, came in at 1.5 this month, in contrast to a negative reading of 6.8 registered in October. Moreover, import price index rose 0.5% last month, compare to the consensus estimate of 0.4% increase and September’s gain of 0.2%.

Stocks That Made Headlines

Target (TGT) Q3 Earnings & Sales Beat Estimates; Ups View

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) (TGT) continued with its positive earnings streak for the third quarter in a row, as it reported third-quarter fiscal 2016 results. (Read More)

Lowe's (LOW) Misses Q3 Earnings, Trims FY16 EPS Outlook

Lowe’s Companies Inc.’s (LOW) top and bottom-line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second consecutive quarter, as the company reported third-quarter fiscal 2016 results. (Read More)

Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) Beats on Q3 Earnings, Cuts View

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NYSE:TEVA) Ltd. (TEVA) reported third-quarter earnings of $1.28 per share (including equity compensation expenses), which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.27. (Read More)

Viacom Inks Deal with Telefonica (MC:TEF) to Buy Television Federal

Viacom Inc. (VIAB) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Telefonica S.A (TEF) to acquire Television Federal S.A. (Telefe). (Read More)

Nasdaq (NDAQ) Picks President Adena Friedman as New CEO

Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) named Adena Friedman as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective Jan 1, 2017. Friedman – who is currently the president and chief operating officer of Nasdaq – will become the first woman to be at the helm of a major U.S. stock exchange. (Read More)

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APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report

FACEBOOK INC-A (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report

AMAZON.COM INC (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report

NETFLIX INC (NFLX): Free Stock Analysis Report

ALPHABET INC-A (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report

EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report

CHEVRON CORP (CVX): Free Stock Analysis Report

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