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Dow Posts Third Straight Win With Nike, Trade in Focus

Gold stabilized following last week's negative price action

Managing Editor
Aug 20, 2018 at 4:22 PM
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The Dow managed its third straight day of gains, as optimism grew ahead of this week's low-level U.S.-China trade talks, and the shares of Nike (NKE) surged on the back of bull notes -- pushing the retail sector higher. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbed higher, too, with the latter erasing early losses caused by a disappointing performance out of the tech sector. 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 25,758.69) rose 89.4 points, or 0.4%, for the day. Nike stock led the 17 advancing blue chips with a 3% gain, while Walmart (WMT) paced the 12 decliners with a 1.9% drop. Meanwhile, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) finished the day flat.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,857.05) picked up 6.9 points, or 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 7,821.01) gained 4.7 points, or 0.1%.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 12.49) shed 0.2 point, or 1.2%, in today's session.

us closing index summary aug 20

nyse and nasdaq stats aug 20

5 Items on our Radar Today

  1. New Street analyst Pierre Ferragu believes Apple's (AAPL) revenue will suffer in 2019 following a vacuum in sales stemming from iPhone X users upgrading earlier than expected. Ferragu downgraded the FAANG stock to "sell" from "hold," saying "iPhone shipments are on a multiple-year decline trend." (CNBC)
  2. Swiss startup Novamem, which specializes in a water purifiers, is planning on expanding its global reach to the U.S., China, and India. The device -- which attaches to faucets -- was funded through a Kickstarter campaign, where it raised more than $70,000, and is developing an Amazon (AMZN) sales channel for its device. (MarketWatch)
  3. 2 pharma stocks that just made monster moves.
  4. Options traders blasted booming healthcare stocks
  5. This retailer has seen call-heavy options trading before earnings.

corporate earnings aug 20

unusual options volume aug 20

Data courtesy of Trade-Alert

Oil, Gold Start Week With Gains

Oil prices rose for a third straight day today, on expectations U.S. sanctions on Iran will ease global supplies. Set to expire tomorrow, the September-dated oil gained 52 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $66.43 per barrel.

Gold managed to recover some from last week's 18-month low as the dollar cooled on reports President Donald Trump criticized the Fed's recent rate hikes. December-dated gold picked up $10.40, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,194.60 per ounce -- its largest daily gain since late July.

 
 

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