Markets closed mixed on Wall Street today:
▲ Dow +0.12 percent▲ S&P +0.07 percent
▼ Nasdaq -0.11 percent
▲ Oil +2.37 percent
▲ Gold +2.03 percent
On the commodities front:
▲ Oil (NYSE:USO) rose to $106.06 a barrel▲Gold (NYSE:GLD) climbing to $1,760.90 an ounce
▲ Silver (NYSE:SLV) rose 3.43 percent to settle at $34.43
(Related: Will Higher Gas Prices Derail the Recovery?)
Today’s markets were mixed because:
1) Greece: Today’s initial gains were driven by progress made in Greece after weeks of negotiating ended early Tuesday with a deal that will provide Athens with the 130 billion euros in funding it needs to stave off default. However, while the deal sparked a modest rally in the morning, investors had already largely priced in the all-but-certain conclusion.
2) Financials: Though the early rally dissipated in the afternoon, financial stocks stayed positive. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Bank of America, and Citigroup all closed up between 0.6 percent and 2 percent. Of the financial heavyweights, only JPMorgan and Wells Fargo were in the red, the former dipping just below the break-even point in the last few minutes of trading.
3) Companies: Netflix shares fell 3 percent after Comcast announced a new video streaming service for all of its cable subscribers, while Home Depot got a boost after reporting fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations. Macy’s also reported better-than-expected earnings and sales that were in line with forecasts, while Wynn Resorts shares climbed as much as 6 percent on reports that the company plans to buy out Japanese gambling tycoon Kazuo Okada’s 20 percent stake at a big discount.
[Editor’s note: the above is a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat sheet.]
