JPM finished the day as the worst Dow stock
It was a roller-coaster ride on Wall Street, with the major market indexes erasing earlier leads to close lower. The largest contributor to the Dow's reversal was a negative earnings reaction for JPMorgan Chase (JPM), which swung to the bottom of the blue chips after starting the session in positive territory. Rumors of new U.S. tariff proposals on Chinese products, a disappointing reading on consumer sentiment, and uncertainty surrounding Syria also created headwinds, though the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq did manage to end the week in the black.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Analyst: "Buy" this FAANG stock before earnings.
- Call buyers flocked to Bank of America stock ahead of earnings.
- Options volume hit a new high on this rallying energy stock.
- Plus, a quick refresher on short call spreads; the tweet that TSLA rallied on; and Jefferies' top pharma pick.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 24,360.14) fell 122.9 points, or 0.5%, for the day, but gained 1.8% for the week.* General Electric (GE) was the biggest of the 13 gainers, surging 2.4%. JPM was the biggest loser, falling 2.7%.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,656.30) shed 7.7 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 7,106.65) lost 33.6 points, or 0.5%. The indexes gained 2% and 2.8%, respectively, for the week.
The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 17.41) lost 1 point, or 5.8%, for the day and 19% for the week.
5 Items on Our Radar Today
- Goldman Sachs (GS) said now is the time to invest in and own commodities. According to the brokerage firm, it could be a profitable time to own crude and precious metal resources amid rising global political tensions, with one analyst projecting the yield return for commodities could hit 10% over the next year. (Bloomberg)
- Scandal-ridden Wells Fargo (WFC) could reportedly pay up to a $1 billion fine to settle loan abuse investigations. A settlement of this magnitude could cause the bank to restate its financial results, with WFC earlier reporting a first-quarter profit beat. (Reuters)
- Breaking down short call spreads.
- The Elon Musk tweet that sent Tesla stock rallying.
- Pharma stock named a top pick at Jefferies.
Data courtesy of Trade-Alert
Oil, Gold Both Notch Weekly Gains
Oil enjoyed its biggest weekly gain since July, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said global oil supplies were falling, and fear over a possible U.S. air strike on Syria swirled. May-dated crude touched a three-year high in intraday trading, before finishing the day 32 cents, or 0.5%, higher, at $67.39 per barrel, and the week up 8.6%.
Gold finished the day higher to log a second weekly win, as geopolitical friction increased the appeal of the safe-haven asset. June-dated futures ended the day $6, or 0.5%, higher at $1,347.90 per ounce, and closed up 0.8% on the week.
*Editor's note: An earlier version of this article inaccurately described the Dow's weekly performance. We regret the error.