The S&P 500 climbed by 0.76% and the Dow was higher by 0.60%. Gold was up 1.18% and crude climbed by 0.83%. The market opened higher on the strength of better-than-expected trade surplus data from China released over night.
China’s December merchandise exports rose a stronger-than-expected 14.1% year over year versus just a 2.9% year over year gain based on November numbers.
Financial stocks traded higher today after trading lower yesterday. There were some analyst downgrades on names in the space yesterday. There were concerns based on how far the space had moved over the past few weeks. Today banks rebounded sharply ahead of earnings announcements from Wells Fargo tomorrow and most of the other large banks and brokers next week. Asset managers performed very well today.
Apple traded lower early in the day after long time bull, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, lowered his price target on the stock. After insiders at Apple said there were no plans to start selling lower margin products the stock reversed course and finished higher on the day.
In tomorrow’s economic data, November trade balance, export prices and import prices will be reported before the open. The U.S. Treasury will report its December budget mid-day.
Source: PFS Group
