Stocks opened slightly higher amid reports the U.S. and China were talking trade again. The early strength faded shortly after the open and the averages crossed back and forth across the flat line several times during the morning session. The market held up well until the afternoon, when the sellers gained control. Oil prices continue to crater, falling another 7% and struggling to stay above $55 a barrel.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the NFIB reported that its index of small business confidence fell 0.5% to 107.4 in October. Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow said during an interview on CNBC that "all levels" of government are in trade talks with China and confirmed that trade talks will be part of G-20 meeting. WTI crude for December fell $4.24, or 7.1%, to settle at $55.69 a barrel, its lowest price this year.
COMPANY NEWS: Amazon (AMZN) confirmed recent press reports that it has selected New York City and Arlington, Virginia, as the locations for its new headquarters, stating that it will invest $5B and create more than 50,000 jobs across the two new headquarters locations. Also, Amazon selected Nashville for a new Center of Excellence for its Operations business, which the e-commerce giant said will create more than 5,000 jobs.
Home Depot (HD) was in focus following the company's report of better then expected third quarter earnings. The home improvement retailer also raised its full year outlook.
Facebook (FB) said that, following an FBI tip, it has taken down a total of 141 accounts for coordinated inauthentic behavior.
In M&A news, General Electric (GE) rose nearly 8% after the company announced a series of agreements that amend its commercial and technological relationship with Baker Hughes (BHGE), speeding up the former's plans to sell off part of its holdings in the latter. As part of the deal, Baker Hughes and GE agreed to cooperate on a proposed sale by GE of part of its stake into the market and to a concurrent repurchase of another part of GE's stake by Baker Hughes. Also, Johnson Controls (JCI) announced an agreement to sell its Power Solutions business to Brookfield Business Partners (BBU) together with institutional partners in a cash transaction valued at $13.2B.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Nvidia (NVDA), which rose 5% after Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland upgraded the stock to Positive from Neutral ahead of its upcoming earnings report. Also higher was Advance Auto Parts (AAP), which gained 11% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Qorvo (QRVO), which fell fractionally after the company lowered its revenue and earnings forecasts for the third quarter of fiscal 2019 due to recent demand changes for "flagship smartphones." Qorvo cited an unnamed customer, which is believed to be Apple (AAPL). Also lower were Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) and Tyson Foods (TSN), which declined 9% and 6%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow fell 100.69, or 0.4%, to 25,286.49 , the S&P 500 declined 4.04, or 0.15%, to 2,722.18 and the Nasdaq finished nearly unchanged at 7,200.88 .
