Stocks started strong and are holding onto decent gains following two tough days for the market as the White House backs down from its shutdown threats. However, the mood is still tentative as the Fed kicks off its two-day rate setting meeting, which is widely expected to culminate tomorow with a rate hike. However, what the Fed signals will come next is the real question on the minds of investors and may have a large hand in dictating not just tomorrow's trading but how the market closes out the year.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., housing starts rose 3.2% to a 1.26M pace in November, which was better than forecast, but that was accompanied by a big downward revision to October.
COMPANY NEWS: Shares of CBS (CBS) were 1% lower after the company's board of directors issued a statement last night saying that it has determined there are grounds to terminate the employment of former chairman and CEO Les Moonves for cause. The board, following allegations of sexual misconduct against Moonves, cited Moonves' "willful and material misfeasance, violation of company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the company's investigation" for the determination. In response, Moonves' lawyer Andrew J. Levander said that the conclusions of the board are "without merit" and that Moonves "vehemently denies any non-consensual sexual relations and cooperated extensively and fully with investigators."
In earnings news, Oracle (ORCL) gained 1% after it reported better than expected second quarter earnings and revenue and provided an earnings outlook for the third quarter that exceeds Wall Street expectations. Of note, the company reported Cloud Services and License Support revenues of $6.6B for the quarter.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares were 2% higher, regaining some of the stock's losses of the past couple of sessions, after the company announced a $5B share repurchase program and maintained its guidance for fiscal 2018. In addition, CEO Alex Gorsky said on CNBC's "Mad Money" last night that he "unequivocally" believes that the company's baby powder does not contain asbestos and that many studies support the company's claims.
Meanwhile, shares of Boeing (BA) rose nearly 5% after the company's board increased its quarterly dividend 20% and replaced the existing share repurchase program with a new $20B authorization, up from the $18B approved last December.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Tilray (TLRY), which rose 12% after it signed a global framework agreement to collaborate with Novartis' (NVS) Sandoz to increase availability of high quality medical cannabis products across the world. Also higher was Navistar (NAV), which gained 13% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Rent-A-Center (RCII), which slid 13% after it terminated its merger agreement with Vintage Capital. Also lower was Luxfer (LXFR), which fell 17% after it agreed to acquire Neo Performance Materials for $612M in a cash and stock deal.
INDEXES: Near 1 pm ET, the Dow was up 304.74, or 1.29%, to 23,897.72, the Nasdaq was up 89.80, or 1.33%, to 6,843.53, and the S&P 500 was up 22.79, or 0.90%, to 2,568.73.
