Stock trading was reminiscent of yesterday's session as Fed Chair Powell was once again giving testimony to Congress that reinforced the belief that the Fed stands ready to lower rates later this month and a major index once again rose above a round number milestone. This time it was the Dow getting above 27,000 for the first time a day after the S&P first broke above 3,000. While the S&P failed to close above 3K, the Dow did manage to hold 27K while the Nasdaq slipped a bit in what was generally a quiet day of trading.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the June Consumer Prices Index beat assumptions with gains of 0.1% headline and 0.3% for the core reading. Initial jobless claims dropped 13,000 to 209,000 in the first week of July, which included the Independence Day holiday.
Meanwhile, Politico reported that senior officials in the Trump administration agree that China defied U.S. sanctions when it imported over a million barrels of crude oil from Iran last month, but are grappling with whether to hit back.
TOP NEWS: Shares of pharmaceutical distributors and owners of pharmacy benefit managers rose following reports saying that the Trump administration has withdrawn its proposal to eliminate rebates from government drug plans. After the news, shares of CVS Health (CVS) gained 5%, Cigna (CI) jumped 9%, UnitedHealth (UNH) advanced 5.5% and Anthem (ANTM) closed 5.5% higher.
Delta (DAL) advanced about 1% after the airline operator reported better than expected second quarter revenue and profits and raised its earnings outlook for the fiscal year.
Fastenal (FAST) moved in the opposite direction after earnings, sliding 3% after the industrial parts supplier said that "general economic activity remained positive," but it "did see slowing in the second quarter of 2019 relative to activity levels experienced in the first quarter of 2019."
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that the California assembly has passed a wildfire-liability bill that is now moving on to Gavin Newsom, the state's governor, for his approval. The Wall Street Journal also reported that legislators "ultimately sided with bondholders" over shareholders by writing a bill that lets PG&E (PCG) issue securitization bonds to pay victims from future wildfires, but not to pay off claims from fires it already caused.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Nutanix (NTNX), which rose 4% after William Blair analyst Jason Ader said that channel checks show early signs of an upswing for its business. Also higher was AAR Corp. (AIR), which gained 9% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Aimmune Therapeutics (AIMT), which slid 7% after the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, or ICER, issued its final report on emerging desensitization treatments for peanut allergy. Also lower was Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), which fell 3% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow rose 227.88, or 0.85%, to 27,088.08 , the Nasdaq slid 6.49, or 0.08%, to 8,196.04 , and the S&P 500 advanced 6.84, or 0.23%, to 2,999.91 .
