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The Closing Bell: Stocks Rise For Fifth Straight Day As The Fed Supports
FYI: Stocks rose on Thursday, but gains were capped as disappointing holiday sales from Macy's and a revenue guidance cut from American Airlines pressured retail and airline shares. Fear that the U.S. government shutdown might continue for a long time also pushed equities lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 120 points while the S&P 500 traded 0.45 percent higher. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.42 percent.
Macy's shares tanked more than 18 percent — on pace for their worst day every — after reporting its same-store sales grew by just 1.1 percent in November and December. The company also cut its earnings and revenue forecast for fiscal 2018.
The sharp decline in Macy's dragged down the entire retail space. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) dropped more than 1.5 percent. Shares of Kohl's fell 5.1 percent while Nordstrom declined 4.3 percent.
Ten of the eleven S&P 500 Sectors were positive, with only Consumers Discretionary lagging. Regards, Ted