FYI: U.S. stocks slipped Wednesday, led by a slump in energy shares, after major indexes notched a string of records in recent sessions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat and the S&P 500 rose 0.7%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.29%.
All three indexes have set new highs this week, driven by optimism about the potential for a partial trade deal between the U.S. and China, easing monetary policy from the Federal Reserve and a better-than-feared corporate-earnings season.
Without new trade-related headlines, investors focused on single-stock moves.
Shares of HP jumped 8.6% after The Wall Street Journal reported that Xerox Holdings is considering making a cash-and-stock offer for the personal-computer maker. Xerox shares rose 3.6%.
Shares of Uber fell 3.8% as the “lockup” period on the company’s initial public offering expired, meaning investors in the initial offer can now sell shares. The stock is down about 40% from its May IPO price.
Shares of CVS rose 5.1% after the company posted a stronger-than-expected profit and raised its outlook.
Later in the day, a string of closely watched companies are set to report earnings, including Qualcomm, Fox and Chinese technology company Baidu.
Energy shares were the weakest performers in the S&P 500.
What is notable about energy, Instinet’s Mr. Cappelleri said, is that energy stocks are underperforming commodities prices, suggesting investors are nervous about investing in the companies regardless of the short-term price of oil. U.S. crude fell 1.4%.
Chesapeake Energy slumped 27% after it said Tuesday that it might not be able to stay in business if commodities prices don’t rise.
In fixed-income markets, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note slipped to 1.813% from 1.865% on Tuesday as prices rose.
Overseas, the Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.1%. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.4%, while the Hong Kong and South Korean gauges ended the day little changed.
Banks were among the biggest gainers in Europe. Shares in Société Générale rose 5.6% after a key measure of the French lender’s capital strength improved in the third quarter. UniCredit shares increased 2.3% as the Italian lender moved a bad-loan portfolio off its books in a transaction that it said would amount to a “significant risk transfer.”
Meanwhile, the U.K.’s FTSE 250 index, which includes companies that are more exposed to the domestic economy than their larger peers, dropped 0.4% as political parties prepared for the Dec. 12 election with the outlook for Brexit as murky as ever.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-06/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-struggle-to-gain-altitude-as-market-searches-for-fresh-catalyst-2019-11-06/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-hover-as-investors-await-clarity-on-trade-talks-11573034660Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-05/stock-futures-mixed-in-asia-treasuries-decline-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-steady-investors-track-china-trade-deal/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/06/us-futures-point-to-a-mixed-open.htmlReuters:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-st-little-changed-but-report-trade-deal-could-be-delayed-weighs-idUKKBN1XG1WUU.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-gains-for-fourth-day-as-investors-await-trade-moves-idUKKBN1XG13UEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-hold-four-year-peak-creep-towards-record-highs-idUSKBN1XG1CSAsia:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/06/asia-stocks-november-6-us-china-trade-chinese-yuan-currencies.htmlBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/06/us-bonds-treasury-yields-in-focus-amid-economic-data-auctions.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/06/forex-markets-us-china-trade-us-economy-in-focus.htmlOil
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/06/oil-markets-us-china-trade-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/06/gold-markets-us-china-trade-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
