Markets Continue To Rally As The Dow Closes Above 17,000

U.S. stocks continued to charge forward as the Dow closed above the 17,000 mark as consumer confidence rose more than expected in October.

The Federal Reserve gathered Tuesday and will release a statement on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET. It is not a foregone conclusion that the Federal Reserve will announce at that time the end its tapering activities.

The CBOE Volatility Index fell eight percent to 14.76 as corporate earnings remain generally strong and Ebola related concerns appear to be dissipating, but still remain a closely watched topic.

Recommended: How Safe Are Low-Beta Stocks?

• The Dow gained 1.12 percent, closing at 17,005.75.
• The S&P 500 gained 1.19 percent, closing at 1,985.05.
• The Nasdaq gained 1.75 percent, closing at 4,564.29.
• Gold lost 0.09 percent, trading at $1,228.20 an ounce.
• Oil gained 0.49 percent, trading at $81.40 a barrel.
• Silver gained 0.23 percent, trading at $17.20 an ounce.

News Of Note

ICSC Retail Store Sales rose 2.8 percent year over year after rising 2.1 percent last week.

September Durable Goods fell 1.3 percent (versus expectations of a 0.5 percent gain) to $241.6 billion.

August S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index rose 0.2 percent month over month (versus expectations of 0.5 percent) after rising 0.6 percent in July.

Redbook Chain Store Sales rose 4.4 percent year over year after rising 4.1 percent last week.

October Richmond Fed Manufacturing Survey rose to +20 (versus expectations of +10) from +14 in September.

October Consumer Confidence rose to 94.5 (versus expectations of 87.0) from 89.0 in September.

Analyst Upgrades And Downgrades Of Note

Analysts at Baird upgraded Buffalo Wild Wings BWLD to Outperform from Neutral with a price target raised to $180 from a previous $160. Shares gained 13.35 percent, closing at $151.68.

Analysts at Wedbush initiated coverage of GoPro GPRO with an Outperform rating and $81 price target. Shares gained 6.76 percent, closing at $69.30.

Analysts at JPMorgan maintained a Neutral rating on Kohl's KSS with a price target lowered to $50 from a previous $55. Shares lost 6.64 percent, closing at $54.66.

Analysts at Baird downgraded Sarepta Therapeutics SRPT to Neutral form Outperform with a price target lowered to $21 from a previous $53. Shares lost 4.97 percent, closing at $15.12.

Recommended: Apple To Benefit As China's 3G Subscribers Break Through The Half-Billion Mark

Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Buy rating on Treehouse Foods THS with a price target raised to $100 from a previous $93. Shares gained 3.12 percent, closing at $83.50.

Analysts at Wedbush maintained a Neutral rating on Twitter TWTR with a price target lowered to $40 from a previous $50. Analysts at Pivotal Research upgraded to Hold from Sell with a price target raised to $42 from a previous $38. Analysts at Nomura downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a price target lowered to $45 from a previous $55. Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Neutral rating with a price target lowered to $47 from a previous $53. Analysts at Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating with a price target lowered to $56 from a previous $62. Shares lost 9.84 percent, closing at $43.78.

Analysts at JPMorgan maintained a Neutral rating on Under Armour UA with a price target lowered to $60 from a previous $63. Shares lost 0.63 percent, closing at $64.30.

Equities-Specific News Of Note

Blackstone BX plans to raise $13 billion for a new global real estate fund. Shares gained 0.53 percent, closing at $30.55.

Alibaba's BABA CEO Jack Ma said he is willing to cooperate with Apple AAPL on a mobile payment system. Shares of Alibaba hit new 52-week highs of $100.67 before closing the day at $99.68 while shares of Apple gained 1.51 percent, closing at $106.70.

Novartis NVS said that its experimental heart failure drug LCZ696 will eventually generate $2 billion to $5 billion in sales. Shares gained 2.37 percent, closing at $92.35.

Regal Entertainment Group RGC disclosed that it is exploring a potential sale of itself. Shares gained 3.75 percent, closing at $21.28.

IBM IBM said it will add $5 billion to its current share buyback plan, bringing the total authorization to $6.4 billion. Shares gained 1.07 percent, closing at $163.60.

InterDigital IDCC won a Delaware infringement suit against ZTE.

Related: InterDigital Traders Selling On News After Buying On Rumors

Winners Of Note

Tesla Motors' TSLA CEO Elon Musk said that the company's September sales rose 65 percent year over year, contradicting reports from yesterday that indicated a slowdown in sales. Shares gained 9.45 percent, closing at $242.62, up 9.45 percent.

Madison Square Garden MSG is considering splitting itself in to two companies, the first division will focus on sports and media with the other focused on real estate holdings. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $74.00 before closing the day at $73.00, up 10.98 percent.

Receptos RCPT announced that its lead product candidate RPC1063 successfully achieved its primary endpoint in a Phase 2 clinical study evaluating safety and efficacy for the treatment of ulcerative colitis with a 1 mg dose. Shares surged to new 52-week highs of $102.60 before closing the day at $95.75, u p 41.35 percent.

Decliners Of Note

Sanofi SNY said that sales of its diabetes products will be flat next year due to heightened competition in the U.S. Shares lost 8.99 percent, closing at $48.07.

NQ Mobile NQ rejected Bison Capital's buyout offer of $9.80 per share but remains in active discussions with the firm over other opportunities for investments and collaboration. Shares lost 15.43 percent, closing at $8.00.

Earnings Of Note

E.I. du Pont DD reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.54 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53. Revenue of $7.51 billion missed the consensus estimate of 7.95 billion. Shares gained 0.10 percent, closing at $67.95.

Novartis NVS reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $1.37 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29. Revenue of $14.70 billion beat the consensus estimate of $14.34 billion. Shares gained 2.37 percent, closing at $92.35.

Recommended: Street Leaned The Right Way Ahead Of Twitter's Earnings

Pfizer PFE reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.57 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55. Revenue of $12.36 billion beat the consensus estimate of $12.23 billion. Shares gained 0.21 percent, closing at $29.09.

Coach COH reported its first quarter results. The company earned $0.53 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46. Revenue of $1.04 billion beat the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Shares hit new 52-week lows of $33.25 before closing the day at $34.00, down 5.95 percent.

Freeport-McMoRan FCX reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.64 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62. Revenue of $5.70 billion was in-line with the consensus estimate. Shares hit new 52-week lows of $28.64 before closing the day at $29.03, down 4.16 percent.

Facebook FB reported its third quarter results after market close. The company earned $0.43 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40. Revenue of $3.20 billion beat the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Shares were trading lower by 0.53 percent at $80.34 following the earnings release.

Quote Of The Day

“That's a range that the service industry and our customers can easily live within." - Halliburton CEO David Lesar on how the market will react to crude prices between $80 to $100 per barrel.