Dow And S&P 500 Close At Record Highs In Another Quiet Trading Session - Alibaba Gr Holding (NYSE:BABA), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

U.S. stocks brushed off early morning losses and ended the day slightly positive. U.S. economic data showed existing home sales and leading indicators both being higher than expected for October while U.S. preliminary PMI fell from October's reading as analysts were expecting a rise. On the International front, China's flash PMI fell to 50.0, the break-even point separating expansion from contraction. The Dow gained 0.19 percent, closing at 17,719.00. The S&P 500 gained 0.20 percent, closing at 2,052.75. The Nasdaq gained 0.56 percent, closing at 4,701.87. Gold gained 0.11 percent, trading at $1,195.20 an ounce. Oil gained 1.45 percent, trading at $75.58 a barrel.

News of Note Initial Jobless Claims declined 2,000 to 291,000 versus consensus of 286,000. Continuing claims declined 73,000 to 2.33 million. Recommended: Report: Facebook Building Its Drone Team October Consumer Price Index remained flat (versus expectations of a 0.1 percent declining) after rising 0.1 percent in September. Core CPI rose 0.2 percent (in-line with expectations) after rising 0.1 percent in September. November U.S. PMI Manufacturing Flash fell to 54.7 (versus expectations of 56.2) from 55.9 in October. October Existing Home Sales rose 1.5 percent to 5.26 million versus expectations of 5.15 million. EIA Natural Gas Inventory declined 17 bcf (versus expectations of a 12 bcf decline) after rising 40 bcf last week. China's HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI for November fell to 50 from 50.4 in October
Equities News of Note
Best Buy BBY reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.32 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25. Revenue of $9.38 billion beat the consensus estimate of $9.06 billion. Shares gained 6.92 percent, closing at $38.00. Dollar Tree DLTR reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.69 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64. Revenue of $2.10 billion beat the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $67.07 before closing the day at $65.87, up 5.17 percent. Analysts at Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating on Apple AAPL with a price target raised to $126 from a previous $115. Shares gained 1.43 percent, closing at $116.31. Analysts at Credit Suisse maintained an Outperform rating on Google GOOG with a price target lowered to $722 from a previous $723. Shares lost 0.40 percent, closing at $534.83. Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Neutral rating on McDonald's MCD with a price target raised to $101 from a previous $98. Shares gained 0.08 percent, closing at $96.64. Alibaba BABA plans to create an international version of its e-commerce site Taobao. Separately, the company launched an $8 billion, six-part debt offering. Shares gained 0.92 percent, closing at $109.82. Recommended: Shares Of Second Sight Medical Continue Showing Strength Following Wednesday's IPO Marcato Capital disclosed a 4.9 percent stake in Dillard's DDS and sees shares worth over $193 if it spins off its real estate assets. Shares gained 9.28 percent, closing at $121.04. Intel INTC hiked its annual dividend to $0.96 per share while guiding its 2015 revenue growth at a mid-single digit during its investor meeting. The company also guided its 2015 capital expenditure budget being $10 billion to $11 billion, down from 2014's estimated $10.5 billion to $11.5 billion. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $35.97 before closing the day at $35.95, up 4.66 percent. Caterpillar CAT reported that total retail machine sales were down nine percent for the three month period ending in October. Shares gained 0.76 percent, closing at $102.07. Caesars Entertainment CZR proposed turning its operating unit into an REIT to restructure its debt. Shares gained 5.36 percent, closing at $15.14. According to The Wall Street Journal, Wynn Resorts WYNN is being investigated for violating money-laundering laws. Shares lost 1.21 percent, closing at $177.85. GoPro GPRO priced its 10.36 million share offering at $75. Shares lost 9.29 percent, closing at $71.74. Gamestop GME reported its third quarter results after market close. The company earned $0.57 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61. Revenue of $2.09 billion missed the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Shares were trading lower by 10.74 percent $39.16 following the earnings report. The Gap GPS reported its third quarter results after market close. The company earned $0.80 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75. Revenue of $3.97 billion missed the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. Shares were trading lower by 5.01 percent at $38.13 following the earnings report.
Quote of the Day
"You may have heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There's another day you might want to know about: Giving Tuesday. The idea is pretty straightforward. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, shoppers take a break from their gift-buying and donate what they can to charity. You can go to givingtuesday.org and find thousands of groups to support, from a local home for neglected children to a disaster-relief program in the Philippines." - Bill Gates.

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