Stocks kicked off the second week of April, trading higher throughout much of the day before strong selling in the final hour pared back much of the day’s gains after reports that federal investigators searched the office and home of President Trump’s long-time lawyer, Michael Cohen. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 440 points, or 0.19%, before the selling started, which ultimately forced the index to finish just 46.34 points higher. Technology stocks performed well on Monday; the tech-comprised Nasdaq Composite outpaced the other major indices rising 0.51%, while the Technology sector was the second best performing group in the S&P 500. U.S. Stocks moved higher again on Tuesday following comments from Chinese President Xi Jinping that seemed to soothe investor fears of a potential trade war. Speaking at an economic summit, Mr. Xi expressed his commitment to economic liberalization and hinted toward opening foreign access to China’s financial and manufacturing sectors. Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose on the day with energy stocks leading the way. For the day, the Dow rose 1.8%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 1.7% and 2.1%, respectively. Midweek, with news of military tensions in the Middle East, inflation on the rise and political turmoil in Washington, the stock market gave back some of the gains it garnered in the days prior. The markets recouped their losses Thursday with the S&P 500 turning positive for 2018, leaving just the Dow in negative territory for the year. A calming of geopolitical tensions and the start of earnings season drove investors to buy stocks sending the Dow nearly 300 points higher. Cyclicals led the move higher with Financials being the day’s best performing sector, rising 1.82%. The Dow rose 1.3% on the day while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 0.83% and 1.01% respectively. Stocks fell on Friday as banks continued the new earnings season with less-than-stellar results. Though headline numbers were strong, the finer details left much to be desired, which left the Financials sector leading the decline falling nearly three times as much as the second worst performer. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.50% to lead major U.S. indexes on the decline. The Nasdaq Composite was close behind, losing 0.47%, while the S&P 500 fell less than its rival indexes losing only 0.29%.
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