FYI: U.S. stocks broke into positive territory late Thursday after a Federal Reserve official urged central banks to lower interest rates swiftly on signs of economic weakening.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3 points, or less than 0.1%, to 27222. The S&P 500 was up 0.36% at a session high and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.27%.
Stocks drifted lower for much of the trading day, then got a lift after John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said “it pays to act quickly to lower rates at the first sign of economic distress.”
Earlier, corporate earnings drove swings in an otherwise quiet trading day.
Netflix shed 10% after the video-streaming giant said late Wednesday that its number of subscribers in the U.S. declined for the first time in nearly a decade.
Equipment-rental company United Rentals lost 7.6% after narrowing its full-year revenue outlook.
Other stocks fared better, with eBay rising 0.9% after the online marketplace raised its profit outlook and notched better-than-expected quarterly results.
Energy shares fell, following oil prices lower
Crude began the trading session slightly higher but declined later in the day as investors focused on a jump in fuel stockpiles that came out in a government report Wednesday. Data showed that gasoline inventories rose by 3.6 million barrels, setting off worries about weakening demand for the fuel.
Crude for August delivery fell 2.6% to $55.30 a barrel, logging its fourth straight session of declines. Oil prices were down even after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said that the country’s forces seized a foreign tanker, a sign that continued geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could disrupt the flow of crude.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.2%, weighed down by declines among shares of technology and oil-and-gas companies.
While the European economy is doing well, “it’s more about downside risk coming from trade wars combined with the everlasting Brexit risk,” said Jorge Garyao, global head of inflation strategy at Société Générale. The trade tensions that are currently focused on U.S.-China “could easily move into the eurozone,” he said.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1%, notching its third straight session of declines.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 2%, posting its biggest one-day decline since March, after data showed exports tumbled for the seventh straight month in June because of a sharp drop in shipments of chip-making tools and automobile parts to China.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-18/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/sp-500-on-verge-of-marking-longest-string-of-losses-in-july-as-trade-worries-weigh-2019-07-18/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/weak-earnings-weigh-on-global-stocks-11563438766Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-17/stocks-in-asia-to-drop-amid-earnings-bonds-rise-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/stock-indexes-fight-back-on-dovish-fed-comment/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/18/us-stock-futures-earnings-trade-fears-weigh.htmlReuters:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-st-slightly-lower-after-mixed-results-netflix-tumbles-idUKKCN1UD1PDU.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/global-trade-worries-weigh-down-ftse-100-pub-chain-ei-surges-on-deal-idUKKCN1UD0SWEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/ecb-report-eases-earnings-pain-for-european-stocks-idUSKCN1UD0SBAsia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-fall-on-economic-red-flags-as-trade-war-standoff-persists-2019-07-17/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/18/us-treasury-yields-tick-lower-amid-renewed-trade-fears.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/18/forex-markets-dollar-us-yields-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/18/oil-markets-crude-futures-us-stockpiles-of-products-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/18/gold-markets-the-fed-dollar-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 
