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Wall Street ran at two speeds with better-than-expected earnings from PayPal driving the Nasdaq to new records, while a slump in crude oil kneecapped any big gains for the rest of the market. Crude closed at its lowest level since March 28. Whole Foods Market was active on reports an activist investor was pressuring the company to explore its strategic options. That investor has floated the idea of a sale or joint venture. Amgen fell after a double-digit slump in sales of its rheumatoid arthritis drug raised concerns over future performance. Adjusted earnings did surpass estimates, though revenue fell short. Ford fell as safety recall costs ate into profit over its first quarter. Net income declined by 35%, while revenue rose by 4%. Adjusted earnings did beat estimates, though.

Stocks turned mixed after a slump in crude oil prices overshadowed a series of positive earnings reports. PayPal , Under Armour and Comcast had topped earnings estimates. PayPal climbed after surpassing quarterly targets and after its board authorized a $5 billion stock repurchase program. Total payments volume grew 23% and neared a never-before-seen total of $100 billion. Buffalo Wild Wings fell short of earnings estimates, but reported in-line sales over its first quarter. The wings chain has recently been under pressure from activist investor Marcato Capital to shake up its management and board. Pending home sales in the U.S. fell in in March as tighter inventory continued to constrict high demand. The index, which measures sales where a contract has been signed but a deal not yet closed, fell by 0.8%.

President Donald Trump repeatedly railed against the 20 year North American Free Trade Agreement on the campaign trail. However, now he says he will keep it at least for the time being. The President talked with the leaders of Canada and Mexico and will negotiate the trade deal instead of killing it altogether. United Airlines will offer up to $10,000 when a traveler voluntarily gives up a seat on an oversold flight. This is part of a policy overhaul following the passenger yanking video that was shared worldwide. United also made other changes including limiting the use of law enforcement on a plane, factoring in customer service when doling out executive bonuses and reducing the amount of overbooking. McDonald's is set to expand its Ubereats food delivery service by the end of June. The fast food chain has been testing delivery via Ubereats app since late last year.

U.S. stocks were higher after a shaky morning as Wall Street awaited the fine print of the Trump Administration's tax plan. Trump has suggested he will cut the corporate tax rate to 15% from 35%, a reduction that would significantly decrease federal revenue. Crude oil prices turned higher after a sharper decline in weekly domestic inventories than expected. A downward trend comes as a relief to commodity traders worried over ballooning U.S. production and a global supply glut. U.S. Steel knocked off a quarter of its value after reporting a surprise loss over its recent quarter. The steelmaker pointed to operating challenges at its flat-rolled facilities. PepsiCo bested earnings and sales estimates over its recent quarter as higher pricing offset weaker volumes in North America. Beverage volume in the region fell by 1% over the quarter.

President Donald Trump is expected to stick with a campaign pledge to slash the corporate tax rate from 35% to 15%. Reports also say Trump will include a tax break for child-care expenses. The blueprint is expected to have the biggest tax cut since President Ronald Reagan's presidency. The NASDAQ hits 6000 for the first time ever. It's been tech stocks that have led the market higher and they are the main reason the NASDAQ crossed the milestone. The NASDAQ is now up nearly 12% year to date, nearly double the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S & P 500. Chipotle is back. The food safety issues are going away and sales are soaring. But the restaurant chain has another headache. It says it was the victim of a data breach in March and April in its payment processing system. Today, Bank of America will hold its annual meeting, where a vote on separating the Chairman and CEO jobs will take place.

The famous Champs Elysees in Paris was the site of terrorist attack in which a police officer was killed. The French go to the polls over the weekend for the first round of voting for President. U.S. markets are cautious after what's been a volatile week for stocks. The Trump administration says next week could be huge, with potential health care reform introduced. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin hinted that major tax reform could be coming sooner than expected. President Trump to sign an Executive Order to review 2016 tax regulations to see if they add unique burdens. Another Executive Order will review part of Dodd-Frank to see if it costs too much to taxpayers. Kids aren't loving Mattel's toys. Earnings were down at the toy company that makes Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars. Mattel CEO says going forward, the company should get help from the Toys it has made to coincide with the release of Disney's Cars 3, which hits theaters in the 2nd quarter.

A positive earnings report from Dow Jones Industrial Average component American Express did most of the work for benchmark indexes. Amex's earnings win was enough to offset quarterly disappointments from the likes of Verizon and eBay . Foot Locker has warned of lower profit in its first quarter than previously anticipated. CEO Richard Johnson said delays of income tax refunds had contributed to disappointing February same-store sales. Buffalo Wild Wings is under fire from activist investor Marcato Capital which wants the chain to oust CEO Sally Smith and appoint four nominees to their board. In a proxy filing, the firm said the status quo is unacceptable and new leadership is needed. Allstate anticipates first-quarter catastrophe losses to equal roughly $508 million. The insurer said severe hail in Texas in March accounted for a third of total quarterly losses.

Crude oil prices threaten to crack $50 a barrel, with just weeks to go before OPEC and other producers have to sign off on a new deal to hold down production. U.S. crude inventories had a slight drop in the latest report. American Express profits were better than expected as cardholders kept using their plastic. Shares are higher in the premarket. The company last month fattened up its rewards on its platinum charge cards to fortify its high-end market against JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup . Cable news star Bill O'Reilly has been forced out at Fox News. The channel is shuffling its line up with Tucker Carlson taking over O'Reilly's 8 pm prime time slot. O'Reilly was forced out after revelations of sexual harassment claims against him. His show "The Factor" brought in more than a 100 million in advertising a year and investors are curious if the move will impact the company's stock.

Earnings took center stage again with a disappointment from IBM and a better-than-expected performance from Morgan Stanley dividing markets. The Dow fell for its second day in a row. Morgan Stanley gave rise to the financials sector after posting increases in its quarterly earnings and revenue. The New York-based firm joined Citigroup , JPMorgan and Bank of America in reporting a solid first quarter. Crude oil prices held near the flatline after a weekly reading on inventories showed a decline, though not as steep as analysts anticipated. U.S. stockpiles shrank by 1 million barrels, more than half the drop a week earlier. Abbott Laboratories was active after beating estimates on its top- and bottom-line. Sales grew nearly 30% in a year full of acquisitions and product launches.

IBM's revenue from cloud, mobile and data crunching rose 13% but that was not enough to offset the sluggish growth at the older businesses. IBM shares are falling after it reported a 20th consecutive quarter of revenue decline. Verizon and Yahoo are waiting till nearly the last minute to close their buyout deal. Yahoo says it expects it to close in June. Meanwhile, Yahoo's revenue jumped 22% in what is likely its last quarterly report as an independent company. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the social media giant will delve deeper into augmented reality, a combination of digital and physical spaces. Facebook announced at the F8 conference it will allow 3rd parties to create custom masks, filters and other effects. Early partners include Nike, Electronic Arts and Warner Brothers.

While Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki thinks tax reform and infrastructure spending are necessary, he doesn't think those factors will reverse a "compressing" economy. He sees a significant threat from the rise of robots and artificial intelligence. "[Robots] are going to wipe out white collar jobs," he said. More From TheStreet: Trading Strategies: How Bond Investors Should Play Fed Rate Hikes People Are Getting Bored of Trump's Tweets, Words and Statements Check Out Lincoln's Mind Blowing New Navigator--It Hasn't Been Revamped In Over a Decade Check Out Audi's Mind Blowing R8 Sports Car With Laser Lights and a Killer Price Tag

Stocks pared gains through the afternoon session, though remained in the red through to close on worries over the U.S.'s role in international conflicts. President Trump decried North Korea earlier, signaling that the U.S. could get more involved. United Airlines remained on defense in its PR crisis over a passenger being dragged from an aircraft. CEO Oscar Munoz said this afternoon that the airline would review how it handles overbooked flights, the results of which will be released by the end of April. Yelp moved higher after being upgraded to OVERWEIGHT from SECTOR WEIGHT at Pacific Crest. Analysts said competitive concerns over the reviews site's relevance were overdone. Goldman Sachs has reaffirmed its BUY rating on Disney and added the stock to its Americas Conviction Buy list. Analysts are upbeat on the media company following the success of its live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.

Stocks moved lower as nerves over geopolitical uncertainty continued on Tuesday with investors assessing the U.S.'s increasing involvement in Syria and North Korea. The financial and technology sectors lead the decline. Shares of United Airlines continued to decline following an incident over the weekend in which a passenger was violently dragged from the aircraft for not voluntarily giving up his seat. RetailMeNot rocketed close to 49% higher after agreeing to be acquired by privately owned Harland Clarke Holdings for $11.60 a share. And Supervalu climbed after the wholesale distributor said that it will be acquiring Unified Grocers in a $375 million deal.

Stocks gave back the bulk of gains in the last half hour of trading in what had been a choppy start to the week. A surge in crude prices gave rise to the energy sector, while the health care and telecom sector were in retreat. Whole Foods jumped this afternoon after activist investor Jana Partners disclosed a stake of just over 8%. Jana is pushing for the supermarket chain to explore its options, including a possible sale. Swift Transportation surged after agreeing to a stock-swap merger with Knight Transportation . Both boards unanimously approved the roughly $5 billion. Amazon clocked gains of more than 1% after Needham analysts raised their rating on the stock to BUY from HOLD. The firm said Amazon's market share in the U.S. could increase 16% over the next five years.

Stocks moved higher to begin the week, boosted by gains in the energy and consumer goods sector. Markets came off of session highs, though, on worries over the U.S.'s increasing involvement in the Syrian conflict. Tesla gave rise to consumer stocks after Piper Jaffray upgraded its rating to BUY from NEUTRAL and increased its price target by 65%. The firm said it anticipates deliveries of the Model 3 this year. Straight Path Communications rocketed higher after AT&T agreed to purchase the company in a $1.6 billion deal. The acquisition is expected to close within a year. Lennar reduced its first-quarter earnings after taking an unexpected financial hit. The homebuilder said it took a one-time $140 million charge tied to a 2008 court cast, reducing quarterly earnings by 70%.