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Stocks shook off early losses on slowing growth overseas and turned positive in midday trading Thursday on upbeat economic data in the U.S. Existing home sales in October unexpectedly rose in October hitting 5.26 million. The leading indicators index, used to predict economic health, also came in better than forecasts rising 0.9% last month. American retailers are rallying in the session after positive earnings results. Williams-Sonoma (WSM) and Best Buy (BBY) are sharply rising. Both companies beat profit and revenue estimates. Shares of Gap (GPS) are trading in positive territory ahead of its earnings release. The retailer is next in line to report after market closes.

U.S. stocks were lower at Thursday's opening bell on concerns of manufacturing weakness overseas. The number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell by 2,000 last week and came in at 291,000, slightly above what economists expected. Continuing claims declined to the lowest level in nearly 14 years for the week ended Nov. 8 to 2.33 million. Falling pump prices are pushing inflation down. The consumer price index in October was unchanged at 0.1%. Economists expected a 0.1% decline. The state of Arizona is suing General Motors (GM) claiming the automaker intentionally concealed safety defects to avoid recall costs, putting the public at risk. The New York Times says Arizona is seeking an estimated $3 billion dollars. Apple (AAPL) will reportedly make Beats Music streaming service part of its iOS starting 2015. This will instantly make it available to hundreds of millions of iPhone and iPad users. Best Buy (BBY) is starting the trading day on a high note after beating Q3 earnings estimates. The electronics retailer posted profit and revenue above expectations.

All the major benchmarks ended in the red Wednesday. After an initial jolt from the Fed minutes and trading in positive terrain, the Dow Jones Industrial barely moved and the S&P 500 closed just slightly lower. The Nasdaq however dropped about half a percent. Telecoms Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) were among the blue chips' biggest decliners. Microsoft (MSFT) was another drag for the Dow components. Shares are down more than 1%, also weighing on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Tech giant Yahoo (YHOO) pushed the Nasdaq lower. Along with Qualcomm (QCOM), both were down more than 2%. Shares of Qualcomm dropped after the company gave a more cautious five-year outlook. JetBlue (JBLU) continued to soar after saying it plans to cut legroom and charge baggage fee. The airline is hoping the cost savings will increase profits by $400 million a year.

Stocks pulled back from record highs in midday trading Wednesday despite positive earnings results from retailers. Investors are awaiting the release of Fed minutes from their last policy meeting for hints on the timing of interest rate increases. Retailers Lowe's (LOW), Staples (SPLS) and Target (TGT) are rising after beating estimates. Shares of Tesla (TSLA) are tanking after Morgan Stanley (MS) slashed its forecasts for Tesla's Model X deliveries and earnings. Tesla has repeatedly delayed the launch of this crossover electric vehicle. In a cost-cutting move, Darden Restaurants (DRI) is removing a layer of operations for its flagship chain the Olive Garden. This would eliminate about 60 jobs. The company also plans to stop using its corporate plane and sell it. All totaled, the company is hoping for nearly $20 million in annual savings.

Stocks were little moved at Wednesday's opening bell ahead of the minutes from the last Fed policy meeting which are due out at 2 pm, eastern. News from the home front include the Mortgage Bankers Association saying total applications unexpectedly rose 4.9% for the week ending November 14. The increase was from applications to purchase rather than refinance a home. The Commerce Department's report showed housing starts took a surprise drop in October. Groundbreaking fell but building permits jumped. Lowe’s (LOW) impressed Wall Street this morning with its earnings results. The home improvement chain also raised its full-year guidance. Target (TGT) is another early gainer after beating its earnings expectations. And Microsoft (MSFT) shareholders are being advised to vote ‘no’ on their CEO’s pay package. The proxy adviser ISS criticized what it calls a ‘mega’ grant of restricted stock to Satya Nadella, that it valued at $65 million.

Another day, another record for the S&P 500. It didn't take too much for the Dow Industrials to also hit its highest level ever. Tech-heavy Nasdaq gained the most out of those benchmarks rising 0.67%. Crude oil continued to slide. Prices dropped about another dollar a barrel. Gold prices rose as the U.S. dollar eased against other major currencies. Futures for December delivery settled more than 1% higher. Healthcare was the best performing sector. Medtronic (MDT) jumped after saying its hopeful a medical-device tax will be repealed. Covidien (COV), which is being taken over by Medtronic also gained. UnitedHealth (UNH) was the blue chips' biggest gainer. Some earnings results, investors are looking forward to Wednesday are Lowe's (LOW), Staples (SPLS) and Target (TGT). The big box retailer was the only gainer in today's session out of the bunch ahead of their releases.

Stocks extended small gains with the S&P 500 is hitting another record high in midday trading Tuesday. Confidence boosted among U.S. home builders. National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index showed sentiment jumped 4 points in November to a level of 58. Shares of the nation's largest home builders including Toll Brothers (TOL), Lennar (LEN) and D.R. Horton (DHI) are little moved though and trading mixed. SunEdison (SUNE) and TerraForm Power (TERP) stocks are soaring after saying they would buy First Wind together to enter the U.S. wind power market. SunEdision is rising 24%. TerraForm is pushing 28% higher. The parent company of discount retailer TJ Maxx (TJX) is slipping after cutting back on its full-year earnings guidance.

Stocks were flat at the opening bell on this Tuesday as investors were mostly unmoved by the latest bit of earnings reports and inflation data. The Producer Price Index unexpectedly increased 0.2% in October. The Labor Department said the increased costs for food and services outweighed the decline in fuel prices. Home Depot (HD) reported better-than-expected earnings results. The world's largest home improvement chain reaffirmed its full year guidance. Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) reported its profit hurt by weak demand in its golf and hunting segments. Urban Outfitters (URBN) is starting the day lower after reporting its quarterly earnings Monday. The retailer missed profit estimates but revenue did beat forecasts. Results at the Urban Outfitters brand were weak but its Anthropologie and Free People units posted strong results.

No big moves on Wall Street but the S&P 500 still managed to close at a record high Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial managed squeeze out a small gain. The Nasdaq, however closed in negative territory. Crude oil fell again. December delivery is down $0.29 a barrel. Dropping oil prices didn't stop Baker Hughes (BHI) from closing up almost 9%. Shares rose after rival Halliburton (HAL) agreed to buy it, becoming the biggest oilfield services company in the world. Deals news pushed Allergan (AGN) up more than 5% and Actavis (ACT) also gained after saying it would buy the Botox-maker. LinkedIn (LNKD) and Salesforce (CRM) both lost ground on reports Facebook (FB) is creating a professional networking site. Facebook closed less than 1% lower after rallying earlier in the day. Some names reporting earnings results Tuesday include Home Depot (HD), the parent company of TJ Maxx (TJX) and PetSmart (PETM).

Stocks are little changed in midday trading Monday after opening slightly lower on Japan slipping into recession. The healthcare sector is one of the best performing sectors. Dow component UnitedHealth (UNH) is right now the biggest gainer among the blue chips. Shares of DreamWorks Animation (DWA) are tanking, while Hasbro (HAS) rises. Deal talks between the two companies fell through according to reports. M&A has both Allergan (AGN) and Actavis (ACT) stocks up in the session. Actavis will acquire the Botox maker for $66 billion. Earnings results are pushing Tyson Foods (TSN) higher. The meat processor is gaining after reporting quarterly sales rose 14%.

Stocks fell at the opening bell on Monday after unexpected news from Japan. The Japanese economy slipped into recession in the third quarter. Economic data showed manufacturing in the New York area grew less than expected. The latest Empire State manufacturing survey still came in at 10.2 instead of the expected 12. U.S. industrial production in October was down 0.1% versus the estimated 0.2%. Capacity utilization also fell more than expected last month to 78.9%, expectations were for 79.3%. Halliburton (HAL) will buy rival Baker Hughes (BHI) for $34.6 billion in cash and stock. According to the Financial Times, Facebook (FB) is working on a workplace version of its social network.

It could be a mega-merger Monday morning, if Actavis announces a deal that could be worth $65 billion to acquire Allergan, the maker of Botox that has been pursued all year by activist Bill Ackman and Valeant. Details are sketchy before the bell but the market expects a deal, possibly as early as this morning. Plus, we're expecting earnings from Tyson Foods and Urban Outfitters. And, Jim Cramer is trying on a new stock -- he likes the price that PE firm Advent International paid to buy in and Cramer is buying shares in the mid-$40s, looking for near-term gains at a discount.

After hitting all time highs on Thursday, the S&P remained unchanged and the Dow ended the week modestly lower. The Nasdaq, however, pushed up further with Virgin America's successful takeoff. The airline stock jumped 30% in its debut. Apple made another record high, touching $114 and change. New gadgets in the pipeline, eye catching iPhone sales and, most importantly, growing presence around the world convinced investors that Apple's best days are ahead. As of the end of Friday, Apple's market cap is $668 billion. Apple's rise made up for some other names on Nasdaq that didn't do well. The biotechnology index lost over 2% on the day, led by a 4% drop in Biogen Idec. But that loss is insignificant compared to Hertz Global Holdings. Shares of the car rental giant tanked as much as 13% intraday and closed down 5% after saying it needs to restate three years of financial results. Auditors found mistakes on Hertz's statements and they will need to be corrected. Lastly a quick check on crude oil, which has been making headlines all week. Western Texas crude finished the week around $76 per barrel after touching $73 overnight into Friday. Some commodity players stocked up on the contracts because they think the cold weather factor is not priced in yet.

The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq were all hovering around the flatline in midday trading Friday. But one sector getting a lot of attention is oil and oil stocks. Crude prices are moving below $74 a barrel. Oil stocks are moving lower, including Chesapeake Energy. It looks like U.S. consumers are feeling more confident about the economy. The latest reading from the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index came in at 89.4. That's higher than estimates and the highest reading since July 2007. While the drop in the unemployment rate may have something to do with improving confidence in the economy, Americans are still concerned personal incomes will not climb.

Major indexes opened mixed on Friday, but better-than-expected retail sales give hope for the holiday shopping season. Overall retail sales rose 0.3% in October. That's better than the expected 0.2% increase and it reverses previous month's 0.3% drop. Falling gasoline prices freed up money in people's wallets and they spent that spare cash on other things like electronics. When the volatile categories, such as autos and building materials, are stripped out, retail sales rose 0.5% in October. That's the biggest increase since August and above the estimated 0.4%. Retail sales account for a third of consumer spending. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Import Price Index fell to a seasonally adjusted -1.3%. The previous month's figure was revised down to -0.6%. The Import Price Index has been falling since July, but the market is not alarmed. The biggest reason for the drop is the softer energy price. Crude oil spot declined in October although it's rebounding on Friday from multi-year low. The stronger dollar is another reason for the slide.