TheStreet TV

After trading sideways for most of the day, stocks managed to finish at another record high Thursday. The energy sector was today's worst performer as it slipped on falling oil prices. Crude oil dropped below $75 a barrel for the first time in four years. Dow components Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) both lost ground. Hess (HES) was also down in the session. Some big names in tech helped prop the Nasdaq up. Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (APPL) both gained in the session. But Blackberry (BBRY) was the bigger gainer, up 7% after it unveiled a new partnership with Samsung on a secure mobility solution for android devices. Kohl's (KSS) and J.C. Penney (JCP) fell in today's trading on disappointing earnings results. More on the American consumer Friday with the retail sales and consumer sentiment reports.

Major U.S. markets were trekking higher in midday trading Thursday as investors welcomed earnings from Walmart (WMT) and the latest jobless claims data. The world's largest retailer reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings. M&A talks are driving stocks in the session. DreamWorks Animation (DWA) is rising 17% after the New York Times reported the studio is considering a deal to be bought by toymaker Hasbro (HAS). Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) said it is buying Proctor & Gamble's (PG) Duracell battery business. The deal values Duracell at $6.4 billion and is expected to close later next year. Comcast's (CMCSK) CEO says the company is moving 'full steam ahead' with its plans to acquire Time Warner Cable (TWC). Comcast expects to close the $45 billion deal by the end of March.

Stocks opened slightly higher Thursday as investors liked what they heard from Walmart’s earnings and the latest tap into the labor market. Jobless claims came in at 290,000 last week, 10,000 more than expected. Continuing claims rose more than expected as well for the week ending November 1st at 2.39 million. Walmart (WMT) reported Q3 earnings that topped Wall Street’s expectations. The world’s biggest retailer beat both profit and sales estimates and reported better-than-expected same-store sales in the U.S. Kohl's (KSS) posted earnings that fell short of expectation on both the top and bottom lines. Kohl's reported Q3 earnings of $0.70 a share, estimates were for $0.04 more. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) is buying the Duracell battery business from Procter & Gamble (PG). The deal values Duracell at $6.4 billion and is expected to close in the second half of 2015.

Today is a mega-day for earnings, yet again, with stocks including Kohl's, Tyco and Viacom kicking it off before the bell, and that's not all. Wal-Mart Stores will report earnings and TheStreet will have live coverage of the announcement the moment numbers are revealed. The mega-retailer from Arkansas is looking for slightly lower earnings, although, earlier this week activity in the stock picked up. We'll also see numbers from Nordstrom after the close. Finally, Jim Cramer's pick for Dow Chemical is beginning to pay off, between a bigger dividend, a boosted buyback and upcoming M&A.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial paused from adding to record highs Wednesday. The Nasdaq managed to close in positive territory. Financial stocks lost ground after five major banks agreed to pay a total of $3.4 billion to global regulators. The banks settling on allegations of rigging foreign-exchange benchmarks include Citigroup (C), JPMorgan (JPM) and RBS (RBS). Others that agreed to pay include UBS (UBS) and HSBC (HSBC). Barclays (BCS) is among the banks that have yet to settle. Exxon (XOM) was another big drag for the blue chips. Shares fell with crude oil slipping to a 3-year low. Twitter (TWTR) jumped more than 7% after its first financial analyst day. The social micro blogging site is looking to make other applications and ways to draw in new users. Macy’s (M) bagged 5% after reporting it beat earnings estimates, despite falling short on sales and cutting its outlook. JC Penny (JCP) closed higher ahead of its release after the bell. More retailers will report their earnings results Thursday including Walmart (WMT), Nordstrom (JWN) and Kohl’s (KSS).

Axalta Coating Systems listed its IPO at the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday morning under the ticker symbol AXTA. The company's chairman and CEO Charlie Shaver rang the opening bell with four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Jeff Gordon. Axalta has the longest-running sponsor combination relationship in NASCAR history. Shaver says being a manufacturer of auto coatings makes it an auto-related stock play like TrueCar (TRUE) and Mobileye (MBLY), both of which have risen significantly since debuting this year. Carlyle (CG) bought Axalta from DuPont (DU) in February 2013 for $4.9 billion and plans to raise $878 million by offering 45 million shares.

Stocks were lower at Wednesday's opening bell. Macy's (M) posted Q3 earnings that topped estimates but missed revenue expectations. The department store also lowered its full year outlook. SeaWorld (SEAS) reported profit dropped more than the Street estimated. SeaWorld says it had fewer visitors during the peak season. The trend with home builders is continuing with Beazer Homes (BZH) beating estimates for its quarter on both the top and bottom lines. The Mortgage Bankers Association said total application volume fell less than 0.9%. Applications to refinance dropped 2%, home purchase loans rose 1% from the previous week.

U.S. stock indices zig-zagged across the flat-line today, finishing slightly in the green, as investors weighed geopolitical worries about Iraq against encouraging economic reports. Monday's U.S. economic data overall was stronger than expected with May industrial production rising 0.6% vs. the consensus view of 0.5%. As for individual stocks, Fusion-IO soared more than 22% after agreeing to be acquired by SanDisk for $1.1 billion, or $11.25 a share, in cash. Meanwhile, pipeline operator Williams Companies reached an agreement to acquire control of Access Midstream Partners for $5.99 billion. Williams Cos. surged more than 18%. Finally, Medtronic agreed to buy Ireland-based competitor Covidien for $42.9 billion in cash and stock.

Stocks are running to defensive sectors as global tensions heat up. Ben Willis of Princeton Securities points out that the energy sector is an easy play as deals continue to happen in the group. Willis also pointed out that while the New York Stock Exchange volume is down 25%, the NASDAQ volume is only down 4%. He said this is mostly because the money is flowing into old school tech names like chip makers. So, even though it looks like tech is doing well, it is more of a defensive move. Stocks keep see sawing throughout the morning between negative and positive territory.

U.S. markets ended Thursday's session in the red, but each lost no more than 1%. Oil was a big mover in the commodities space. Crude oil prices reached their highest level since September 2013. Oil investors are concerned because of the escalating tension in Iraq. Sunni Islamist militants surrounded the country's largest refinery in the Northern city of Baiji on Thursday. Repairs to some of the pipelines in Baiji are reportedly being halted. The escalation of violence in Iraq poses a big threat to the country's oil exports. Iraq is the second largest OPEC producer and the Baiji refinery produces 310,000 barrels a day. One sector moving lower on Thursday because of the threat of a decline in oil supplies is airlines. Delta Air Lines finished Thursday's session down 6% and Southwest Airlines ended down nearly 5%. The Dow Jones Transportation Average lost 2%. On the economic front, the number of people who applied for jobless benefits last week increased 4,000 to 317,000, that's more than what economists had expected. The 4-week average, which a less volatile measure, also increased to more than 315,000.

The oil sector has almost outperformed the utility sector this year. Tensions and violence is escalating in Iraq as a result of the extreme group the Islamic State of Iraq or ISIS taking over major cities. The price of crude oil is set to close at its highest levels in nine months. Mark Newton, Chief Technician at Greywolf Equities believes the energy group will continue to outperform. As the situation in Iraq gets worse and begins to affect other nearby countries, the price of oil will continue to move higher. Equity stocks will probably fall as energy stocks rise and global concerns rise.

The World Bank cut its global forecast for 2014 from 3.2% to 2.8%. It's taking into account the weak start to the year in many countries, including the U.S. It blamed the terrible winter weather in the U.S., conflict in Ukraine and the turbulence in emerging countries. It does, however, expect the growth to be stronger for the remaining part of the year. In corporate news, Caterpillar raised quarterly dividend by 17% to $0.70 a share. The dividend increase comes after Caterpillar saw its machinery sales fall double-digit from the same period last year. Demand for heavy machinery, especially mining equipment, has been low outside North America. Julia Sun reports from Wall Street.

Stocks are seeing selling in sectors like utilities and financials. Jon Corpina of Meridian Equity Partners points out that the selling is healthy in a market that has run so high. He did note that on these pullback days, buyers tend to step in as soon as the sellers become exhausted. Traders have been watching for the volume to ease up during those days and then begin buying. He isn't surprised to see utilities get sold since the group has delivered such strong performance for the year and it makes sense to take some profits and wait for a better entry level to make fresh investments.

U.S. markets ended Tuesday's session mixed as Google went shopping, AIG named a new CEO and Allergan spurned a sweetened takeover offer from Valeant. Tech giant Google announced it is buying Skybox Imaging for $500 million. Google will use Skybox's technology to improve Google maps. AIG says Peter Hancock will become the company's new President and CEO on September first. Hancock will replace Robert Benmosche as head of the insurance giant. Benmosche will stay involved in AIG in an advisory role. Allergan said thanks, but no thanks, to a sweetened $53 billion dollar takeover bid from Valeant. Activist investor Bill Ackman, who owns nearly 10 percent of Allergan, says the offer undervalues Allergan's growth prospects. Ruben Ramirez reports from Wall Street.

Stocks may be staying at near record levels, but Keith Bliss of Cuttone & Co.says they aren't overbought just yet. He said most traders feel that until the S&P 500 reaches 1990 it won't be overbought. Short traders expecting a correction continue to lose money. He believes stocks will continue to move higher as long as all the central banks stay coordinated. He thinks that unless there is a 'black swan' type of event, which can't be predicted, the markets will push through minor resistance, like what is happening today. There are minor pullbacks but no corrections in stocks.