Adviser Investments Assistant Director Megan Higgins has the market analysis for Wednesday, April 17. The S&P 500 index dipped 0.2% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite each dropped less than 0.1%. Megan discussed the continuing slump for the health care sector, which has faced headwinds from political disagreement on public policy and costs. One example was Abbott Labs, which despite beating first-quarter sales expectations saw its stock sink about 4% for the day. Pepsi also exceeded earnings expectations in the first quarter, propelling the stock to a 3% advance and a record high.

Jim Lowell, chief investment officer at Adviser Investments, shared market analysis with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Wednesday. Jim discussed the financial sector’s first-quarter earnings data that reflects continued profit opportunities within our current slow-growth, not no-growth economy. He also noted that upcoming earnings reports from bellwether tech companies—in particular their outlook for the months ahead—will likely need to be favorable for this growth-oriented market rally to continue.

Adviser Investments Senior Vice President Chris Keith has the market analysis for Tuesday, April 16. The S&P 500 index ticked up 0.1% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite each climbed 0.3%. Chris discussed investors’ positive response to first-quarter earnings reports thus far, as well as homebuilders’ increased optimism in April, an encouraging sign as the spring homebuying season gets underway. He also looked at Apple and Qualcomm’s legal settlement of a royalties dispute.

Adviser Investments Vice President Charlie Toole has the market analysis for Monday, April 15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite each slipped 0.1% on light trading, with markets remaining near record highs as first-quarter earnings reporting season commences. The New York Fed reported that manufacturing activity rebounded this month from March’s nearly two-year low and new orders came in higher than expected—a strong sign for future activity. Charlie also discussed Goldman Sachs’ disappointing earnings report and CVS’ bounce on favorable media coverage in Barron’s.

David Mastroianni, strategic account executive at Adviser Investments, has the market analysis for Friday, April 12. Major U.S. stock indexes advanced on strong bank earnings reports, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and NASDAQ up 1.2%, 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively. Chevron made headlines with its announced $33 billion purchase of Anadarko Petroleum. The combined entity will be the second-largest energy company in the U.S.—Chevron’s stock closed the day down 5% while Anadarko surged 32%.

Brian Mackey, deputy director of research at Adviser Investments, has the market analysis for Thursday, April 11. Major U.S. stock indexes remained relatively flat and closed with mixed results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ fell 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, and the S&P 500 saw fractional gains. Meanwhile, Uber filed paperwork to launch its IPO with a target valuation of up to $100 billion. The SEC filing showed that the company lost $1.8 billion in 2018. Also making headlines, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos warned shareholders of the potential for “multibillion-dollar failures” on some company projects. Amazon’s stock closed the day down 0.2%

Adviser Investments’ Chief Investment Officer Jim Lowell has the market analysis for Wednesday, April 10. Major U.S. stock indexes advanced, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average seeing fractional gains and the S&P 500 and NASDAQ up 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively. The Federal Reserve dominated headlines, and Federal Open Market Committee minutes from its March meeting reflected cautious optimism and the likelihood of maintaining the 2.25% to 2.50% target rate through the remainder of 2019. Meanwhile, CEOs from several of the nation’s largest banks—including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and State Street—provided Congressional testimony related to financial sector regulatory efforts.

Adviser Investments’ Chief Investment Officer Jim Lowell has the market analysis for Tuesday, April 9. Major U.S. stock indexes declined as investors reacted to global concerns related to a potential trade war between the U.S. and E.U. as well as the International Monetary Fund’s 2019 forecast downgrade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% and both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ dropped 0.6%. In terms of economic data, the Small Business Optimism Index rose slightly for the third month in a row, remaining at elevated levels even as small businesses report difficulty finding skilled workers. Meanwhile, the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey indicated that job openings decreased in February at the fastest pace since 2015. That figure continues to exceed the number of unemployed workers, and the quits rate remained at 2.3% for the ninth consecutive month as employees demonstrate optimism about finding a new or better-paying job.

Adviser Investments’ Chief Investment Officer Jim Lowell has the market analysis for Monday, April 8. Major U.S. stock indexes closed with minimal movement and mixed results today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3% and the S&P 500 and NASDAQ up 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. This marks the eighth consecutive day of gains for the S&P 500, putting the index within 1.3% of its all-time high. Meanwhile, crude oil prices reached a five-month peak at more than $64/barrel as a result of ongoing tension in Libya and OPEC production cuts.