Text us your financial questions!

The U.S. stock market kicked off the week with soft performance, as Wall Street seemed worried about second quarter earnings. At the close of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1%; the S&P 500 Index eked out a gain of 0.02%; and the NASDAQ Composite closed 0.17% higher. Indices closed in the red zone on Tuesday, as Energy and Technology stocks led decliners while Industrials and Consumer Discretionary stocks ticked up. In economic news, retail sales increased in June. Census Bureau data showed sales rose 0.4% in June versus expectations of a 0.1% gain. Indices finished in red territory on Wednesday, dipping amid a variety of earnings releases. Housing starts dipped to an annualized rate of 1.25 million units for the month of June, falling short of analyst expectations. Additionally, the Federal Reserve released its July Beige Book, which details economic conditions in the 12 Federal Reserve districts. While the report was generally positive, international trade difficulties were a noted concern. After two days in the red, the market closed with gains on Thursday, rebounding from session lows on a variety of economic news. Initial jobless claims increased as Labor Department data showed claims rose by 8,000 to 216,000 in the week ended July 13. The results were slightly shy of consensus and Moody's Analytics forecasts. Indices ended the week in the red zone on Friday, with stocks trading lower amid a variety of quarterly earnings reports. Consumer confidence is up in July according to a preliminary reading from the University of Michigan. The survey rose to 98.4 from 98.2 in June, versus an expected reading of 98.5.