Stocks end higher as Kudlow expresses optimism over China trade talks Stocks closed out the week at record highs after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said trade negotiations between the U.S. and China are nearing the final stages. Meanwhile, the morning's economic data was mixed, with retail sales growth last month beating expectations and a gauge of factory activity falling short of forecasts. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., retail sales bounced 0.3% in October, with the ex-auto component rising 0.2%. The Empire State manufacturing survey fell 1.1 points to 2.9 in November. Import prices dropped 0.5%, with export prices slipping 0.1% in October. Industrial production dropped 0.8% and capacity utilization fell to 76.7% in October, which was weaker than forecast. Business inventories were flat in September, with sales slipping 0.2%. In energy news, Baker Hughes reported that the U.S. rig count was down 5 from last week to 817 rigs. TOP NEWS: Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) fell 2.7% following the company's report of its fiscal Q4 results as the company guided January quarter revenue slightly below expectations. Wall Street analysts were generally bullish on the report, with a number hiking their price targets for the shares and Craig-Hallum analyst Richard Shannon upgrading Nvidia to Buy from Hold. Taking the opposite side, New Street analyst Pierre Ferragu downgraded Nvidia to Neutral from Buy, citing "uncertain momentum" and his expectation that there will be a better entry point into the stock at some future date. Amazon (AMZN) told CNBC in an email that "numerous aspects of the JEDI evaluation process contained clear deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias -- and it's important that these matters be examined and rectified," suggesting that the e-commerce giant will challenge the award to Microsoft (MSFT) of the Department of Defense cloud computing services contract that could span 10 years and be worth up to $10B. Under Armour (UAA) said it was aware of recent media coverage concerning the company's business practices and reiterated its previously communicated view that the company "firmly believe that our disclosures and our accounting practices have been entirely appropriate. Our management and board of directors have reviewed this matter extensively over the past two and a half years and stand by the Company's financial reporting." Shares of Amarin Corporation (AMRN) gained 11.8% after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 16-0 to recommend an indication and label expansion for Vascepa capsules. In healthcare news, the Trump administration said it would start forcing hospitals to publicly disclose the discounted prices they negotiated with insurance companies. Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares were 2.6% higher after Reuters reported that an Oklahoma judge reduced the amount he is ordering the company to pay in the opioid decision against the company to $465M from $572M declared previously. Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) appeal of Oracle's (ORCL) copyright lawsuit. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was RH (RH), which rose 7.6% after a disclosure from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway revealed a new stake in the company formerly known as Restoration Hardware. Also higher were shares of Qiagen (QGEN), which finished the day 8.8% higher after announcing that after receiving "several conditional, non-binding indications of interest," the company has decided to enter into discussions to explore potential strategic alternatives. Among the notable losers was resTORbio (TORC), which plunged 86.3% after the company stopped the development of RTB101 in preventing clinically symptomatic respiratory illness after its PROTECTOR 1 Phase 3 study failed to meet its primary endpoint. Also lower was Aurora Cannabis (ACB), which fell 17% after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: The Dow rose 222.93, or 0.8%, to 28,004.89, the Nasdaq gained 61.81, or 0.73%, to 8,540.83, and the S&P 500 advanced 23.83, or 0.77%, to 3,120.45. Symbols: $NVDA $AMZN $MSFT $UAA $AMRN $JNJ $GOOG $GOOGL $ORCL $RH $QGEN $TORC $ACBSource: (thefly.com)Disclosure: I may trade in the ticker symbols mentioned, both long or short. My articles represent my personal opinion and analysis and should not be taken as investment advice. Readers should do their own research before making decisions to buy or sell securities. Trading and investing include risks, including loss of principal. If you liked this article, please click the LIKE (thumbs up) button. Feel free to leave any comments, question, or opinions. (Sign-up if you haven't already done so). Follow us/bookmark us and check back occasionally for additional articles or comments on our page... Wild Tiger Trading - start/main page.