Stock Market News: Target Misses the Mark; BofA Fights the Fed

The stock market posted solid gains on Wednesday morning, as market participants looked forward to the scheduled signing of a preliminary agreement between the U.S. and China on certain trade issues. Trade has hung over the market for more than a year now, but signs of progress have investors excited about the future. As of 11 a.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) climbed 160 points to 29,099. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) gained 13 points to 3,297, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) rose 43 points to 9,294.

Earnings season continued to pick up momentum, and reports from a couple of companies from different sectors of the economy gave investors some insight. Target (NYSE: TGT) wasn't able to satisfy investors with its initial reading on how the holiday season went. For Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), mixed performance left some shareholders disappointed as they try to assess how difficult it'll be for the banking giant to overcome the low-interest-rate environment set in place by the Federal Reserve.

Shares of Target were down 7% after the department-store retailer reported its holiday sales results. Investors had gone into the holiday season with big hopes for a strong performance, but the numbers weren't quite good enough to meet those high expectations.

Source Fool.com