retail closely and letting customers use their reference of choice in the gender debate, and that caused discourse. some say it impacted >> we're at the beginning of it. >> i think that is true. thank you for watching, everybody. >> "closing bell" starts right now. >> hi, everybody, this is the "closing bell" live from the new york stock exchange. i'm kelly evans. i'm wilfred frost in for bill griffeth the first february loss for the dow since 2009 >> energy with the worst month since 2015, but tech is strong breaking out the standouts and where to invest. first, bob is on the floor for more on the market moves, it's picking up steam, bob. >> reporter: yes, the problem is energy, a problem all day.

the major sectors here, there's a reversal when real estate trusts are on the top of the leaders here, but that's what's been going on. seve yields down, energy down 1%, materials, banks, cyclicals weak a problem with crude, put up crude, put up 1030, weekly inventory, big build, oil fell apart, and the market got not just energy stocks, but oil recovered in the midday and fell apart in the last 20 minutes and market again fell apart, the overall market here. here's the big oil names you can see moving to the downside, and these are big volume numbers right here, just come up here, take a look here, 2.5% decline in the big names the volume, 8.5 million shares is heavy volume for the energy stocks it's been dropping partly because there's not been a lot of bids in the market. we had light volume and all the big etfs, the s&p 500 etf, mid

cap, russell 2,000, iwm, we watch the big guys tra traders use these, very, very light volume, third of the normal this is the last trading day of the month. february kind of crazy down 2.5, 2.6% does that mean next month is a bad month? no we asked the partners to look at what happens when the s&p drops more than 2% the following months are generally good. s&p 500 up 8%, and dow up 1.pennsylvan1.5% remember, these are averages >> thank you for that, and, kelly, it seems a lot particularly about the nasdaq down half a percent, and international were taking note of, germany, hong kong, china, down 6%. >> wow >> germany down 6% >> down 6%, u.k. down 4%, 3% but germany, china, and hong kong down sharply, japan down 4% they have not enjoyed the bounce

banks from the lows seen here state side meantime, united technologies trading higher on news that bill ackman is building stake in the company. morgan is has the details of that >> reporter: that's right, wil technology shares are the top performer in the dow industrials today. scott walker broke the details of the story that said, the company is denying to comment, days after the ceo and chairman greg hayes is reviewing the portfolio to see if different businesses could be worth more broken up rather than kept together. he said that review would be down by the end of the year after united tech closes on the $30 billion acquisition of rockwell collins he said this last week, that aerospace business could generate $50 billion in sales at the climate controls business, could be worth up to $18 billion in sales, and otis elevator

business could compromise up to $13 billion in sales talking about three segments that are really big businesses in their own right, so after a lot of speculation in wall street in recent months, united tech could be right for an activist investor campaign not surprising to hear bill has been amassing a stake. now, it's unclear whether that stake in his involvement in it will be passive or active, but this does speak to a broader sector trend in industrials. basically, the deed to industrials, be it honeywell, split from alcoa or ge, a trend that has been largely fueled by activist investors or in some cases even just potential for this guys, back to you. >> morgan, thank you very much, for that continue the market discussion now, tim anderson from tm investments, and, gentlemen, good afternoon to both brandon, starting with you in

terms of sector picks. industrials a pick you like at the moment or you stay away? >> neutral outlike on industrials for a while. the two sectors we are positive on is technology and financials. technology is a leader for many years. we continue to think it's probably got a lot of potential, and financials, of course, mostly because of the rising interest rates we expect three or four hikes this year. financials benefitted thus far and likely will continue to benefit from that. >> well-loved areas from the market at the same time, industrials have done well and take about multiples like what boeing trade at >> well, certainly, industrials would be a major beneficiary if a bill gets through congress before the enof the year, and what's interesting is that these are typically not late cycle stocks people talk about we may be in the 7th or 8th or 9th inning of the rally, these are stocks that

participate very strongly in the second or third inning of a rally, so, to the degree that activists can really approach companies that large and try to make a value added move, you know, we have to see interesting that the stock has an impact today from the track record not been stellar over the last couple years >> in terms of the teches you like, extraordinary rebound in the month of february. it's the only sector higher in the s&p and difference between that and impacts are huge. does that worry you? >> no, not really. these are high beta names. they outperformed the broader markets for a long, long time. when you is a pressure like we came through, the stocks go down faster like they go up faster. aside from the volatility trade,

mostly washed out, all the other catalysts, if you will, for the correction we had are still there. now that we have a rebound, it's dramatic talking about the market down 2% in february, nothing compared to having been down 10.1% two weeks ago. >> right >> so i'm a little concerned that perhaps this recovery's going a little too fast. >> not to mention, the volatility is looking at that. up 19. >> yeah. >> so it's moved higher today in the selling pickup into the close, what's that say to you? >> two things market needs to be comfortable with to go higher, higher level of volatility, a new normal type paradigm we're entering i don't see volatility going back to where it was, even if we do make new highs on the dow because interest rates are also going to go higher, at least gradually, and i think the market has to get used to also, and the market can get used to higher rates, it just doesn't want to see them get there very

sharply in a short period of time >> right threading a fine needle there. the thread is fine anyway, jim, randy, thank you, guys, very much. turning now to housing, new data on january home sales, well below wall street's expectations here's the numbers from washington diana? >> reporter: well, it's not a great start to the year. this is likely a sign of things to come this spring. pending home sales with unsigned contracts, so people shopping in january and making deals down 4.7% compared to december, and 3.8% from last january mortgage rates rise at the start of the year, and the 30-year fix is now more than half a percentage point higher than on january 1, and it is still gaining. falling back at the start of the week, but bounced right back yesterday to a four-year high after fed chairman powell's remarks about stronger economy now, realtors are reporting strong buyer traffic, but you can't buy a house if you can't find what you want or you can't

afford what you want the record low supply of homes for sale continues to heat up prices so buyers need to save for bigger down payments a current read on home buying last week, mortgage applications to purchase a home rose compared to the previous week, but still just 3% higher from a year ago this may be a sign more listings are coming on the market, but, so far, bulk of supply is on the high end, not the entry level where demand is strongest. back to you guys >> we are talking about the roam of interest rates and the weather, and all of that, but quick question for you is it possible that the tax policy uncertainty was a factor when people go, wait, a minute, property taxes where do i want this home sale to be? how much am i going to be able to afford amid uncertainty in washington and took a year off >> that plays into affordability, obviously, when you lose that deduction on property taxes or mortgage interest, but that's really in very high cost markets, perhaps

in new york, california, and even in illinois the bulk of the country, though, we saw home sales fall it was not just in the really cold northeast it was across the board. a lot of this is affordability, having to do with that monthly may want payment, and people not qualifying for the size of the mortgage they want because rates are higher, and that changes your debt to income qualifications, so it's all about affordability, high prices, all plays into the same game >> great point thank you. weak start for housing this year 50 minutes to go, dow is down, down about selling picked up here in the final hour see it across the board. the nasdaq in positive territory, and russell the worst performer. >> just starting here on the "closing bell. next up, the man who passed on ring, talking to a shark that may be licking wounds today after amazon bought the smart doorbell reportedly were at least a cool billion

plus, more details on why amazon bought ring in the first place and what the u.s. economy and the target will look like if gasoline soars to $3 a gallon quickly. this is the "closing bell" on cnbc, live from the new york stock exchange where can invest predictabe in an uncertain world? pgim sees alpha in real assets. like agriculture to feed the world. and energy to fuel its growth. real estate such as e-commerce warehouses. and private debt to finance transportation and infrastructure. building blocks of strategies to pursue consistent returns over time from over one hundred fifty billion dollars in real assets. partner with pgim. the global investment management businesses of prudential.

us. it's what this country is made of. but right now, our bond is fraying. how do we get back to "us"? the y fills the gaps. and bridges our divides. donate to your local y today. because where there's a y, there's an us.

you know what's not awesome? gig-speed internet. when only certain people can get it. let's fix that. let's give this guy gig- really? and these kids, and these guys, him, ah. oh hello. that lady, these houses! yes, yes and yes. and don't forget about them. uh huh, sure. still yes! xfinity delivers gig speed to more homes than anyone. now you can get it, too. welcome to the party.

zplmplg welcome back, tech only positive average, the dow down 154 points here are reasons why the nasdaq is trying to stay positive o'reilly auto up 3%, and marriott and seagate up 2% >> outperforming february, down 1% as well pandora up nearly 3% in late trading today, jumping after spotify revealed they plan to go public with up to $1 billion in shares on the new york stock exchange under the ticket symbol spot, s-p-o-t. interesting to see the arrival jump off the back of the news. stealing liquidity from each other, but others think it's a

valuation support. >> it's a long perspective, but fascinating to dig through it. this is the chance to look inside a business. the company is not going on road shows to promote themselves. they are doing this in a different way and the stock will get attention. this was a couple hundred pages. this will be a quick skim. shares of amazon higher today as company confirmed they are buying ring in a deal reportedly worth near a billion dollars. cnbc has more on why amazon wanted ring so badly hey, dee >> reporter: this deal gives amazon more than just a foothold in the home security space, but amazon can push into a number of businesses that have become big bets for the company in recent years like artificial intelligence, smart homes, hardware, and logistics. now ring makes internet connected doorbells and cameras and works with alexa jeff said he's doubles down on alexa and buying ring is one way to do so and also boosting

amazon's smart home capabilities and killed a couple other birds with rings this helps with last mile delivery to prevent missed dropoffs and stolen packages, something amazon worked on with the key service, but third party smart locks. there's a hardware angle here. despite the smart phone flop years ago, amazon is micciaking push with echo, fire tv, and own security cameras, putting it in competition with nest and home lines, now with ring's engineers and expertise. amazon does not make big acquisitio acquisitions two in the past worth more than a billion dollars. that is whole foods and zappos in 2014. it's not all that surprising that there's more to this one than just smart doorbell back over to you >> all right, deidre, thank you. the ring ceo made an appearance on "shark tank" in november of 2013 i love this story. well, he was on shark to pitch

the product amazon bought, but he left empty handed only investors rejected the pitch other than kevin who offered him a loan, and he turned it down. joining us now is kevin o'leary, good afternoon to you. got to revisit that particular pitch on "shark tank," you offered a loan of sorts, but not a full offer do you now regret that >> ell, first of all, i think giving anybody $700,000 is a full offer, and there's a reason they call me mr. wonderful i was the only shark to make any offer. we did not see eye to eye, and when i saw the deal cross the tape, i said, wow, i couldn't believe the price tag. unbelievable >> so, kevin, you offered a loan, but annoyed you didn't strike a deal of some sort "shark tank" misses, as far as

they go, this has to be the biggest. >> one of the biggest. the largest was albertson's purchase of play due, that was 300 million. this is three times that size and more this shows you how big the shark tank platform becomes. every year deals get bigger and exits get bigger shark tank is the no. 1 venture capital platform on earth, i argue, today, just look at what it does to small companies it gets 10 million eyeballs a week in aggregate broadcast and syndication. >> and he said, look, it was after i appeared on the show that the sales of the product started to take off, and they have since broadened it from that one initial one that was pitched to more products i have to ask you this as now, you know, we consider whether this was a good acquisition by amazon, maybe they have bigger plans with it, why did you pass on it something about, you know, fundamentals of the business or ease of competition to come in here

do you think there's still relevant concerns that at least amazon should keep in mind >> remember the time this occurred, a single product, valuation at the time was insane, little in sales, and a lot of competitors, some large like adt we said, well, this is a crap shoot. the only reason i gave him any offer at all was the more i listened to him -- understand, that taping was one hour and 20 minutes. you saw eight minutes. jamie was a really good salesperson, and i wanted to bet on the jockey, not the horse in this deal. i figured, look, if i loan him $700,000 and i get a one, i get equity in it, that's a good bet on a jockey. if he doesn't get it on this one, he'll pivot to something else he did he's a phenomenal salesperson. he had the ora of greatness. do i regret i don't have 100 million extra dollars today?

sure my mother taught me never to cry over spilled milk. there's more opportunities next time the door opens. >> rich milk we're talking about. what do you think of the fire of the company, amazon, why are they doing it, and is it the authority of a new trend buy more companies like this of this size? >> you know, people talk about the last mile of the amazon delivery i talk about the last yard one of the biggest problem is how do you get the package away from a thief the idea of this product and the way people are building new homes is to put a vestibule, open the first door, place the product behind and homeowner from behind picks it up. ring does it perfectly i think what they are doing at amazon is solving the last yard and also the real hidden jewel here is an ongoing subscription service because you can buy multiple levels of security on these home cams now. ones that store imagery for months and you pay a fee for

that they are trying to do one thing at once with a good partner. this kid was good. i've seen a lot of pitches, and i'm going to give him a 9.6 out of 10. he can really pitch it >> hindsight is 20/20, kevin, thank you very much for joining us >> thank you >> we have got about 40 minutes or so to go before the bell. we've been at or near session lows for most of the show, 177 points down, nasdaq negative territory as well. it was holding on to slight gains. still ahead, new fed chair says the market's tumbling suggesting there could be four hikes in 2018 breaking down how bank stocks react to a hawkish fed you may feel serious pain at the pump just in time for the summer driving season. what $3 means for the economy and for the stock market and for the stock market ahead on "closing bell."

directv gives you more for your thin your top-rated thing. that five stars, two thumbs up, 12-out-of-10, would recommend thing. because if you only want the best thing, you get the #1 thing. directv is rated #1 in customer satisfaction over cable. switch now and get a $200 reward card. more for your thing. that's our thing. call 1.800.directv gglobal bonds, and high-dividend strategies.

sure, these are investments. but they're not what people really invest in. what people really invest in, is what they hope to get out of life. but helping them get there takes a pure focus. because when you invest their money without distraction, hidden agenda or competing interests, something wonderful can happen. they might just get what they want out of life, and maybe even more. today, a focus on innovation in the southern tier is helping build the new new york. starting with advanced manufacturing that brings big ideas to life. and cutting-edge transportation development to connect those ideas to the world. along with urban redevelopment projects worthy of the world's top talent. all across new york state, we're building the new new york. to grow your business with us in new york state visit esd.ny.gov.

welcome back, we got about 36 minutes to the close, right near session lows at the moment, and dow down 0.8%, nasdaq negative as well, and real estate, consumer discretionary only positive stocks today, and energy down 1.8%, also worst performing sector in february as well >> a lot of what's going on today, dow down 220, and spoke to art, watch oil, wti down a

buck and a half a barrel, down 61 off the report this morning >> energy, sreally no rebound there from the lows compared to the other sectors. >> more on that in a moment. a quick check on shares the lowe's, though the retailer fell after reporting an earnings miss this morning, beat revenue and the stock is down 6.5%. coming up, owners have a big reason to smile as the new gas report says gas prices, despite what happened today, are on track to jump in the coming months breaking down the economic impact of higher prices at the pump plus, we are set for an exciting amp of earnings with l brands, and monster, and one name moved 5% afterreporting its numbers. which one when we return in a couple minutes

pg&e, this is jerris, how may i help you today? i help customers with their bills. there's different rates to fit different needs, so listening is a huge part of my job. because customers want to know that you hear them. they have kids, they have families, they have priorities. i definitely understand that. i have three children, i was a stay at home mom, i didn't have money to pay the bills, and so i put myself in their shoes. and i'm going to do all that i can to lower their bills and to help their situation.

to choose the rate plan that works best for your family, visit pge.com/rates. together, we're building a better california. stocks move lower on final day of february. here's the 30 components nasdaq now negative. you have names in the green like united technologies, of course, blackman, increasing a position there, and apple, microsoft, ibm

up there, tech hanging in there, boeing, of course, still green ge, caterpillar, dupont, and procter & gamble are the underperformers today. sue? >> this is what's happening at this hour. classes resume today at stoneman douglas high school in florida the students were surrounded by a heavy police presence as they entered and left school grounds. many said they were relieved to get back to some type of normalcy >> i don't want to say we didn't talk about it, because we did, but, you know, just trying to retain the sense of normalcy we had before this. at the end of the day, life has to go on, and, you know, doesn't mean we forget the people we knew before, you know what i mean >> meghan hopes to hit the ground running as part of the british royal family, attending an event in london alongside prince harry and william and it

was to celebrate the work of the royal foundation which supports various charities. >> a former employee at proxy adviser institutional shareholder services testifying he leaked details how the investor clients voted on several proposals in order to get tickets to sporting events to jay-z and u-2 concerts. he was fired in 2012 you're up to date. that's the news update this hour kelly, back downtown to you. >> thank you very much for that. we're beginning to switch focus now for a little bit to talk about banks and the impact that rising rates have, but a quick look at the performance you see in february because banks have been the second best performing sector, down about.5%, nearly flat, good as february goes. up 3.5% from the lows, but look at some of the names, goldman sachs, for example, morgan stanley, up 8% or 9%

why are they outperforming in the rebound? because trading revenues are expected to be good in this high, more volatile environment. as for the fed, clearly, more rate hikes are better for banks. power playing into that yesterday, but any incremental rate hikes from here have less impact from a year, year and a half ago, and that's playing out of the rate hikes and saw higher mortgage rates, and jpmorgan downgraded their forecast for loan growth, and seeing that across banks while rates are good, less impact than they had before. the broader point, kelly, i think, jay powell can affect deregulation we talk about it yesterday as well as about that, and the two key areas, smaller banks, rhetoric focused on that, and investment banks, already had a decent months because it continues to come up big cap money centers, perhaps, that might have run hard, might

have put in rate hikes and benefit less you look at valuations >> fair point, joining our exchange on that note, today, we have steve grasso with us at post nine, and rick santelli at the cme in chicago back to financials in a second, but this afternoon, we have seen the selling pick up. what do you think's going on here >> i think it's an after effect of yesterday people tried to get their head around and portfolios around what chairman powell is talking about, whether he is adding a lot of unknowns back into the equation where everyone thought there was going to be x amount of rate hikes, x plus 1 now, or is it going to be -- still getting his head around where we see this economy so i think a lot of this stuff is we talked about last week where the markets were and where they rallied to on friday, and so we're at 2700 last week in the s&p. that seems to be a good sense of

stability and support in the market, and that was before the jay powell came out, so i think that's where you see the market stay to that level that should be support in the overall marketplace. >> yesterday, chairman said he felt growth improved what's your take in that, in light to the data we see today is he missing something? >> well, tell you what, it's funny you brought that up because i was thinking exactly the same thing when he said it it did not jive. i think we've had a couple hiccups, actually, in the economy since december it doesn't mean the economy's slowing drastically, but, obviously, fourth quarter gdp did not stack up right to the second and third quarters. yet to see what the first quarter looks like, and estimates are lower than they were just four, five weeks ago, and ultimately, i think it's more of a push than an improvement, but what i find

most fascinating is, just because he likes the economy doesn't mean we have more rate increases. the fact that we are building in two, maybe three before he came on the scene, to me, still dove tails nicely with the definition or comments of a strong economy, and with regards to inflation, you know, some of the topics that i've read about since the comments yesterday make me style. you know, are we going to move from a deflationary time into an inflation time deflation? are people crazy it's an argument between inflation and more inflation i don't think deflation comes into the picture at all, and, quite frankly, it's most of what i heard is based on one wage component in the last employment report, else at year over year, up 2.9, i have a feeling that we're going to all see that it is not very sustainable, and i still think that if you look at maximum or full employment, 95

million people are not without skills that's the part of the labor pool not working that can work, and i still say at the end of the day, that 95 million and how labor force participation rate might start to move up and draw some back in the work force is the most underestimated future fundamental out there. >> that would be a positive, but the flip side is if we couldn't get another good wage number, and that report's coming up in another week or so, does all the sudden the rate trade, inflation trade, bank trade, is that cloudier >> what you touched on before the segment, as far as deregulation within the financial institutions, i think that is probably 80% of it i think this is all icing. it's great to have rates increase for the banks and for that sector, but i think they have been mired in such regulation, and the fact that they are finally removing that off the space, and the unknowns that you had within that sector, i think that is the real tail

winds. we talk inflation, a couple months ago, the fed had no clue what the story was on inflation. i don't think that's going to be answered now >> i will tell you the biggest big bet i talk to clients on a daily basis this is idea of whether they pour gasoline on the flame with these tax cuts. i think the chairman is on record saying that it's going to be less inflationary than once thought. maybe the productivity will kick in, maybe all of this is worries that could be spent worrying elsewhere. >> tells us what to watch. it comes out every quarter >> right >> it's a slow moving kind of thing. >> what everyone should focus season is the tax cuts coming down from 35% to 21% that's going to put a tail wind to most of the corporations, and even those withhybrid effectiv tax rates benefit. >> okay. >> very good >> steve and rick, thank you very much, to you both

still cotto come, dow off te lows, down 189, though, nasdaq slightly underwater, and underwater for february. markets have been volatile since the lows looking at the standouts since then, where to find opportunity to invest. this summer's driving season likely to be the most expensive in four years. mpw much will you pay at the pu we'll discuss that when "closing bell" returns. growth stocks, global bonds and high-dividend strategies. sure, these are investments. but they're not what people really invest in. what people really invest in, is what they hope to get out of life. but helping them get there takes a pure focus. because when you invest their money without distraction, hidden agenda or competing interests, something wonderful can happen. they might just get what they want out of life, and maybe even more.

your insurance on time. tap one little bumper, and up go your rates. what good is having insurance if you get punished for using it? news flash: nobody's perfect. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™

liberty mutual insurance. i'm not really a, i thought wall street guy.ns. what's the hesitation? eh, it just feels too complicated, you know? well sure, at first, but jj can help you with that. jj, will you break it down for this gentleman? hey, ian. you know, at td ameritrade, we can walk you through your options trades step by step until you're comfortable. i could be up for that. that's taking options trading from wall st. to main st. hey guys, wanna play some pool? eh, i'm not really a pool guy. what's the hesitation? it's just complicated.

step-by-step options trading support from td ameritrade >> welcome back, off the lows, down 174 on the dow, and all three indexes in the red winners today, let's take a look coming up -- we got them coming -- united tech, of course, and up 1.3%, apple, cisco, the tech stocks doing very well today as they have done in the month of february. >> energy, the flipside, having a bad month, down today. the concerns are actually about gas prices going higher. you may have to pay a bit more

to take the road trip this summer, and new report from the oil price information service says summer gas prices could hit levels not seen since 2014, jumping 11% from current crisis to around 280 per gallon, so cities could see $3 per gallon, and some are seeing that already. >> what about prices rising, how does that affect consumer spending we bring in mike santolli. before we get back to the economy, quickly, explain why the prices spike in light of a terrible month for crude prices, and as it seems, rising supply >> right a bit of a lag certainly, refining capacity is a piece of that, but key is, people are predicting to the summer season. we in a low demand seasonally, so the expectation is because of all the factors of where the refining capacity is and what they can supply in the u.s. market, it's going to

potentially get us up to $3 per gallon for the summer. >> steve, what's the impact of that these days? a lot lately on how higher gas prices are good for the u.s. and told we produced 10 million barrels a day last month this is sea change is this good for us, higher gas prices >> very complicated now, kelly it used to be easy when we were a country that imported the petroleum, it was easy all the money went to the consumer or to the consumer, depending on what happened to gas prices, but you see imports are down and down in a big way that ends up helping the u.s. economy, and if you look at production, we are up now approaching, as you said, 10 million a day. what we saw and what we got wrong, in fact, the fed admitted they got this wrong, was that the last gas price slump, we thought it was going to add to the economy. it was not what was taken out -- what was put back in consumer's pockets was taken from producers, and

interesting fact when you look at the equipment business sepending, that is coming from the energy sector. >> mike, talk about what this might do in terms of inflation and the effects of that. >> as far as markets are concerned, that would be the thing with the most impact, i think in terms of inflation expectations obviously, higher gasoline prices would push up the headline inflation numbers, which are, after all, what the fed technically keys off of with inflation targets. steve speaks to that as well that's the sensitivity in the market i don't believe they are saying if gasoline prices are up to $3 per gallon -- last that in 2014, and we didn't think that was a major restraint on economic growth -- i don't think they are saying that is a key reason to worry about the consumer average weekly wages since 2014, up $65 per week. >> oh, wow >> it's not a killer for the economy, but it is something the market pays attention to with

regards to inflation >> remember, you also have tax cuts coming through as well. better wages and better tax cuts look at the volatility in gas prices consumers, i think, by now, are used to this, and are not relying upon any stability at all in gas prices, so you look at it, like, okay, what happens if consumers find ways to do what economists call smooth their spending they bar row more, and all that said, it's important to know the people hit hardest by highest gas prices are the poor. it's a progressive tax you want to offset that. it's not a welcomed development necessarily, but - >> no, that's what makes -- steve, it's interesting that that's why we had reports in the last couple weeks about the trump administration, reportedly, the president himself, floating the idea of hiking the gas tax to pay for fr infrastructure that's back to the question of how much consumer harm are we talking about? >> you know, what do they say, a penny is like a billion or two out of consumers' pockets. scale that up, and you are

talking about a third to six tenths of a percentage point of gdp. that could be fairly meaningful over time, depending upon what else is going on, kelly. >> yeah, i know, more meaningful lately than we'd like. every little cent as well as the gdp this morning, 2.5% >> it's a big element in confidence gas prices spike, confidence goes down beyond actual impact on the economy or people's pocketbooks. >> mike, quickly, a big impact on the market today has been crude prices, which, of course, falling as opposed to potentially rising like gas prices this summer >> yeah. hitting the energy sector, of course, affected, but a drag on industrials as well. just as a general dollar firming up, to the tune of the reverse of the trade working so well in terms of high liquidity and seeking cyclical growth. >> thank you so much >> pleasure. >> energy, consumer staples among the worst performing sectors this month we have a look at the stocks since the low.

landon >> markets on a wild ride, and since initially posted a more than 1,000 point decline on february 9th, stocks on a roller coaster, but s&p is managing to be in positive territory the next two weeks the broader index recovered nearly up 8% since the february fog and consumer staple index up just 2%. however, there's a few standouts. browns foreman up 10%, they are benefitting from a strong spirit sale smuckers and costco up as well, and investors are optimistic about smucker's new products, and costco benefitting to strong sales because of low prices. some are struggling to bounce back like walmart down 5% on recent earnings report showing lags in online sales, and general mills slip as they react to acquisition of pet food brand blue buffalo, and heinz slowing reductions, benefitting from the

two merge. back to you. >> thank you let's check in on markets before we go 14 minutes to go we sold off to 260 now, down a full percent if we close here for the month, we would be down a full 3.8%, so it's really worked as we get near the close >> a couple factors, art watching here, one is a drop in energy prices we had today, and other is the end of the month, the last trading day of february, not a good month, and might be month end selling weighing on us with 13 minutes to go. >> crude down 2.5% at 61.5 still to come after the bell, we'll get quarterly results from salesforce, l. brands, box, and monster beverage how the stocks move after the earnings are released. closing bell" is back in two

at ally, we offer low-cost trades and high-yield savings. but if that's not enough, we offer innovative investing tools to prepare you for the future. looks like you hooked it. and if that's not enough, we'll help your kid prepare for the future. don't hook it kid. and if that's still not enough, we'll help your kid's kid prepare for the future. looks like he hooked it. we'll do anything... takes after his grandad. seriously anything, to help you invest for the future. ally. do it right. seriously anything, to help you invest for the future. yes or no?gin. do you want the same tools

and seamless experience across web and tablet? do you want $4.95 commissions for stocks, $0.50 options contracts? $1.50 futures contracts? what about a dedicated service team of trading specialists? did you say yes? good, then it's time for power e*trade. the platform, price and service that gives you the edge you need. looks like we have a couple seconds left. let's do some card twirling twirling cards e*trade. the original place to invest online.

it's "you've never gamed with speeds like this" internet. it's "all your teenagers streaming at once" internet. it's "i can get up to one, two, three, four, five mobile lines included?" internet! it's internet from xfinity that makes your life simple, easy, awesome. see how you can save by adding xfinity mobile to your internet. plus, save even more when you sign up for internet, tv and voice together. click, call, or visit an xfinity store today. welcome back, ten minutes to go, and trading for the month of february, going out of the lows of the session, dow's down 300 points now, about 316 at the lowest art said that at one point, there was 3.3 billion to sell on

the bell that's a big number. he said there's still 2.5 billion to go. here's why we have seen gaps lower in the last couple minutes of the trading session as we mentioned, nasdaq held on to gains, but now, broadly, we are seeing all of the averages moving >> yeah. nasdaq down a full 0.6% now, of course, the best -- tech is still the best performer in the month of february, but closing lower for the month by 1.7% for the nasdaq >> let's get a check, meantime, on today's market movers here are the major etfs that track the market dow etf down 1.2% right now. the s&p 500 etf down about 0 partnersh0.9% and the qqq for nasdaq is down the same pattern is playing out in the trading session, again, eight, nine minutes to go. dow is down session low about 315 points >> after the bell, we get reports from salesforce, l.

brands, box, and monster beverage salesforce moved 3.5% either up or down over the past eight quarters after earnings released, and l. brands moved 4.7%, and same for box monster beverage moves 4.9% on average after it reports those are numbers that are coming out in just a few minutes. we'll bring them to you as they cross, and even for a company like salesforce. >> i know. hinting some tried to stay green today in what is a broadly negative session dow down 315 points. up next, back with the closing countdown. >> pushing into consumer banking, why the wall street firm eyes inma street clients still to come on "the closing still to come on "the closing bell."

today, the new new york is sparking innovation. you see it in the southern tier with companies that are developing powerful batteries that make everything from cell phones to rail cars more efficient. which helps improve every aspect of advanced rail technology. all with support from a highly-educated workforce and vocational job training. across new york state, we're building the new new york. to grow your business with us in new york state, visit esd.ny.gov. to grow your business with us in new york state, and i recently had hi, ia heart attack. it changed my life. but i'm a survivor. after my heart attack, my doctor prescribed brilinta. it's for people who have been hospitalized for a heart attack. brilinta is taken with a low-dose aspirin. no more than 100 milligrams as it affects how well brilinta works. brilinta helps keep platelets from sticking together and forming a clot. in a clinical study, brilinta worked better than plavix. brilinta reduced the chance of having another heart attack... ...or dying from one. don't stop taking brilinta without talking to your doctor, since stopping it too soon increases your risk

of clots in your stent, heart attack, stroke, and even death. brilinta may cause bruising or bleeding more easily, or serious, sometimes fatal bleeding. don't take brilinta if you have bleeding, like stomach ulcers, a history of bleeding in the brain, or severe liver problems. slow heart rhythm has been reported. tell your doctor about bleeding new or unexpected shortness of breath any planned surgery, and all medicines you take. if you recently had a heart attack, ask your doctor if brilinta is right for you. my heart is worth brilinta. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

show of hands. let's get started. who wants customizable options chains? ones that make it fast and easy to analyze and take action? how about some of the lowest options fees? are you raising your hand? good then it's time for power e*trade the platform, price and service that gives you the edge you need. alright one quick game of rock, paper, scissors. 1, 2, 3, go. e*trade. the original place to invest online. welcome back, four minutes of trade right near session lows here on the last couple minutes of trading for the month of february down 326 points on the dow standing to the lows of 342, down 1.2%, marking a 4% decline

for the month of february, of course, we still fell high from the lows on february 8th today's trade, starting with oil intra-day. a decent slide around 2.5% for oil, particularly that intra-day chart, one selloff at 10:00 a.m. and one at 1:00 p.m. look at the s&p intra-day chart, down a percent, particularly the afternoon selloff saying that as we saw oil pick up, the selloff in the afternoon, that dragged broader markets down, and energy is the worst performing sector today on the s&p 500, down about 2% if we broaden out the sectors for the month of february as a whole, energy is very much the worst performing sector, ending up this month down some 9%, so, yes, we had a big rebound from february the 8th lows this month, but it's been very december pretty between sectors. the best performing sector, of course, for the month of february is technologies, the only one that remains in the

green for the month as a whole, but only fractionally in the green. financials, the source enjoyed a decent rebound in investment bank from the lows, but even they are down some 2.7% for the month of as a whole. there's that energy performance, down 11.2% oil very much a factor in today's selloff in the disappointing performance we've seen so far throughout the month of february. bob joins me now down the oil stocks and overall market the second is, and i think this is weighing on the market, fairly large market on closes, orders put in for the final print of the day by p traders, those trading mutual funds, can't trade in the middle of the day, and buy and sell, and executed at the close for you. this is aggregated into the market on close orders this is the last day of the

month it's on the order of 2.5 billion, a little large. you talked global markets, down 3%, and elsewhere, you look around the world, everything down 5-8%, europe down 6% hong kong, shanghai down 6, and, look, down 4% in japan interesting differences. yes, the nasdaq only down 1.6, and the dow with this selling, down 3.45, now the lows of the day, down 4% in that category >> we have -- that's going to be the worst performance in two years that we've seen, the s&p and the dow. we had extraordinary ten-month wind screen for the s&p. we have not had that since 1959. it is now ending

i was hopeful -- i can't remember when we had 11 straight months on the upside >> volatility in the month of february is clearly back we had more plus or minus moves than all of 2017 combined, and with 19 trading days we're getting more normal. it's what we've seen in the last year or two years, just a little unusual. >> here's why i'm still optimist optimistic since the bottom, about february 8th, we have seen the whole cyclical group come back in a big way, industries, technologies, material stocks moving up. this tells me traders believe the growth story is in tact, and believe the earnings growth story, earnings at record highs still in fact, so i don't see signs of that happening. i want to clarify what he meant when he said "the economic conditions have improved since december." >> it's not all bad, likes of ups, microsoft, boeing, apple in

the top of the dow stocks specific industrials doing well and teches. there goes the bell. down 366 on the dow closing at the session lows, ringing the bell here, union acquisition corporation, and that is it for the first hour of the "closing bell," and down 380 points, right at the session lows, down more than 4%, the dow, for the month of february. that's the first hour, now over to kelly for the second half >> thank you, will welcome to "closing bell," everybody, i'm kelly evans see how the markets settle out on a day like this dow down nearly 400 points ending february the way it went all along, on a down note, 1.5% drop for the dow, down 387, down 1100 points in total for the month for context. 2523 is the closing level for the blue ships

s&p 500 down to 2713, and nasdaq composite, down three quarters on the bell, and russ,000, nearly -- there it is, worst performer down 1.5%. russell gave up 24 points, so a couple other things going on the dollar a little bit stronger today, volatility gauge above 20 as we close things out here. oil moving lower a lot of moving pieces to hit. we'll circle back in a moment. earnings continue after the bell, and our reporters are standing by to bring us the results. we are covering salesforce, and josh lipton with box, and courtney reagan is monitoring l brands we'll see you all in a moment. thank you very much. joining me on set, cn board of arbitration c's senior market commentator is here, and growth partners, and john blake too, from investment research welcome, one and all

the big winner, if we call it that on the dow today, united technologies, stayed positive by half a percent on the news that bill and persing is building a stake in the company caterpillar was the big loser with a 4% drop tjmaxx the winner, up 4% for the company during the holiday, shares up 7% on the bell, and albemarle lower, and that's not the whole story of the market drop, do you think >> not at all. obviously, energy hurt you saw caterpillar worst in the dow. people took away potential for infrastructure to come along after -- i think in general, maybe some month end going on today you can't attribute to just that. market's in an unusual spot where the overarching top concerns are maybe the economy's going to overheat, fed would be aggressive, and inflation would be too much for comfort. at the same time, the short term

economic reports come in soft. >> right >> so you have the economic surprise index rolling over at the same time people don't know if they should be positioned for slower back. >> good point. a speedup scare or slowdown scare? what's beginning on here >> a slow down scare especially in sectors like real estate if you see interest rates are rising faster than expected this year, that impacts the domestic real estate market >> that's the funny thing. if interest rates rise, that's a speedup scare, right your sector is hit because, you know, for real estate, that's what you talk about, what's happening with the economy can we bank on rates moving higher it's been softer over the last couple days. >> you know, i think we're going to see a 3% growth in 2018, which is okay, but there's risk. there's political risk there's interest rate movement there's a lot of volatility in the market, in the domestic setting here, and that's why our company, focused on outside the u.s., seeing opportunity in latin america today, driven by

longer term demographic trends supporting long term growth. we have a long term view >> stronger dollar -- dollar, by the way, with the best month in a year, okay up 1.7%. it's been incredibly weak, that's usually great for emer emerging markets we are seeing strength coming back in. >> we're a dollar investor, so as it strengthens, we invest in the peso, that makes our entry point more attractive, so for us looking today, you know, there's a lot of opportunities that are becoming more attractive, and interest rates rise, dollar strengthens. >> john, what do you think is going on with earnings as a factor here? you know, getting to the close of february, it's been a rockier one than seen in the months. >> kelly, earnings are outstanding. look at 18% annual earnings growth for 2018, and you got a stock market of the s&p 500 after two months with this selling. still up 2%, and that's a 12% return on 18% earnings growth. we can probably ignite another 5% or 6%, so earnings growth at 18% is nothing to sneeze at.

that's outstanding >> yeah, no, it's great. so the question is, why are we all -- why are we talking about markets, john, that don't seem to cheered by that do they price it all in? is that the point howard marc and others made, priced in earnings and priced in cash to perform, and maybe overly did it, what do you think? >> yeah, that's it, kelly. got ahead of ourselves this is a classic correction, down to 16.9 on the s&p 500 off 2018 earnings, pretty standard what we got is got ahead of ourselves. standard thing to do in an excited market super thin over two months, probably make 18%, just on the earnings growth, that's fine this year. we'll climb back much more slowly than we saw earlier in the year >> real quickly, mike, what do you think the significance of the volatility, back above 20 today. >> still unsettled, reflecting the strengths we had nothing really broken or flukey in the markets right now in terms of driving the vix we are used to a slightly higher

volatility environment right now, and we're about halfway into the s&p between the lows of the correction and the all-time highs. everybody said, maybe that was a good low we came off of february 9th, but typically, you chomp around and try to create a base, maybe that's what we have to do, but broaden out the chart a little to see where we've been >> we are receding from the highs. at one time, the nasdaq made it up >> more than 5% year to date growth stocks won. >> talk about earnings from the company, josh lipton has the report josh >> reporting a loss of six cents revenue of $136.7 million, ke y kelly, in line with expectations third revenue, better than expected at 321 million. billing also better than expected at 204.6 million. now, box, kelly, adopting revenue recognition standards, looking like that q1 guide,

revenue seems a bit below estimates, even taking those standards into account, etf guides looks basically in line for the full year guide, it looks mixed, again, relative to expectations i did have a chance to catch up briefly with the ceo, got his take on the quarter. bringing that to you, he had a confident tone on the quarter, saying very strong, top and bottom line messages 82,000 customers, some really, really great deals like companies like farmers' insurance and suntrust bank. seeing significant growth in financial services, life sciences, the government, a lot of regular lated industries sending more money to box. i just asked about dropbox as well, following that ipo, a competitive threat that he poses to his company, and aaron levy tells me they are focused on mid-market organization, going against the largest enterprises in the world, and generally focused on consumers and teams within companies we are 100% enterprise,

fundamentally, we're in different parts of the market, and going after two different spaces conference call starts at 5:00 p.m. eastern kelly we're on it. back to you. >> josh, thank you box shares down 8.5% it was near 10%. mike, i wonder -- if your dropbox and just filed and becoming public, the much larger competitor to box, does this mean that you have now a hurdle or that you -- are you gaming market share or is the market -- >> i think you are gaining investor mind share coming out there, and it might be a challenge for box to not be the only play that is at the readiness, but for box, the stock bought its way back to the all-type high after being in the dull drums for a while this was a giveback. i don't know that people are looking at either/or right now, but what's the better way of giving the price space >> still down about 9% how about salesforce

here's your report deidre >> kelly, in the after hours, salesforce in all-time highs, earnings coming in above expectations q4 efts up 35 cents, a beat, and revenues higher at 2.85 billion. 2 2.81 billion was expected. guidance looks good, strong for the first quarter and fiscal year for on etfs and revenue beating the street's expectations remember, this is typically the biggest quarter of the year for salesforce signing deals and also the quarter where it holds annual dream force conference in december the company is doing a lot of things right, signing up corporate partnerships with some of the other big tech companies as well as competition holding its own against microsoft and adobe. stock up 2% in the after hours and hit a record high, intra-day record high in the session guys >> deidre, thank you good point, up today too, up 2%

after hours. by the way, salesforce ceo will be on our "mad money" tonight at 6:00 p.m. with jim cramer. mike, how much do you think the call, the commentary, jim, has an impact on the stock >> it's net enthusiastic we can always count on that with him. i think the numbers back up what his enthusiasm is, it's fine >> hard to match, but -- >> always expected, top line momentum keeps going at this record high, 85 billion market cap right now, and it's never for one time in its history been cheap on the numbers, just been the right company and the right place with the right trends. >> so much of tech has been like that tech would be outperformer for february, even those it was a difficult month, today, obviously, a tough way to close it out why is it still so attractive to investors? >> the market sort of senses that these are -- they are -- they go from tech disrupters to

dominators, and handful of companies leading the nasdaq are basically considered to be the winners, winner take most economy, i think that's really why. so for as much as people said rotating into value, small caps are good >> that's not happening. >> it's not really happened. because it's hard to turn your back on the multiyear organic growth you have from some of these companies, right or wrong. >> also in the bank play, the momentum >> mike is right on about salesforce what i want to point out is salesforce has not missed on earnings for 15, 16 consecutive quarters they get that every quarter, so the way this ends is when they miss, and when they miss, all the stocks are going to boil up. for an idea how fast and how hard the momentum is, salesforce.com is at a 68 pe 68 pe. for next year, they make $1.77 in earnings, not that big, so all this is is momentum trading,

but underneath is it consistent consecutive earnings beat of the when they evaporate, game's over >> wasn't alphabet a miss in the earnings granted, they traded a lot choppier than some of the other parts of the market. john, it doesn't feel for the companies like a lights out moment, though these are pretty well established businesses if they have a profitability or valuation issue. >> right, no, you're right kelly. i don't think right now is when the lights are out, but this is what we watch for. as soon as one situation is going to mark itself and markets are going to go, seen one, seen all with the momentum trade. >> do you agree with that, by the way, mike? lump all the things that represent tech as far as we're considered, lump it together salesforce in the same conversation as netflix, in the same conversation as facebook and google now >> only in the most rough outline are they, basically that these sort of technology platforms type companies that are aware businesses are going nowhere, but, no, very different

drivers of this. you are starting to see variations yesterday, facebook and alphabet feel like they are getting penalized for a lot of noise about what social media's doing. >> what about you guys what concerns do you have about valuations in the market granted we've come off the january levels in the u.s., but we're still up there >> yeah. you know, i think valuations are still high in the u.s., and that's why we're looking outside the u.s. we like the stock now, opposite in brazil than the u.s lowered interest rates 750 bits for the past year and a half, disparaging economic growth in many sectors we own a mall company there, same store sales increase year over year. the economy's really coming back, and if interest rates drop, people spend more, buying homes again, and it's benefitting the real estate sector >> we're all moving to brazil. crime a problem there? well, a little bit >> a little bit, be cautious >> a little cautious

mike, on the dlaollar, as you mentioned briefly too, worry about it, a little higher, enough to knock winds out of the energy sales and maybe the market >> just enough to have the sort of macro question whether the trends that got us here are still in play, which is high liquidity, kind of easy conditions all over the world, which the weak dollar represents, and expectations of a transparent thread that's not going to ends the party. >> we'll hear more from the fed chair tomorrow in the testimony on capitol hill continues. thank you, guys, for joining us here to talk about these markets. ruger and american outdoor are falling this afternoon as president trump hosted a contentious meeting to discuss gun roll with republican and democratic lawmakers at the white house. eamon javers has more. >> reporter: stocks are falling because the president concluded the free wheeling and open-ended debate here in the cabinet room of the white house the president seems open to a

number of restrictions on guns, seemed frustrated that previous presidents, democrats and republicans, had not been able to get anything done on guns he also suggested that the nra simply had too much political power. here's a sound bite to listen to of the president luecturing fellow republicans of being afraid of the political power of the nra. take a listen. >> they do have great power, i agree with that. they have great power over you people they have less power over me i don't need it. what do i need it? they are well-meaninged. tell us, we got to do something. we can't keep restricting -- we can't keep -- we have to do what's right when it comes to mental health and other issues, do what's right. i'm telling you, i think they are there. i think they are there some of you people are petrified of the nra you can't be pet try fied. >> reporter: on mental health, the president supports taking guns away from people who have mental health concerns, even before they go through any kind

of due process the president said get the guns fir first, and then due process. that's not something many political observers expected to hear from a political president from the united states, getting everyone's attention here in washington, d.c. right now session just concluded waiting to see what happens when the lawmakers go back to capitol hill to see where they are going to land on a bill here, but the president seemed to support a number of new restrictions including age restrictions on purchasing certain weapons, so an interesting moment in the gun debate in the united states right here in the white house. >> eamon, only interesting thing about this is if you put share price reactions back up, american outdoor and ruger down 3% and 6.5%. that happens when people think people won't buy guns because the laws won't be more restrictive. this is a little bit of an opposite reaction. in other words, if they said, okay, the president just signalled he's going to crack down on this, in the past, that leads people to did out and stock up before that might

happen and makes the shares rally. we're not seeing that this afternoon. i wonder, you know, what's going on there >> reporter: interesting one the past, we've seen reactions among gun buyers to go out after school shootings in highly publicized incidents to go out and buy guns because they think gun legislation is coming and there's a limited window here, but the president really, pressed views here that would be different from the national rifle association and to a lot of republicans on capitol hill see whether he's able to exert some presidential leadership here to get a bill through the process, which has bedevilled other presidents in the past >> certainly has sounds like he wants to do it. thank you very much. >> reporter: you bet >> there's a lot more ahead still on "closing bell." next up, inside one of america's most secretive companies. cnbc's josh lipton getting exclusive access of the that's next

also ahead, one company's u unique answers to school shootings, a live interview with the man who built what he calls america's safest school. the closing bell is back in o tw minutes live from the new york stock exchange directv gives you more for your thing. your top-rated thing. that five stars, two thumbs up, 12-out-of-10, would recommend thing. because if you only want the best thing,

you get the #1 thing. directv is rated #1 in customer satisfaction over cable. switch now and get a $200 reward card. more for your thing. that's our thing. call 1.800.directv

sure. momwhat's up, son?alk? i can't be your it guy anymore. what? you guys have xfinity. you can do this. what's a good wifi password, mom? you still have to visit us. i will. no. make that the password: "you_stillóhave_toóvisit_us." that's a good one. seems a bit long, but okay... set a memorable wifi password with xfinity my account. one more way comcast is working to fit into your life, not the other way around.

welcome back facebook's coo speaking at morgan stanley tech media conference last hour, talking about fake news accounts made it a difficult year >> it was a challenging year feels like an understatement where where we sit and this year already is and will continue to be a challenging year, and there's so many drivers of this, but the world is very polarized, and there are a lot of, you know, kind of deep seeded worry about the state of the world, where the world is, and that plays out on our platform, and we feel it very deeply we are taking a number of steps to show that we've taken full responsibility >> so that's an interesting line she's walking there, the world

polar riizing reflected on our platfo platform, but they are taking steps, and president obama told them to be aware, and if they don't take responsibility, they are forced to. >> she said, i believe, "full responsibility," i don't know what it means for what they think they overlooked, maybe this is the third it ration of them sorting out how to characterize what they attempted to do. you know, they had the ad metrics out there just the other day, a lot of advertising people, very focused on saying, look, we're not doing anything platforms be used in an auction setting for different messages to get across, but i think that the advertising focus is a little bit off >> by the way, the shares are down 6% this month, and with the mid-term elections around the corner, sandberg said they are investing more to ensure messaging is from real accounts. >> fake accounts are the source of the false news and source of the election interference we

saw. we were working closely with election commissions all over the world. we have 14,000 people right now inside the company working on community operations, safety, security, site integrity, growing very quickly and we'll be at 20,000 by the end of the year >> in one case, they were going to be mailing postcards to people, mike, to confirm that there's a real person or real entity behind some of these accounts good luck to them. >> no, exactly it's very hard there's a sense of urgency in facebook management becauseat some point, there has to be a concern that people just turn away from the platform all together maybe that's happening it just seems to be so infested with stuff you don't want to see necessarily or not sure what's real this goes down. >> as far as what investments have on the bottom line, they said it affects profitability, and the ceo stated that in the past, but to your point, that they are important investments, not just for the long term, but for the short term and for the medium term as well.

facebook shares, again, are down today. meanwhile, the ceo of tech startup talent here is not mincing words with the priorities of other tech companies in silicon valley. josh lipton has the details, josh >> reporter: kelly, they might have been born and bred here in silicon valley, but the ceo had very harsh words for the peers out here >> i think they should do more to stop destroying jobs, and we're doing innovation with jobs it's neutral like, the cost of a house here is $3 million. the cost of a house in detroit is $40,000 why that silicon valley's eating up the west coast, eating up every job on the planet. that's a problem for our society. now, maybe other companies don't want to be involved in that, that is their choice like companies don't want to involved in stopping terrorists that's their choice, or protecting data, that's their choice our choice as a company is that we want to be involved in this, and we are driving really, really hard on this.

>> so, they are emphasizing jobs there, key policy objective of president trump, two, of course, in fact, got the chance to ask him about that now infamous meeting at trump tower in 2016, when the president met with tim cook, jeff, and larry founder td here's what he told me >> i'm surprised when anyone invites me over. still a guy with a ph.d. and most people, you know, like, when i'm invited, i show up. we're a company that works in the service of more important institutions, happy to be invited, honored to be there, glad to show up. had the trump administration been good for business >> we're focused on our clients. we work with our agencies directly i have not seen a great impact on our business depending on who is president >> kelly, back to you. >> that was great stuff, josh. look, as i said, i'm surprised

to be invited anywhere come on, at this point, with their success? makes me feel like i should extend an invitation >> why not >> maybe he'll come on nevermind. again, thank you, josh earnings alert on monster beverage how do they look >> kelly, a rough quarter for monster. stock down as much as 10%, reporting eps of 35 cents. they had a miss on revenue the company said gross margins below estimates and said the net growth sales were impacted by inventory reductions in international distributors it's now down 8% back to you. >> kate, thank you watch monster and others falling. dow fell hard, closed down about 380 points, just near the lows, heavy selling to close out february we'll have more on the late day drop coming up

doing more with systems you have in place. it can bring all your apps to life and run them within your data center. it is... the new ibm cloud private. the cloud that's designed for your data. ai ready. secure to the core. the ibm cloud is the cloud for smarter business. secure to the core. flexshares etfs are built around the way investors think. with objectives like building capital for the future, managing portfolio risk and liquidity and generating income. that's real etf innovation. flexshares. built by investors, for investors. before investing consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. go to flexshares.com for a prospectus containing this information. read it carefully.

ronoh really?g's going on at schwab. thank you clients? well jd power did just rank them highest in investor satisfaction with full service brokerage firms... again. and online equity trades are only $4.95... i mean you can't have low cost and be full service. it's impossible. it's like having your cake and eating it too. ask your broker if they offer award-winning full service and low costs. how am i going to explain this? if you don't like their answer, ask again at schwab. schwab, a modern approach to wealth management. welcome back, ugly close to the month of february, which was the first down month of the markets in some time dow dropped 3780 points on the dow, and the selling came in the final hour of the session. s&p 500 down 30 today. nasdaq down 57, russell down 24. even the nasdaq that was green until the end there dropped three quarters of 1% consumer sector a bright spot on a day full of red. here's a look at some of those

companies, tjx company up nearly 7% after the better results, booking holdings same thing, advanced auto parts rebounding, and macy's up two, what do you think? >> massive amount of market on close orders, but the problem started earlier in the day i want to show you oil here. we got the weekly oil inventory numbers, not a market mover, but this time it was came out much bigger build than expected oil dropped to 1030, and market fell apart, not just oil, but the overall market s&p 500 drifted lower. better when oil recovered in the middle of the day, but once oil dropped after 2:00 again, the market fell apart again. the bigger problem i mentioned was market on close orders that was a major issue these are orders mostly for mutual funds at the close for traders needing a buy/sell stock for the close in the mutual funds, and it was very large numbers, 3 billion dollars

normally, billion dollars or so, you don't worry about it too much, but you go over a billion and buy or sell, that moves markets, and that's what happened why do people settle some felt they took performance off the table for the month. some people invested since the bottom on february 8th overall another issue for the market the dollar reversed. not a big one, but the dollar's been creeping up in the last few days dollar index at the highest level since january. you see that here, put pressure on commodities in fact, look at the big volume movers today in the eps space, what i watch, that was all commodities. the steel etfs, the coal eft tf, huge there, that is understandable telecom had large volume i want to note speaking of volume here, look at shy, the short term, very, very large volume, of course, been going down all month, as you can see,

generally to the downside, seeing short term rates moving up a lot of people trading that today. finally, the vix trying to settle out, 20 is the number you look at. that's closer to what a historical average for the vix is hovering around there, mike, you and i talked about this for a while now, trying to find the range between 17-24. this makes sense to me to see it here >> thank you, bob. we have breaking news from the white house. eamon joins us with the headlines. >> reporter: "new york times" reports hope hicks, one of the president's closest advisers in the white house is resigning in coming weeks i spoke with the white house press secretary asking him to confirm that report. he did not answer me, walked past, and went into the office and shut the door. reporters are scrambling to confirm the news that the "new york times" reported that hope hicks is resigning remember, that hicks spent about nine hours just yesterday up on capitol hill testifying before

the house intelligence committee refusing, we are told, to answer a number of questions about her role in the white house, particularly her role in crafting the white house's response to news reports about that meeting between donald trump jr. and a number of russians at trump tower during the presidential campaign, and area we're told hicks declined to answer questions on, so hicks had a very stressful day yesterday. the "new york times" reporting she is, in fact, resigning here. i can tell you that i saw a couple staffers hugging each other in the west wing she is a beloved figure here in the west wing, and somebody who's been very, very close to president trump over the course of the presidential campaign, and also here in the white house, serving now as a communications director for the white house, but she's not a very visible person publicly despite that role. behind the scenes, she plays an enormous role here at the white house. we'll wait to get confirmation on when she is leaving, who takes her place, and what the

circumstances are here the "new york times" report hope hicks resigns from the white house. back to you. >> and, eamon, a lookthrough the story on the website, appears it's not hicks stepping down from the post, but hicks leaving the white house. does that mean respectively her relationship with trump, as you mentioned, has been a years long relationship arguably quite fruitful for both of them. >> reporter: one of his closest advisers and communication director here is the title, but that does not capture everything she does in this white house she's one of the people who can talk to the president intimately at all times during the course of his day on all subjects she's the person who provides guidance to the president and has been someone who can reassure him in moments of uncertainty, advise him on a number of issues, and then deal with the press as well she's been behind the scenes dealing with a lot the major networks and major newspapers for a year now, and that's why they made her communications

director, but she's somebody who plays a jack of all trades role here at the white house. it will be hard to picture what this white house will be like without hope hicks you remember, of course, the rob porter story, that was in the headlines weeks ago, rob porter, the white house staff secretary, who left the white house under scandal after it was revealed there were allegations he was abusive to two of the previous wives. hope hicks was dating rob porter at the time of the scandal, and that was also a very difficult thing for her to deal with there were reports of her bursting into tears in the west wing during the height of the intense media scrutiny around that there were paparazzi photographers following her to restaurants, taking pictures of her and rob porter getting into taxi cabs. that would strain somebody as well during the course of their career here at the white house, so this is somebody's who has been involved in the -- a central figure in the most controversial episodes here at

the white house, very close to the president, himself, and now, apparently, won't be anymore what role she plays in the future is still to be determined >> not to mention that that communications post has so much turnover remember, briefly, those who came before her and him, and she was to come in to steady the ship because of the long standing relationship. this meaning yet another vacancy to be filled by somebody who can handle the pressures of this particular job thank you. >> reporter: you bet >> big news from the white house. a lot going on there today let's get to sue with other headlines now, sue >> i certainly do, kelly, thank you very much. just a short while ago, president trump convening a bipartisan group of lawmakers to try to find ways to address gun violence he told members of congress he's going to come up with some ideas and is hoping it can be put in a bipartisan bill. >> we have to do something about it we have to act we can't wait and play games and

nothing gets done. >> reporter: at least 15 people killed and 40 others injured in a train crash in northern egypt. officials say two passenger cars departed from one train station and one train collided with the cargo train. the governor visited the crash site and she was met with angry crowds demanding answers for the fifth day in a row, hundreds of west virginia teachers protested at that state's capitol over low pay and rising health insurance costs. lawmakers they are waiting for an official letter from the governor before they can move guard with plans to give the teachers 5% pay raises that is the news update, kelly, sending it back to you busy day >> indeed. sue, thank you very much next on the "closing bell", time to bet on under armour? we're back in two.

how did edward jones come to manage a trillion dollars in assets under care? jay. sarah. so i have a few thoughts on that early retirement... by focusing our mind on whatever's on yours. hi! i'm johnny bench. after a hall of fame career it's no wonder i use blue-emu. blue-emu's, non-greasy, deep penetrating formula gets down deep into those joints for big time comfort and without any of that funky smell. almost makes me feel good enough to get back in the game. what am i thinking? no! blue-emu it works fast and you won't stink! today, the new new york is ready for take-off. we're invested in creating the world's first state-of-the-art drone testing facility and allows us to attract the world's top drone talent.

we're building the new new york. to grow your business with us in new york state, visit esd.ny.gov.

under armour ceo wil "mad money" at 6:00 p.m. they gained ground in the past few weeks. is it a buy here our fast money is here i like your take on this you said you're making it personal you can't short kevin plank. >> right, i can't. i think he wants to win more

than any executive out there he's got a lot of skin in the game with being a large shareholder. however, i can't get on board with the stock here. i'm okay buying turnarounds. i i don't mind that. i'd like to give people some rope, but it's not priced like . don't short him because he's phenomenal buy higher later i think it's less risk after turnaround even if the stock moves higher >> tim, is this stock ever conceivably you think going to be statistically cheap enough to buy when it turns? >> no. so - >> slow it down, probably? >> when the stock was at the lows at nine bucks, making twenty cents a share, it was still a $45 stock, not cheap, and in a category, frankly, that a lot of people feel needs to prove itself difficult transition i agree with karen kevin is a dynamic entrepreneur,

hard driving guy, absolutely committed to the turnaround, but there's been major management changes there. not changing overnight there's a lot of margin pressure and 2016-17 management guidance not good, and guiding for a flat 2018 i'm not sure >> yeah. guy, thank you very much >> thank you >> thank you >> we'll let you go. watch the ceo tonight on "mad money" at 6:00 p.m., but catch karen and tim and fast money at 5:00 p.m. eastern time, just 18 minutes from now dick's sporting goods say they will no longer sell assault rifles in the stores and hiking the minimum age to buy a firearm in stores to 21 years old. that news comes down today, and dick's shares not moving on that as they finished up the session. meantime, kids of stoneman douglas in parkland, florida back in school today two weeks after the attack

shortly after the shooting, we put together a story on what they call the safest school in the country. we'll talk with the executive behind this protection system in a minute first, here's the story every parent, teacher, and police officer in the country should really see >> security break. >> at southwestern high school in indiana, the kids drill >> i feel we're past the red line, what's that? >> a security measure, and that because if we stand behind this red line, if there's a shooter at the door, they cannot see the children >> something schools do right now, red line on the ground. >> absolutely. >> here they go high-tech too with classroom doors being bullet resistant and cameras, so many cameras everywhere, and it's not just school officials watching either. they are connected live with the sheriff's department ten miles away, authorities can track an intruder in realtime >> every teacher here, you have your own bracelet.

>> push this button, and the entire alarm system goes off in the school >> something else to show you real quick when that happens, every classroom has a box like this hooked up to the sheriff's department the teacher flips help if they see the suspect, if they are in danger, or flip safe if the kids are safe >> reporter: in 2015, i tested it playing the intruder. >> male subject, blue suit if i was a real inintruder, i can't get in, they are locked. every single one of them >> he's walking towards the exit 14 i'm going to launch the hot zone >> the school's secret weapon called ho eed hot zones, explod smoke cannons hitting in the ceiling, cops deploy them in an instant. >> woah. >> there is smoke in a cloud, meant to disorient the suspect look at this, the smoke is filling the hallway, you can barely see me.

woah the other amazing thing is they artchigoes, they keep setting off hot zones so he stays blind. the system is the center 400,000 dollars, but the school officials say worth it in this scary new world. nbc news, shelbyville, indiana >> you're the president behind the company in that school in the report you are live from fredericksburg, virginia welcome, thank you for joining us >> thanks very much for the opportunity. >> is it true you only have sold one of these school systems so far? >> the answer to that is yes, southwestern is the only school in america that's connected to emergency 911 call center. it's the flag ship in indiana. the indiana association, and it was the basis for indiana moving

past a school safety law, so indiana's the first state moving to standards for school safety, and it's the basis of the next efforts of a community based funding bill, and if that's successful, then indiana is the first state to have standards for school safety and have a way to pay for it. >> is it important - >> it's a paradigm shift >> so indiana, you mentioned has made a priority out of this. does that mean it's harder for you to sell and install the systems in other states? >> no. the point here, kelly, is that you -- the way the world is today, schools are not connected to 911 and so law enforcement is responding blind they don't have the intentillige or alert that shots were fired for maybe two minutes. this is a paradigm change where they are alerted within seconds,

children have protection, the classrooms are protected spaces, law enforcement locates the attacker within a minute with the data we have, that's possible they have the ability to launch measures while he's en route and neutralize the attacker before you have boots on the ground and allow teams to have entry. it's a paradigm shift it does not exist today. indiana will set the model for the all the states to follow >> do you think there's something different about the florida shooting that makes other schools look to install your systems now >> well, the florida shooting is a good example of how this can make a difference. it's a non-gun solution to a gun problem. it empowers law enforcement with the action they need, so in the florida shooting, the alert did not get out for a couple minutes after first shots were fired law enforcement, got multiple people calling in off their mobile phones giving a piece of

what's happening, but not the the officers - go ahead, i'm sorry. total picture, so in this case, >> no, please, go ahead. >> no, so the officers would have been right -- if this was i believe the sheriffs responded without a description, didn't in the parkland highhigh school know how many shooters, what kind of weapons or where the shooter was located. would have known exactly where the attacker is and would have moved towards him and neutralized him and most likely, as you saw in the video, when the smoke bombs are fired, the fire doors, fire alarm systems go on, fire doors close, and they compartmentalize into one hallway. that's a game changer for law enforcement. it takes away the unattain access to the victims, and changes everything, and kids are in protected spaces which is critical you don't have the massacre you had on valentine's day >> do you think you can install the system pretty much in any school for $400,000? >> well, no, it's -- that's a 30

classroom school it's about $1300 a student is what you're looking at, and that why it's important for the states to move towards a standard that the security team respond to and find a way to pay for it, and how to pay for it is community based funding with school safety. >> don, thanks for joining us. thanks for the work you're doing, and we'll schools do now look to move those resources behind you >> you bet take care, thank you >> that's don jones, and he's the founder and president of nettal ren a surprising resignation at the white house when "closing bell" comes right back

when this bell rings... ...it starts a chain reaction... ...that's heard throughout the connected business world. at&t network security helps protect business, from the largest financial markets to the smallest transactions, by sensing cyber-attacks in near real time and automatically deploying countermeasures. keeping the world of business connected and protected. that's the power of and.

welcome back, more on the

breaking news this hour. the resignation of white house communications director hope hicks. eamon javers is back. >> >> reporter: we now have a statement. the white house put out a few statements all in a row, from the president, from chief of staff, and from hope hicks herself, there are no words to express my grad attitude to president trump. i wish the president and his administration the very best as he continue toss lead our country. from the president -- hope is outstanding and has done great work, as smart and as thoughtful as they come i will miss having her by my side, but when she approached me about other opportunities, i understood the white house also pointing out that hope hicks' departures time is still to be determined, but will be sometimes in the next few weeks official -- that hope hicks is resigning from the white house remember, she is the fourth person to hold that title in the

trump white house after sean spicer, mike dudke, mike scaramucci, so quite a tumultuous time. >> it has been a new chapter, somebody new and probably the most difficult job over there eamon, thank you. >> reporter: you bet. it's the last trading day of the month, the worst since february 2009. we went out with the dow down. joining us now jackie cummings and julie warner welcome, guys. let me begin with you. a lot of volatility more what mops having making?

>> before i knew it, we were back up again, so it's kind of hard to -- other utx, and also berkshire hathaway and 3m are the ones i'm keeping my i'd on. >> it was down so fast and furious. a lot of the stocks, i would have liked to have added to, were still quite expensive >> to bring the waiting up, and did add to rpm, so i did take advantage of two, and my son,

who is building his portfolio, was light on health care, so i did represent some health care stocks for him one of the interest things that -- so it was as if your whole portfolio kind of worked against you on both sides. is that a concern, or do you not have the approach? >> i'm either fully invested in stocks, or when the market has been high, and my stocks been over-valued, i tend to accumulate cares >> so that when the market does give me an opportunity with a pull does that back, i always have money that i can put to

if the goal is to buy great companies at great prices, that's when you get those great prices. >> thank you both. and we have a lot of symptom movers and after the bell earnings stay with us stay with us we'll check those in two not just being in the military, but at home. she thinks she's the boss. she only had me by one grade. we bought our first home together in 2010. but i was like well i've had usaa for a while, why don't we call and check the rates? it was an instant savings and i should've changed a long time ago. there's no point in looking elsewhere really. we're the tenneys and we're usaa members for life. usaa. get your insurance quote today. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient

originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember.

saleforce unchanged. monster bench down 8%. >> pretty song sell response on that the market is a bit back on its heels. >> in the bad mood the february the first down month in about a year's time we'll see what happens for march. "fast money" begins right now. i'm in tonight for melissa

lee. jim cramer has two blockbuster interviews with ceos of salesforce and under armour. brian kelly heading into deep space. when he's done you'll never think of crypto the same way again. the dow suddenly