this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and sue herera. funded in part by -- >> all it takes is a spark. one idea to take flight. the colonel to seek the unknown, to innovate, to disrupt, to move us all forward. to explore a different perspective. at nasdaq we connect the word, its ideas, its capital, its businesses, the people who drive global economy. the future isn't tomorrow. it's right now. all it takes is a spark. nasdaq. >> march roars in like a bull. the stocks were super charged follow the president's speech even though it lacked the specifics many investors were

looking for. >> the turning point? exxonmobil becomes the first major producer to increase spending on new projects after years of suffering low oil prices. >> sign on the dotted line. confidence is up. unemployment is down. and that's a recipe for continued strong auto sales. those stories and more on "nightly business report" for wednesday. it is already march the 1st. good evening. >> well, the bulls led the children on wall street. the dow soared. the s&p broke through the 2,400 mark midday and theray was sparked by two things. first optimistic tone struck by president trump in his speech last night to a joint session of congress. second, federal reserve officials with the up beat take. the zounl industrial average climbed 303 points to a record

21,115. the s&p 500 added 32. get this. it only took the dow 24 trading sessions to move from 20,000 to 21,000. tying it for the fastest 1,000-point jump ever of. >> amazing. >> the one thing president did not give investors was specifics on his proposed pro growth policies. apparently it didn't matter bauts he gave them something else instead. >> the stocks rallied and kept going through close as the trump hope trade is very much alive. the markets wanted more specifics on proposals on infrastructure spending, reduction of regulations. didn't get it. didn't happen. no matter. traders almost unanimously viewed the speech as a successful perhaps something more important, it got a speech which clearly implied that there was a good chance the president could accomplish all the goes he

was setting out. that's been enough so far and it was more than good enough today. he spoke about more money for defense. and named aerospace like boeing his highs. he talked about putting a deregulation task force inside every agency. the biggest beneficiary would be banks. the kbe. they paid the highest level since 2008. then he reiterated spending $1 trillion on infrastructure to a private public partnership. no time frame but infrastructure stocks that have been languishing got help. he talked about giving states flexibility on medicaid.

had they were also up on the day. trump didn't offer more specifics but the forcefulness of the speech implied he could accomplish his goals of lower tax and regulatory reform and that's why the markets were rallying. at the new york stock exchange. >> so let's turn now to david for more on today's stock market rally. he is the global market strategi to see you. welcome back. >> let me get your reaction. i think you heard the things he laid out. do you in general agree with what he laid out? what's your impression of the market today? >> i do agree. one, trump's speech was very well received by the markets. two, the federal reserve may in fact feel comfortable liking rates and three, you continue to see the economic data look fairly solid. i believe it is the combination of those three factors which led to performance today.

i think there are some risks out there that we need to be cognizant of. we don't have a ton of details about when they may be implemented. they say the devil is in the details. this time the devil is in the time and we need to get more clarity. >> and plenty of almosted market watchers who are watching this rally unfold are worried about the implications for everyboarn. earnings are still the mother's milk of the stock market. is it getting ahead of itself? >> i think what you're seeing is you're seeing the stock market not only price in improvement and earnings, but you see it price in a change in policy. as this rally began, as multiples began to expand. you see the price with regard to

growth and how it he would translate to corporate profits. it is increasing expectations around what could happen politically which creates room for disappointment. so we think the fundamentals are there. we're looking for mid to high single earnings. there's some upside risk as we get tax reform and deregulation that's sooner than we're expecting. the earnings would be the key. the stock prices follow earnings so we need to see the trend improving. >> in talking on one analyst, he said the fed matters much less than did it previously. because of the aggressive agenda that the trump administration has laid out. if they are able to achieve some of what they have laid out. it makes the fed not irrelevant but much less important than it was, say, six months ago. do you agree? >> no. i think that's completely accurate. when i think about 2016, the first nine months of the year,

equity market performance was driven by interest rates. you have low volatility. you have everybody hanging on the fed's each and every word. with president trump and the new administration in office, we have seen the focus turn on what could happen to the fiscal term. the end destination of mid to high is generally the same but the journey is quite different. last year it took they will past the federal deserve. this year they're driving past the white house. >> good to see you as always. >> speaking of the fed, the president of the new york fed glr said the case for tightening policy had become in his words, a lot more compelling. and then san francisco fed president who said he saw no need to delay raising rates. that helped with the financial

stocks. since they tend on get a boost. the next one is in two weeks. >> the federal reserve's banl book said it expanded. at the report indicated the job market remains wait to some districts pointing to widening labor short ans. >> and despite the increase in incomes, rising prices hurt americans' purchasing power. they reported that annual innation troi inflation rose. >> activity expanded at the fastest pace this more than two years. the institutes for supply management said new orders are

increasing with output. >> a key pillar on the economy and the latest read on auto sales shows the economy is not slowing down. february turned out to be another month the annual sales topp eped 17.5 million vehicles. >> with consumer confidence close to a record high, americans are deciding, it is time to buy a new car or truck. on the surface, february sales for some automakers may look unimpressive come appeared to the same time from aier ago, especially for foit and fiat which saw businesses fall last month. but the number of people buying remains strong and they picked trucks and suvs over cars. ford f-series vehicles jumped almost 9%.

with gas prices holding steady, americans are looking to buyer bigger models. they've managed to bring down their inventories so they're in better shape heading into the spring sale season. most expect march, april and may to be busy for dealership. consumer confidence is high. a recipe for strong auto sales to continue. after years, it increasing spending in investment. it is the first to do so marking a potential turning point. but as jackie reports, the move isn't without risk. >> when exxonmobil speaks, they listen. had that number up a bit from a

pronls. now that it is stable, after a low last year. xonl seeped to feel more comfortable with short projects. ? it allows either up or down commodity prices and cash flow. more than one-third will be had invested in the long term inventory. they are primarily bought in unconventional plays and short cycle programs. this component is expected to generate positive cash flow. less than three years after initial investment. >> but risk continues to plague the industry. concerns about increases in u.s., russian and nigerian production worry the market. that means the delicate dance

will continue. if big oil acts overaggressively, it could flood the market again. >> we use competitiveness over a range economic conditions. >> today department of energy released the weekly crude inventory data. . in report, u.s. production is holding over 9 million barrels a day. increasing steadily over the last year. considering the cut by opec, it could be reduced. that test us that players. it could swing a market that has struggled on find its footing. exxonmobil ceo investors

were told it would fund the dividend. a fundamental change to legal immigration. we'll talk about the effects on business and the economy. eight wells fargo executive there's see no cash bonus for 2016 of this is bank looks to increase accountability following the fake account scandal. compensation received in 2014 will be partially had brought back. snap, the parent company of the popular menning app snap chat had its public offering above its target range.

the company ratsed more than $3 billion giving snap a possible valuation of $24 billion. a lot of questions still remain about this high profile epo including how it will make mo money. >> it reaches more than 40% of 18 to 24-year-olds in the u.s. and it earns revenue in four ways. er its biggest business, snap ads which run between stories from friends or brands. to begin with a full screen video ad of up to ten seconds with the ability to swipe up for more options. snap says more than 60% of these ads are watched with the sound on, reporting an ad watched as soon as it loads. >> can leak this one for the nba all-star game. put a brand on top of a user's

face. snap chat charges a daily flat fee depending on how many users used they will. they target people within a specific location like a concert or a mall. layering ill ans on top of photos. and the camera comb now says these spectacle. they haven't yet generated significant revenue. >> the forecast is a strong 2017. the maker of epi-pen is predicting that revenue and profit will come in above expectations. the company citing strong demands for its generics business as well. t technology is the center piece of mcdonald's new program. it will have digital and

delivery options. it is continuing to trim overall administrative costs. the shares rose 1% to 129.05. best buy said weak demand for video games caused them to miss expected revenues. the company warned of another drop this quarter but still it liked its dividend. shares were off 4.4%. home home run improvement re. the year ahead looks strong as well. lows lowe's shares popped more than 9% in today's trading. at $81.45. and american eagle outfitters issued a down beat number and said pits face ago chiling

retail number. it expect sales to be flat to down but there was some positive news. shares slumped by 9.5% he that. president trump in his address called for a change in the u.s. immigration system. he wants it to be merit based on skills. >> switching away from this lower system of lower skill immigration and instead of a merit based system, we will have so many more benefits. it will save countless dollars. raise workers' wages and help struggle families enter the movie class and they will do it quickly. and they will be very, very happy indeed.

>> supporters of a merit based approach argue the current system increases the wage of workers. critics say it has allowed them to take advantage of u.s. opportunities. >> what impact would a merit based policy have on the u.s. economy and businesses. we talk about this tonight. this is in use in canada. would it be enough to move the dial for industries like technology which keep saying they don't have enough skilled workers out there? >> i think from an economics perspective, a merit based system has much to estimate it. we'll to have see how big of a system they're talking about. the basic idea of tilting your

had immigration toward higher skilled folks, i think, makes a good deal of sense. you're talking about beam a greater enclintonation and ability to work. many firms would be looking to hire them. they tend to be entrepreneurial. >> what about those critics of that merit based system that says it discounts the immigrant who may be less skilled but come into the united states with a greater desire. therefore they start more businesses and maybe work a little harder? >> i think there's a case for having both he types for sure.

so far it has been aimed more toward the lower skilled. we've seen how a a greater share. it has some down sides. >> it is a small component of contribution toward the widening equality. if you turn it toward that field. >> let me ask sue's degree a slightly different angle. there are those who stay lower skilled workers are will to take the jobs. what about that? >> i think there's an element of that for sure. i don't think that a wise policy would be to shut the door to lower skilled immigration. i think you need some of both.

but maybe the balance has been tilted more toward the lower '60 predominantly. now it makes sense. it don't want to shut the door completely. >> come up, why california's infrastructure is in need of a big fix. last neat president trump reiterated the need for an infrastructure pack an. that sent shares higher. if legislation is passed on

that, many states would be pushing to have their projects funded. and after a winter of brutal stores, california's infrastructure for one may be in desperate need. >> a gaping sinkhole in the middle of an interstate, an eroding spillway of the orville dam. and rain and mud slides. those examples from california's brutal storm this winter caused an estimated half billion dollars worth of damage. they're also the most recent cases of what jerry brown cause the state's crumbling infrastructure. >> we have dam spillways eroding, roads crumb black. >> what's required is take immediate sxaks we have to everybody investigate billions

of dollars into infrastructure. >> he is asking for help for california. he recently sent a letter to the president requesting environmental review of ten high priority will infrastructure projects for california which makes up the world's sixth largest economy, according to the state's finance department. part of the problem, some say at the haven't done enough. they seek $65 about worth of deferred maintenance. the american society of engineers comes out on a report card every four years. they came in with a glaring report. they got a d means for legislation. among the projects, smern repairs to the eroding oroville dam's spillway.

and there have been numerous road blocks in funding. the governor's office estimates california's local streets and roads in repairs. and the flood control needs $50 billion in improvements. governor brown. san francisco. >> some sad news to pass flaeng our nightly business report family. long time anchor of this program paul kangas passed away yesterday at the age of 79. he was a pioneer and he in tele. >> he joined "nightly business report" in 1979. beginning a 30-year run. his deliberate measured style helped nbr become the first business program to build a mass

audience. >> as panic sell erupted on the foreign exchange, prices continue to plumpb. >> he was business news before business news was cool tv. in 2009, the year he stepped away. he was presented with a business award by the national academy of at the investigation arts and seasons. he served in the u.s. coast guard during early '60s. after studying at the staern school of business, he earn ad stockbroker license and later had his career in ma'am map. one of the first to share a passion and his expertise. he was known for many things. that perhaps for nothing so much

as his signature sceign-off. >> i extend my very best of goodbyes. he . "nightly business report" has been funded by -- >> all it takes is a spark. one idea to take flight. the colonel to seek the unknown. to explore a different perspective. we connect the world, its ideas, its capital, its businesses, the people who drive global economy. the future is right now. nasdaq.