U.S. stocks struggled for a foothold in positive territory Tuesday in a session during which major benchmarks flipped between gains and losses as investors monitored developments from U.S.-China trade talks and China’s domestic economy.
 
China lowered its economic growth target for 2019 to between 6% and 6.5%, acknowledging a deepening slowdown. The Chinese Premier, outlined plans to support the economy, including an increase in deficit spending, new tax cuts, lowering fees for businesses, and a 30% boost in bank lending to small and private companies.
 
Shares of Target jumped 5.7% toward a 3 1/2-month high, after the discount retailer reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and sales that topped expectations, helped by strong traffic growth and digital sales.  The company also offered positive guidance as the company has seemed to figure out consumer preferences better than most retailers.
 
The Commerce Department said new home sales increased 3.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 621,000 units, the highest level since May 2018.  Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales, which account for about 11.2 percent of housing market sales, falling 8.7 percent to a pace of 600,000 units in December.
 
With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, I'm Tyler Simones