We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Benchmarks finished mixed on Wednesday following the abrupt dismissal of FBI Director James Comey by President Trump. Investors remained worried that such a dismissal could delay key items on the Trump administration’s agenda including corporate tax reform, deregulation and infrastructure policies.
While a revenue miss by Walt Disney had an adverse impact on the Dow, impressive quarterly earnings performance by NVIDIA bolstered the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 managed to eke out gains due to increase in energy shares on uptick in oil prices.
For a look at the issues currently facing the markets, make sure to read today’s Ahead of Wall Street article.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.2% to close at 20,943.11. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to a record close at 2,399.63. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.1% to a record close at 6,129.14. A total of around 6.7 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, in line with the last 20-session average. Advancers outnumbered declining stocks on the NYSE by a 1.89 to 1 ratio.
Trump Fires FBI Director
On Tuesday, Donald Trump discharged Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from office. According to White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, Trump accepted the proposal of the Attorney General and the deputy Attorney General regarding removal of James Comey. FBI Director James Comey was fired an account of his ineffectiveness in handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.
Comey was accused of injudiciously commenting that “hundreds and thousands” of Clinton’s emails were forwarded by Clinton aide Huma Abedin to her then-husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s personal computer. The FBI rectified Comey’s testimony on Tuesday. As per the bureau, only a small number of relevant emails were uncovered on Weiner’s laptop. Moreover, democrats called for a prosecutor to replace Comey in leading the investigation into Russia’s ties with Trump's campaign team in the U.S. election.
The sudden firing of FBI Director James Comey raised questions among investors about Trump’s ability to implement his pro-growth policies, which in turn had an adverse impact on the broader market.
Dow Dragged Down By Disney
Shares of The Walt Disney Company (DIS - Free Report) closed 2.2% lower, owing to the revenue miss in fiscal second-quarter 2017. The company reported a year-over-year decrease of 2.82% in net quarterly revenues. However, Walt Disney reported earnings per share of $1.50, which came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.45 and the year-ago earnings of $1.36. However, revenues of $13.336 billion missed the consensus mark of $13.478 billion.
Moreover, the company reported a fall in the number of ESPN subscribers. Disney attributed this decrease to higher programming costs due to a timing shift of College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games and contractual rate increases for NBA programming. (Read More: ESPN Woes Continue to Haunt Disney, ETFs in Focus).
Shares of Boeing Co. (BA - Free Report) declined 1.3% on Wednesday following the news of halting of 737 MAX flights by the company because of engine issues. The fall in the shares of Walt Disney and Boeing had a negative impact on the benchmark.
Gains in NVIDIA Boosted Nasdaq
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) posted first-quarter fiscal 2018 adjusted earnings on a proportionate tax basis of $0.82 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.66. Also, earnings increased from $0.39 reported in the year-ago quarter. Revenues not only increased 48.4% year over year to $1.937 billion but also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.910 billion.
The increase was attributable to better than expected growth across all the platforms, that is, GPUs gaming platform, Professional Visualization, datacenter and Tegra automotive platforms. Moreover, NVIDIA continued to strengthen in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, which positively impacted the quarter’s revenues. NVIDIA’s adjusted gross margin expanded 106 basis points (bps) from the year-ago quarter to 59.4%. The impressive earnings results led NVIDIA’s shares to surge 17.8%, which lifted investors’ confidence and which ultimately had a positive impact on the Nasdaq.
Energy Shares Led Gains in the S&P 500
Oil prices gained after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a bigger-than-anticipated drawdown in crude barrels. WTI crude prices gained by $1.45, or 3.1%, to $47.33 a barrel. The broader Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) advanced 1.3%, emerging as the best performing sector of S&P 500.
The intensely competitive U.S. wireless industry will soon picturize a more conflicting battleground with the joint entry of Comcast Corp. (CMCSA - Free Report) and Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR - Free Report) . (Read More)
Fossil Group, Inc. (FOSL - Free Report) began 2017 on a dismal note, wherein it posted wider-than-expected losses, along with revenues which were way behind estimates. (Read More)
Looking for Ideas with Even Greater Upside?
Most of Zacks’ investment ideas are short-term, directly based on our proven 1 to 3 month indicator. In addition, I invite you to consider our long-term opportunities. These rare trades look to start fast with strong Zacks Ranks, but carry through with double and triple-digit profit potential. Starting now, you can look inside our home run, value, and stocks under $10 portfolios, plus more. Click here for a peek at this private information>>
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Stock Market News for May 11, 2017
Benchmarks finished mixed on Wednesday following the abrupt dismissal of FBI Director James Comey by President Trump. Investors remained worried that such a dismissal could delay key items on the Trump administration’s agenda including corporate tax reform, deregulation and infrastructure policies.
While a revenue miss by Walt Disney had an adverse impact on the Dow, impressive quarterly earnings performance by NVIDIA bolstered the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 managed to eke out gains due to increase in energy shares on uptick in oil prices.
For a look at the issues currently facing the markets, make sure to read today’s Ahead of Wall Street article.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.2% to close at 20,943.11. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to a record close at 2,399.63. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.1% to a record close at 6,129.14. A total of around 6.7 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, in line with the last 20-session average. Advancers outnumbered declining stocks on the NYSE by a 1.89 to 1 ratio.
Trump Fires FBI Director
On Tuesday, Donald Trump discharged Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from office. According to White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, Trump accepted the proposal of the Attorney General and the deputy Attorney General regarding removal of James Comey. FBI Director James Comey was fired an account of his ineffectiveness in handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.
Comey was accused of injudiciously commenting that “hundreds and thousands” of Clinton’s emails were forwarded by Clinton aide Huma Abedin to her then-husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s personal computer. The FBI rectified Comey’s testimony on Tuesday. As per the bureau, only a small number of relevant emails were uncovered on Weiner’s laptop. Moreover, democrats called for a prosecutor to replace Comey in leading the investigation into Russia’s ties with Trump's campaign team in the U.S. election.
The sudden firing of FBI Director James Comey raised questions among investors about Trump’s ability to implement his pro-growth policies, which in turn had an adverse impact on the broader market.
Dow Dragged Down By Disney
Shares of The Walt Disney Company (DIS - Free Report) closed 2.2% lower, owing to the revenue miss in fiscal second-quarter 2017. The company reported a year-over-year decrease of 2.82% in net quarterly revenues. However, Walt Disney reported earnings per share of $1.50, which came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.45 and the year-ago earnings of $1.36. However, revenues of $13.336 billion missed the consensus mark of $13.478 billion.
Moreover, the company reported a fall in the number of ESPN subscribers. Disney attributed this decrease to higher programming costs due to a timing shift of College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games and contractual rate increases for NBA programming. (Read More: ESPN Woes Continue to Haunt Disney, ETFs in Focus).
Shares of Boeing Co. (BA - Free Report) declined 1.3% on Wednesday following the news of halting of 737 MAX flights by the company because of engine issues. The fall in the shares of Walt Disney and Boeing had a negative impact on the benchmark.
Gains in NVIDIA Boosted Nasdaq
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) posted first-quarter fiscal 2018 adjusted earnings on a proportionate tax basis of $0.82 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.66. Also, earnings increased from $0.39 reported in the year-ago quarter. Revenues not only increased 48.4% year over year to $1.937 billion but also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.910 billion.
The increase was attributable to better than expected growth across all the platforms, that is, GPUs gaming platform, Professional Visualization, datacenter and Tegra automotive platforms. Moreover, NVIDIA continued to strengthen in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, which positively impacted the quarter’s revenues. NVIDIA’s adjusted gross margin expanded 106 basis points (bps) from the year-ago quarter to 59.4%. The impressive earnings results led NVIDIA’s shares to surge 17.8%, which lifted investors’ confidence and which ultimately had a positive impact on the Nasdaq.
Energy Shares Led Gains in the S&P 500
Oil prices gained after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a bigger-than-anticipated drawdown in crude barrels. WTI crude prices gained by $1.45, or 3.1%, to $47.33 a barrel. The broader Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) advanced 1.3%, emerging as the best performing sector of S&P 500.
Some of the key holdings of the energy sector in the S&P 500 including EOG Resources (EOG - Free Report) and Chevron Corp (CVX - Free Report) gained by 3.2% and 1.4% respectively. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Stocks that made Headlines
Comcast, Charter Communications to Join Wireless Wings
The intensely competitive U.S. wireless industry will soon picturize a more conflicting battleground with the joint entry of Comcast Corp. (CMCSA - Free Report) and Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR - Free Report) . (Read More)
21st Century Fox Tops Q3 Earnings, Revenues Lag
Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (FOXA - Free Report) reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth straight quarter. (Read More)
Fossil Q1 Loss Wider than Expected, Revenues Miss
Fossil Group, Inc. (FOSL - Free Report) began 2017 on a dismal note, wherein it posted wider-than-expected losses, along with revenues which were way behind estimates. (Read More)
Looking for Ideas with Even Greater Upside?
Most of Zacks’ investment ideas are short-term, directly based on our proven 1 to 3 month indicator. In addition, I invite you to consider our long-term opportunities. These rare trades look to start fast with strong Zacks Ranks, but carry through with double and triple-digit profit potential. Starting now, you can look inside our home run, value, and stocks under $10 portfolios, plus more. Click here for a peek at this private information>>