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Stock Market News for Feb 13, 2020

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Wall Street closed sharply higher on Wednesday as the number of new cases infected with coronavirus in China slowed down. Moreover, better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings also bolstered investors’ confidence. All three major stock indexes ended with fresh new all-time highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rallied 0.9% or 275.08 points to close at 29,290.85. The S&P 500 jumped 0.7% to close at 3,379.45. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 9,725.96, surging 0.9%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) declined 9.5% to close at 13.74. A total of 7.4 billion shares were traded Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 7.66 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE 1.69-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.67-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.  

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow closed in Positive territory with 21 components of the 30-stock index closing in the green while 9 ended in red. The Nasdaq Composite also ended in the positive territory due to strong performance by large-cap stocks. The S&P 500 finished in the green. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) gained 1.3% each.  Notably, all 11 sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green.

Coronavirus Cases Slow Down

As of Feb 11 night, China’s National Health Commission had reported 97 additional deaths with total confirmed cases passing 44,000. Importantly, new reported cases hit their lowest levels since late January. On Feb 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) termed China’s coronavirus officially as Covid-19. The “Co” stands for corona, “vi” is virus, “d” is for disease, and 19 represents the year in which the outbreak began.

China’s National Health Commission, reported on Tuesday that more than 42,638 people has been infected by Covid-19, along with death toll rising to over 1,016 in mainland China. On the brighter side, number of new, confirmed cases fell to 2,478 from 3,062 on Feb 11 and top Chinese health adviser remarked that the coronavirus outbreak may be peaking.

Fourth Quarter Earnings Results

Shopify Inc. (SHOP - Free Report) delivered fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.43, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.23.Shopify registered overall revenues of $505.2 million in fourth-quarter 2019, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $483.2 million. (Read More)

The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG - Free Report) delivered fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share of $0.88, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.83.The Interpublic Group registered overall revenues of $2,433 million in fourth-quarter 2019, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,388.6 million. (Read More)

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV - Free Report) delivered fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share of $1.74, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.70. IQVIA Holdings registered overall revenues of $2,900 million in fourth-quarter 2019, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.9%. (Read More)

Consequently, shares of Shopify, The Interpublic Group and IQVIA Holdings surged 7.8%, 7.4% and 2.7%, respectively. All three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (IPG) - free report >>

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