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Nike Steps Up, Will Dow (Finally) Hit 20K?

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Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Two industry-leading companies reported earnings after the bell yesterday. Even though it’s just a few days before Christmas, these companies speak to the strength of their respective sectors, and both happen to be important in terms of holiday season performance, as well.

Specialty footwear retailer Nike (NKE - Free Report) beat estimates on both top and bottom lines, reporting 50 cents per share on $8.2 billion in sales for the quarter. This is a company that has seen difficult times in calendar 2016 (down 17% year to date), partially due to the emergence of competitors like Under Armour (UA - Free Report) , but has apparently righted the ship in its fiscal Q2 of 2017.

For a closer look at Nike’s earnings, check out Maddy Johnson’s article from yesterday after the bell: Nike Rallies 2% on Q2 Earnings, Revenue Beats

Interested in options trading based on Nike’s earnings beat? Take a look at Dave Bartosiak’s video from yesterday: Trading Nike’s Earnings with Options

Nike’s results may be enough of a boost to the Dow to finally push the index over 20,000 — a number that, to the extent we understand it, contains no magical powers, but would be a boon for blue-chip investors were it to be reached today or before the end of the week.

Logistics giant FedEx (FDX - Free Report) — which may be delivering packages to your home for the holidays at this very hour — missed its earnings per share consensus estimate by 11 cents, although its revenues beat expectations marginally. With a share price up 33% from the beginning of calendar 2016, this fiscal Q2 2017 earnings result has caused a sell-off nearly 3% following the earnings release and into today’s pre-market.

Maddy Johnson also wrote on this event after the bell yesterday: FedEx Falls on Mixed Q2 Earnings, Fiscal Guidance ‘On Track’

In other news, Italy’s Parliament has approved a 20 billion euro ($20.8 billion) bailout, which should backstop the viability of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the Italian national bank that was reported to have been four months of liquidity from going under. Also, U.S. mortgage applications rose 2.5%, with the average 30-year rate at 4.4%. This is higher than it’s been in the recent past but still historically low.

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

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