U.S. stocks were in the green on Thursday after the Federal Reserve announced up to $2.3 trillion in economic support to combat the effects of the coronavirus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.31% to 23,741, the S&P 500 Index rose 1.50% to 2,791, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.63% to 8,142.
Non-index stocks have also posted gains and losses recently. Shares of PriceSmart Inc. (PSMT, Financial) jumped more than 10% on Thursday after the company announced second-quarter results. It posted earnings of 85 cents per share, beating estimates by 6 cents. Revenue of $906.74 million registered 6.1% year-over-year growth, but fell short of analysts' expectations.
“Due to the uncertainty surrounding the potential impact of the outbreak on our results of operations and cash flows, we are proactively taking steps to access and preserve cash available on-hand, including, but not limited to, drawing funds on our short-term facilities and delaying strategic capital expenditures,” CEO Sherry Bahrambeygui said.
Net merchandise sales grew 6.3% from the prior-year quarter to $871.7 million. Due to foreign currency exchange rates, net merchandise sales were negatively affected by $2.9 million, or 0.3%.
Further, it recorded operating income of $38.8 million, as compared to operating income of $36.5 million in the previous year.
Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) trimmed his holding by 35% to 3,272 shares during the three months ended Dec. 31, while Jim Simons' Renaissance Technologies reduced its position by 24% to 482,000 shares. Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss sold out of the stock.
Gainers
- Gap Inc. (GPS, Financial) +16.1%
- Ventas Inc. (VTR, Financial) +12.5%
- Kohl's Corp. (KSS, Financial) +13.5%
- Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG, Financial) +12.8%
- Mosaic Co. (MOS, Financial) +8.7%
Losers
- United Rentals Inc. (URI, Financial) -5%
- EOG Resources Inc. (EOG, Financial) -4.1%
- Arista Networks Inc. (ANET, Financial) -2.3%
- DaVita Inc. (DVA, Financial) -2.3%
- Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR, Financial) -2.2%
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded in the green.The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 2.90%, France's CAC 40 advanced1.44%, Germany's Dax rose 2.24% and Spain's Ibex 35 climbed 1.71%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.04%, India’s BSE Sensex jumped 4.23%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.38% and China's Shanghai Composite swelled 0.37%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
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