Another weak economic data point, this time the Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing report, dealt a blow to the stock market on Thursday. However, bulls came to fight. We saw a big bounce from the lows in the stock market today, as investors gobbled up equities and pushed them higher.
However, they do so ahead of another key economic report, with the non-farm payrolls report due up later on Friday morning.
Ultimately, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY) rallied 0.8%, bouncing from an unsurprising level and leaving it rallying toward prior resistance. Here’s the trade setup, by the way.
The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM) bounced right from the level that InvestorPlace readers were expecting, rallying 0.4%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) jumped 0.5% and the PowerShares QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) climbed 1.1%.
While the advances do not look amazing, these names made big moves off the lows.
Movers in the Stock Market Today
Snap (NYSE:SNAP) stock slipped 3.1% on news that Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is rolling out its new camera-first messaging app worldwide — starting today. The stand-alone app, called Threads, will allow users to share status updates, videos, messages, photos and stories with chosen groups of close friends.
On Wednesday, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported disappointing third-quarter delivery numbers. The result sent shares lower by 4.2% to $233.03. According to FactSet, expectations called for roughly 99,000 deliveries in the quarter, with Tesla coming through with 97,000 for the quarter. Still, it marked a record result for the automaker.
According to reports, FireEye (NASDAQ:FEYE) is working with Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) for a possible sale, although discussions are still in the early stages. Investors are embracing the news as shares have been under pressure since reporting disappointing second-quarter results in early August. As of now, no buyers have emerged, but private equity firms are looking to be the most likely buyer.
On Tuesday, Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) announced it would eliminate trading commissions on various investment vehicles for its customers. TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ:AMTD) followed suit less than a day later. Now, E*Trade (NASDAQ:ETFC) is on board too. The race to zero has been quick once the first domino fell.
While ETFC rallied slightly on the day, AMTD and SCHW remain under pressure. Here were the Top Stock Trade setups from earlier in the week.
Last month, Airbnb said it will go public in 2020, and according to recent reports, the company is considering a direct listing much like Slack (NYSE:WORK) and Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) did when they went public. Airbnb is expected to hire Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Goldman Sachs as joint lead advisers for the deal.
Microsoft Smartphone?
During its hardware presentation, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced the Surface Duo. It’s a foldable dual-screen device that will run Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL, NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system. The company is resisting calling it a phone or a “phablet,” instead trying to forge a new path into the dual, foldable screen category.
Although, it did acknowledge that the device will run on Android as opposed to Windows in order to appeal to customers. And let’s not extrapolate more meaning than what’s here; Microsoft isn’t going to abandon Windows for Android. “In this case, on mobile devices, Android’s the obvious choice, but anything [bigger than] that, Windows is everything,” said Panos Panay, Microsoft’s chief product officer.
Microsoft shares ended higher by 1.2% on the day, after initially falling in the morning.
Earnings Roundup
PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) stock rallied 3% on the day and hit new all-time highs after the company beat on earnings and revenue expectations. Management maintained its full-year outlook, giving investors some relief amid a volatile market.
Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) turned lower at one point, but finished higher by 2.7% on the day after reporting its quarterly results. The move comes after the company beat on earnings, but missed on revenue and same-store sales.
Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) sank about 6% on the day, despite beating on earnings estimates. Revenue grew just 2.3% year-over-year and was in-line with expectations, while the company saw mark-to-market losses of $484 million from its Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) stock). While management raised its full-year earnings outlook, it’s doing little to help the share price Thursday.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long GOOGL.