The stock market came under pressure on Friday afternoon and was slugged on Monday, as the S&P 500 fell 1.57%. On Tuesday though, the bulls were back in action, with investors enjoying a rally in the stock market today.
The S&P 500 gained 1.01%, a day after we said both bulls and bears failed to gain momentum in the session.
The market has two main catalysts right now — those being earnings and the coronavirus. Despite United Airlines (NYSE:UAL) saying it would limit flights to China and the country updating its death and infected list, equities were resilient in the stock market today.
That’s also despite disappointing quarterly results from companies like 3M Co (NYSE:MMM) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE). Pfizer missed on earnings and revenue estimates, while 3M beat on non-GAAP earnings, but missed on sales. 3M also announced 1,500 layoffs and took a $134 million restructuring charge.
Here’s what the charts for both stocks look like now.
Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) also slipped on Tuesday, falling about 3% after the company missed on earnings and revenue estimates. Gross margins fell year-over-year and missed estimates, while retail sales dropped 3.1% in the U.S. Given all that, shares certainly could have done worse.
After the close is littered with big-name reports, and Wednesday has plenty too. A few of tomorrow’s big ones include Boeing (NYSE:BA), General Electric (NYSE:GE), McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) and AT&T (NYSE:T) in the morning. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) report after the close on Wednesday.
Movers in the Stock Market Today
BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA) slipped 7.6% in the stock market today, after announcing a takeover of Delphi Technologies (NYSE:DLPH). The all-stock deal comes out to a $3.3 billion transaction, sending DLPH shares up about 60% on the day. BWA made the deal to help further its future products in the auto market, and expects the deal to be meaningfully accretive in its second full year.
Old faithful not so faithful anymore? Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) not only hit one-year lows, but is approaching its lowest levels since 2010 (on a dividend-unadjusted basis). Oil and the energy sector have struggled, as oil prices remain capped by a waiting supply line in U.S.-produced oil. Even though Exxon has been spending, it hasn’t generated the income needed, and may need to do an asset writedown like Chevron (NYSE:CVX).
Following the tragic helicopter accident on Sunday that claimed nine lives, including basketball star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Nike (NYSE:NKE) is trying to juggle its online store. Early reports suggested that Nike pulled its Kobe shoes, but other reports have said Nike is already sold out. For now, the company no longer has any Kobe-related gear available and instead has a post honoring him.
As for a few analyst moves, Uber (NYSE:UBER) was making waves in the stock market today. The stock was initiated with a “buy” rating at UBS, with analysts assigning a $56 price target on the stock. Shares rallied about 2% in response, with the price target still implying more than 50% upside.
Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) finished notably off its session high, but still climbed 1.8% after receiving a new overweight rating and $155 price target from Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo also initiated Slack (NYSE:WORK) with an “overweight” rating. They also assigned a $30 price target, implying over 42% upside even after the stock’s near-5% rally on Tuesday.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long T and TWLO.