Stocks Tick Higher as Investors Parse Retail Earnings
November 26 2019 - 5:16PM
Dow Jones News
By Paul J. Davies and Michael Wursthorn
U.S. stocks drifted higher Tuesday as rising shares of consumer
companies and real-estate firms nudged all three major indexes to a
new set of records.
Shares of Best Buy led the S&P 500 higher after the
consumer-electronics retailer boosted its forecast for the crucial
holiday-shopping season and reported a solid sales gain for the
previous quarter. The optimistic tone for the final month of the
year helped boost shares of several other retailers, including TJX
Cos., Ulta Beauty and Home Depot.
Shares of real-estate companies added to the market's gain, with
those stocks in the S&P 500 advancing 1.4%.
Incremental developments on the U.S.'s trade talks with China
also brightened investors' near-term outlooks to keep the stock
market moving higher. Chinese officials said Tuesday that they had
reached a consensus with their U.S. counterparts on resolving
certain problems, suggesting the two sides are making progress
toward a "phase one" deal.
Still, analysts urged investors to remain cautious. Trade
headlines have sent stock indexes on a roller coaster this year,
and that volatility is likely to play out further until the U.S.
and China actually sign a deal.
"While top officials on both sides have sounded positive,
potential barriers to a broad agreement remain," strategists at UBS
Global Wealth Management wrote in a note to clients Tuesday,
pointing to the fact that the U.S. and China still haven't set a
deadline for signing a deal or determined whether to delay tariffs
scheduled to take effect next month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55.21 points, or 0.2%, to
28121.68, notching its 14th record close of the year. The S&P
500 added 6.88 points, or 0.2%, to 3140.52, while the Nasdaq
Composite gained 15.44 points, or 0.2%, to 8647.93, with both
closing at new highs.
Best Buy shares jumped $7.32, or 9.9%, to $81.57, more than any
other stock in the broad S&P 500 index, after the retailer
slightly increased its targets for sales and profit for the fiscal
year and disclosed plans to compete with Amazon.com this
holiday-shopping season.
Shares of Hormel Foods also rose after it reported
better-than-expected earnings despite missing sales forecasts. The
food maker's stock gained $1.52, or 3.6%, to $44.28.
Meanwhile, a couple of disappointing profit reports weighed on
the S&P 500's advance.
Shares of Dollar Tree slid $17.13, or 15%, to $95.26 after the
owner of the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar chains of discount
stores lowered its earnings guidance for the year, due, in part, to
the anticipated impact of tariffs on goods imported from China.
Also hobbling major indexes' advance was a pullback in shares of
Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The tech company's stock stumbled
$1.48, or 8.5%, to $15.97 after it reported a bigger-than-expected
decline in revenue for the most recent quarter.
Elsewhere, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.1%. The
Shanghai Composite Index closed almost flat, while Hong Kong's Hang
Seng Index slipped 0.3%.
Write to Paul J. Davies at paul.davies@wsj.com and Michael
Wursthorn at Michael.Wursthorn@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 26, 2019 17:01 ET (22:01 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024