Stocks struggled for direction this week as the dearth of earnings news and economics releases left investors with no clear narrative to grab hold of. Covid concerns weighed on risk assets at the start of the week and bonds actually rallied for a change. That reversed toward the end of the week. Small caps and tech stocks failed to catch this updraft however.
As of 2pm on Friday afternoon large caps were looking at weekly gains, with the Dow Industrials (DJI) and S&P 500 (SP500) both up about 0.5%. The Nasdaq (COMP) declined by about 2% to drop back below 13,000. Small caps performed worst, with the Russell 2000 giving up 4.5%.
Indeed the Russell had its biggest loss in almost a month to fall below its 50-day moving average on Wednesday.
Winners & LosersThe Suez Canal blockage helped energy names and tankers: Shares of Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT), Teekay Corp (NYSE:TK), Frontline (NYSE:FRO), DHT Holdings (NYSE:DHT) all rallied as freight rates jumped 20% for large oil product tankers traveling from the Mediterranean.
Many pandemic favorites returned to the winner's column: Costco (NASDAQ:COST) shares were up about 7%, with Clorox (NYSE:CLX) about 3.4% higher. Dollar General (NYSE:DG) added 11%, helped in part by a big bull call from JPMorgan. Target (NYSE:TGT) was 7% to the good.
Utilities, another safe-haven favorite, also gained, with the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLU) adding 2% this week.
Shares of media companies were one big loser. ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC) dropped by 31% after a $3 billion share offering. Fox (NASDAQ:FOX) was almost 5% lower after it emerged as the latest lawsuit target from Dominion Voting Systems. Certain brick and mortal retailers had bad weeks, with GAP (NYSE:GPS) shares declining by 7%. Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) fell by 8%. American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO), Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS), and Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) dropped by 5% each.
Last but by no means least, it was a bad week for GameStop (NYSE:GME), whose shares declined by 9% after earnings and with analysts refocusing on fundamentals. Some back-and-forth over a potential share sale also weighed on performance.
What Caught Our Eye(s) This Week
Kim: Nike (NYSE:NKE) faces backlash in China over Xinjiang statement;
Stephen: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) proposes $8.3B fix for Texas electric grid;
Brad: Chinese tech sees sharp decline after proposed data-collection JV and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) walks the tightrope amid U.S. - China tension;
Nat: Office REITs: The New Normal by SA Marketplace author Hoya Capital Real Estate.
About This Podcast
Alpha TALKS Wall Street Breakfast is a weekly podcast covering what moved markets this week (WMMTW), featuring a panel of Seeking Alpha editors.
Hosted by Nathaniel E. Baker, Senior Editor, Strategic Contributors, and featuring:
Bradley Olesen, VP News (off this week);
Kim Khan, Senior News Editor;
Stephen Alpher, Managing Editor News, co-host of Seeking Alpha's Alpha Trader podcast.
A slightly longer video publishes every Friday by close of trading on the SeekingAlpha.com website. Watch this week's video here.
The video can also be seen on the Seeking Alpha YouTube account.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As of 2pm on Friday afternoon large caps were looking at weekly gains, with the Dow Industrials (DJI) and S&P 500 (SP500) both up about 0.5%. The Nasdaq (COMP) declined by about 2% to drop back below 13,000. Small caps performed worst, with the Russell 2000 giving up 4.5%.
Indeed the Russell had its biggest loss in almost a month to fall below its 50-day moving average on Wednesday.
Winners & LosersThe Suez Canal blockage helped energy names and tankers: Shares of Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT), Teekay Corp (NYSE:TK), Frontline (NYSE:FRO), DHT Holdings (NYSE:DHT) all rallied as freight rates jumped 20% for large oil product tankers traveling from the Mediterranean.
Many pandemic favorites returned to the winner's column: Costco (NASDAQ:COST) shares were up about 7%, with Clorox (NYSE:CLX) about 3.4% higher. Dollar General (NYSE:DG) added 11%, helped in part by a big bull call from JPMorgan. Target (NYSE:TGT) was 7% to the good.
Utilities, another safe-haven favorite, also gained, with the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLU) adding 2% this week.
Shares of media companies were one big loser. ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC) dropped by 31% after a $3 billion share offering. Fox (NASDAQ:FOX) was almost 5% lower after it emerged as the latest lawsuit target from Dominion Voting Systems. Certain brick and mortal retailers had bad weeks, with GAP (NYSE:GPS) shares declining by 7%. Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) fell by 8%. American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO), Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS), and Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) dropped by 5% each.
Last but by no means least, it was a bad week for GameStop (NYSE:GME), whose shares declined by 9% after earnings and with analysts refocusing on fundamentals. Some back-and-forth over a potential share sale also weighed on performance.
What Caught Our Eye(s) This Week
Kim: Nike (NYSE:NKE) faces backlash in China over Xinjiang statement;
Stephen: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) proposes $8.3B fix for Texas electric grid;
Brad: Chinese tech sees sharp decline after proposed data-collection JV and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) walks the tightrope amid U.S. - China tension;
Nat: Office REITs: The New Normal by SA Marketplace author Hoya Capital Real Estate.
About This Podcast
Alpha TALKS Wall Street Breakfast is a weekly podcast covering what moved markets this week (WMMTW), featuring a panel of Seeking Alpha editors.
Hosted by Nathaniel E. Baker, Senior Editor, Strategic Contributors, and featuring:
Bradley Olesen, VP News (off this week);
Kim Khan, Senior News Editor;
Stephen Alpher, Managing Editor News, co-host of Seeking Alpha's Alpha Trader podcast.
A slightly longer video publishes every Friday by close of trading on the SeekingAlpha.com website. Watch this week's video here.
The video can also be seen on the Seeking Alpha YouTube account.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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