Here is the closing market update as of 4:15 PM Eastern Time 15 minutes after the market closed for Wednesday, February 12.
US equities notched record highs today as the anxiety over the impact of the Coronavirus has faded somewhat to make early signs the outbreak may be slowing.
Akamai technologies reported solid Top and bottom-line results today. Bed Bath and Beyond were sharply lower after it posted disappointing holiday sales figures, and CVS Health beat expectations with its 4th quarter earnings but offered mixed guidance moving forward.
Treasury yields were higher as fed chairman Jerome Powell continued his semiannual monetary policy testimony on Capitol Hill The US dollar gained ground with the higher yields crude oil prices and gold were higher global equities joined their US counterparts in the green for the day the Dow Jones industrial average rose 275 points or 0.9% to 29,551 the S&P 500 index rose 23 points or 0 blue point 7% to 3381, and the Nasdaq composite rose 87 points or 0.9% to 9726 929 million shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and 2.3 billion shares changed hands on the NASDAQ WTI
Crude oil rose a dollar 23 to $51.17 per barrel,
Wholesale gasoline was up 7 cents at $1.58 per gallon elsewhere
The Bloomberg gold spot price added $1.50 to $1571.60 per oz
The dollar index comparison of the US dollar to 6 major world currencies was up 0.3% to 99.0 in equity news
On Wednesday CVS Health ticker symbol CVS reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.33 or $1.73 versus the $1.68 estimate as revenues rose 22.9% year over year to 66.9 billion dollars topping the streets forecast of 63.9 billion dollars. The drugstore chains said its revenue growth reflected the impact of the acquisition of Aetna. As well as increased volume and brand inflation in both its pharmacy retail segments partially offset by continued price compression in its pharmacy unit, continued reimbursement pressure in its retail sector and increased generic dispensing rate CVS Health issue 2020 earnings guidance with a midpoint slightly below expectations shares were lower after providing mixed 2020 guidance
Bed Bath and Beyond ticker symbol BBBY fell over 25% after the retailer reported a 5.4% year over year decline and same-store sales for December and January, Missing the streets expectation Bed Bath and Beyond said the results reflected a low double-digit percentage decrease in transactions in the stores partially offset by a mid-single-digit percentage increase in the average transaction amount. The company said its gross margin came under pressure primarily due to an unfavorable impact on merchandise margin from promotional activity during the period
Akamai technologies ticker symbol AKAM posted fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.73 or for $1.23 X items versus the forecast at $1.13 with revenues rising 8% year over year to 772 million dollars above the expected 749 million dollars the company said its results topped estimates due to the rapid growth of its cloud security business and robust seasonal traffic on its network shares were higher.
Molson Coors beverage company ticker symbol, TAP announced fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.75 or a dollar 2X items compared to the expected $0.78 as revenues grew 2.8% year over year to 2 1/2 billion dollars roughly in line with forecasts the company said lower volumes in the US and weakened performance in Canada were partially offset by growth in its international unit shares moved lower
on Wednesday the MBA mortgage application index rose by one point 1% last week following the prior weeks of 5% gain the increase came as a 5% rise in the refinance index more than the offset of 5.8% decline for the purchase index the average 30-year mortgage rate ticked a basis point higher to 3.72%
treasuries were lower with the yield on the 2-year note gaining a basis point to 1.44%, but the yield on the 10-year note and the 30-year bond advancing three basis points and two basis points to 1.63% and 2.09% respectively.
The Coronavirus will continue to affect China’s industrial heartland at the center of the epidemic the ripple effects may be more significant and longer-lasting than in previous outbreaks today, was the conclusion of Federal Reserve Chairman. Jerome Powell’s two-day monetary policy testimony on Capitol Hill, which comes after the central bank left its stands unchanged and delivered a dovish tone late last. The Fed holds rates steady sites moderate economic growth Jerome Powell’s prepared remarks to the Senate were similar to yesterday’s commentary where he reiterated to the house that the current stance of monetary policy is likely to remain appropriate, but risks remain despite some uncertainties around trade diminishing and that the Fed is closely monitoring the coronavirus outbreak.