Wall Street began the new week on a dour note, as questions over the Greek bailout program and some slowing of Chinese imports and exports cast worries over U.S. markets.
The Athens stock market dropped 5% overnight, sending two-year bonds screeching up to a 20.7% yield. Chinese imports were off 19.9%, while exports fell 3.3%, both below market estimates and creating a $60 billion monthly trade surplus.
The biggest positive today was that U.S. crude oil rose to $52.86 a barrel, putting concerns of deflation on hold for the moment. OPEC forecast that 2015 will have a better demand for crude than previously calculated and said there will be less supply from non-OPEC countries as well.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both were 0.4% lower. Among market sectors, basic materials and energy again led all others — a solid trend we’ve seen in the markets over the last two weeks.
Although markets were gloomy on this wintry day, a few stocks, such as Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), Weatherford International Plc (NYSE:WFT), and LendingClub Corp (NYSE:LC) still had the sun shining on them.
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS)
Hasbro toyed with the analysts today after posting earnings of $1.22 a share to best the Street’s estimates by a penny.
On revenue, the company reported $1.3 billion — up 1.6% year over year, but slightly below estimates of $1.3 billion.
HAS also announced a new $500 million buyback program going forward that lifted investors’ spirits. The company recently bested rival Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) to win the rights to manufacture Disney Princess Dolls in 2016.
HAS stock was up 5.7% on the day.
Weatherford International Plc (NYSE:WFT)
WFT was one of several energy stocks that rose today, up almost 3% after the bullish remarks from OPEC were announced. WFT stock has recently been cut in half from $24 to $12, so the recent rally in oil has served it well. The stock was 6% higher earlier in the day before pulling back.
It was only last Thursday that WFT announced the layoffs of 5,000 employees, with 85% of them in North America, in order to save the company up to $350 million annually. The company is also offering early buyouts to many of its employees.
That same day, WFT also reported EPS of 32 cents a share, which beat estimates by a penny.
LendingClub Corp (NYSE:LC)
LC stock was up nearly 6% after announcing it is collaborating with Alliance Partners, which manages a national network of community banks called BancAlliance. Under this agreement, members of the network will be able to offer loan access to Lending Club, as well as purchase some of the consumer loans from Lending Club for its portfolios.
Customers will then get the best of both worlds — Lending Club’s low cost of operations, along with the banks’ lower interest rates.
Lending Club is a recent IPO, which has been trading between $29 and $18.50 after its first day.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
