U.S. markets took a drubbing today as bond yields rose again and a lack of resolution to the Greek debt problem had traders once again on edge. Just as a few weeks ago it was the rising or sinking of oil prices that dictated the direction of the markets, the current boogeymen seem to be rising interest rates and bond yields.
As for the economy, the Labor Department said jobless claims for the week ending May 30 declined from 282,000 to 276,000, and that was below Street expectations for 279,000. The new unemployment report for May comes out tomorrow.
Elsewhere, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the Federal Reserve should delay hiking rates until the first half of 2016. The IMF noted there aren’t sufficient signs of a pickup in wages and inflation yet to warrant a hike this year.
Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, which fell nearly 1% and 0.9% respectively, slipped below their 50-day moving averages. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8%. All major sectors were in the red, and no sector showed any particular strength today.
Despite the selloff, a few stocks managed to buck the trend and still finish higher. DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) and Five Below Inc (NASDAQ:FIVE) were aided by merger talk, analyst chatter and good earnings, making them three of today’s best stocks.
DISH Network Corp (DISH)
DISH stock rose more than 4% after the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday evening that DISH and T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS) have begun talks on a deal in which DISH would acquire T-Mobile.
Wall Street analysts are very bullish on such a partnership because there is a great deal of respect for both Charlie Ergen, the chairman of DISH, as well as T-Mobile CEO John Legere. The merger would help DISH become a wireless carrier for the first time, so it could bundle services to customers along with the satellite TV service it now provides.
TMUS stock was up 2.7% on the day with more than 17 million shares traded.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS)
LVS stock jumped 4.7% heavy volume after Standpoint Research initiated coverage on the Las Vegas-based casino and hotel with a “Buy” rating.
Other casino stocks also rose due to comments by Kenneth Fong and Isis Wong of Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (NYSE:CS), saying they saw “green shoots” in gaming data for Macau last month. Mass gaming jumped 9% during that time. Those same analysts had previously been very cautious about the sector as a whole.
Five Below Inc (FIVE)
A strong first quarter had FIVE stock surging 7.6% today on heavy volume. The discount clothing retailer reported EPS of 8 cents on revenue of $153.7 million. EPS a year ago was 6 cents a share and revenue climbed 22% during that same period. Both of those were ahead of analysts’ estimates for 7 cents a share on revenue of $151.3 million.
In addition, analysts at Barclays increased their price target from $42 to $44 for Five Below stock, and gave it an “Overweight” rating.
Shares of FIVE stock closed today at $37.78. Shares have risen over 30% just since March.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
