U.S. markets sank this afternoon amid a stronger-than-expected ADP report, a weak beige book report and remarks made by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.
The ADP report showed 217,000 jobs created in November, above the estimates for 190,000, and 21,000 more than the October revised number. Meanwhile, Yellen noted in her speech to the Economic Club of Washington that although the U.S. economy has improved over the last few years, any decision to hike interest rates in December can still be swayed by economic data prior to the Dec. 16 Fed meeting.
Crude oil sank over 4% amid U.S. government data showing a buildup of inventory for the 10th consecutive week. Inventories were up 1.2 million barrels last week. The release of the Fed Beige Book which showed a tightening of labor markets and wage pressures also weighed on oil prices.
By the end of the day, the S&P 500 sank 1.1%. However, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) and On Deck Capital Inc (NYSE:ONDK) weren’t about to be bothered by the market’s general overall weakness.
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO)
YHOO stock bolted almost 6% higher amid reports that its board of directors met to discuss a possible sale of Yahoo’s core business. Another item said to be on the board’s agenda is what to do with Chinese Internet retailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), which is estimated to be worth over $20 billion.
Another (unsubstantiated) rumor was that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer could be shown the door. Some analysts believe she has not done enough to turn the company around over the past three years. Competition from other Internet giants, such as Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) have cut into advertising revenue for YHOO.
Qualcomm, Inc. (QCOM)
Qualcomm stock also had a big day on news involving a new partnership. The digital communications product manufacturer announced it has signed a patent license agreement with Xiaomi, a Chinese phone manufacturer.
QCOM has struggled in recent years after an antitrust investigation made it difficult to collect full value fees for use of its patents in mobile phone systems. The deal with Xiaomi gives Qualcomm complete agreements with four of the five biggest Chinese phonemakers.
QCOM stock rose more than 5% on the day.
On Deck Capital Inc (ONDK)
One of the biggest winners on Wall Street today was On Deck Capital, which soared well more than 27% on heavy volume of 6 million shares, after announcing it will partner with JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) to provide capital loans to small businesses.
Under the terms of the deal, JPM’s small business customers will be able to borrow on loans below $250,000, and will be available to some of its customers as early as 2016.
Today’s action comes after a year long downtrend for ONDK stock. The stock traded as high as $24 at the beginning of 2015, and was recently hitting lows near $8 a share.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
