U.S. stocks endured the biggest loss in two weeks as oil prices declined and the dollar rose. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.52% and 0.63%, respectively, with both indexes being pressured by some slack earnings reports from a couple of Dow components. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.05%.
The S&P 500 appears to be faltering near its all-time highs and just days shy of the start of May, which starts the weakest six-month period of the year for stocks.
The good news is weak was not the order of the day for Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE:ETE), Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) and Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB), a trio that make up three of today’s best stocks.
Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE)
Shares of Energy Transfer Equity climbed nearly 7.2% despite ongoing negativity surrounding the company’s proposed merger with Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB), a transaction some market observers view as ill-fated and unlikely to come to fruition.
Independent research firm Gimme Credit downgrade its view on ETE to “underperform” today. The proposed marriage of WMB and ETE has been under intensifying scrutiny due to a series of missteps, some of which have prompted litigation.
As Barron’s reports, ETE commenced a private placement of preferred securities, which drew a suit from WMB. Additionally, “ETE’s lawyers say they can’t provide a tax-related document needed for the merger to close on time.”
Earlier this week, a Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. analyst said the WMB/ETE deal has a 50-50 chance of actually happening.
Under Armour Inc (UA)
Under Armour, the athletic apparel maker, saw its shares jump almost 6.8% on more than triple the average daily volume after the company gave impressive guidance for the rest of 2016. Maryland-based Under Armour said revenue will top $1 billion per quarter for this year.
UA said first-quarter per-share earnings were 4 cents, up from 3 cents a year earlier. Analysts expected UA to earn 2 cents a share. UA’s revenue of $1.05 billion beat analysts’ estimates of $1.04 billion. UA forecast 2016 sales of $5 billion, up from a previous estimate of $4.95 billion.
UA said its women’s apparel business will surpass $1 billion in sales this year.
Viacom, Inc. (VIAB)
Viacom, Inc. surged nearly 14% on more than quadruple the usual turnover on news the company renewed its distribution deal with DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH). In recent days, VIAB and DISH have engaged in a public spat, warning customers about what could happen if the two sides did not come to terms.
At issue was which VIAB channels DISH could continue delivering to customers and at what price.
“The lack of programming interruption is notable. Dish tends to allow blackouts in 75 percent of its negotiations, according to a J.P. Morgan research report,” according to Reuters.
At the time of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities.
