U.S. markets attempted a rebound early on after yesterday’s poor showing, but drifted lower to finish in negative territory by day’s end. Weak manufacturing data from China and another drop in the price of crude oil were the culprits behind the decline.
A 6.5-year low to 47.0 in the preliminary Chinese Manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) had stocks on the defensive. Analysts were expecting a reading of 47.5.
Crude oil again dropped by 4%, as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a second consecutive weekly drop in crude oil inventories. Analysts were expecting a decline of 533,000, but instead learned that inventories had dropped 1.9 million barrels. However, gasoline stockpiles rose 1.4 million barrels, instead of the much lower 819 the street was expecting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.3%, the S&P 500 was down 0.2%, and the Nasdaq was flat on the day. Sectors were down across the board again, with materials stocks again among the weakest of all sectors.
But not all was bleak. Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL), Eros International Plc (NYSE:EROS) and First Niagra Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:FNFG) had solid days, making them three of today’s best stocks.
Carnival Corp (CCL)
Carnival was cruising along today after analysts at Barclays maintained an “equal weight” rating on the stock and increased the price target from $53 to $54.
On Tuesday, Carnival reported third quarter earnings of $1.75 per share on revenue of $4.9 billion, beating the street estimates for $1.62 on revenue of $4.8 billion.
CCL stock has been in a nice uptrend since bottoming at $43 per share in May. Carnival finished more than 3% higher today.
Eros International Plc (EROS)
Something is definitely stirring with EROS, the Indian film entertainment distributor. EROS stock vaulted 10% higher today after EROS announced it will host an inaugural investor day on October 13, 2015 at the Trump SoHo Hotel in New York City. Several senior management executives, including Executive Chairman Kishore Lulla and CEO Jyoti Deshpande will be presenting at the event.
Earlier this month, EROS announced it will be challenging Netflix (NFLX) by producing a low cost, video-on-demand for mobile devices for Indian populations. EROS has a collection of more than 2,000 films and television series from which to create a user’s catalog that can give NFLX a run for its money.
EROS stock has almost doubled since May, 2015.
First Niagra Financial Group Inc. (FNFG)
FNFG stock gapped higher today by more than 14%, after the release of a Bloomberg report that First Niagra has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to explore either a sale or other opportunities to grow the stock price.
Several banks, including New York Community Bancorp, Inc (NYSE:NYCB), Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD), and Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) have reportedly been contacted by First Niagra in searching for a possible suitor. The estimated market value for FNFG is roughly $3.18 billion.
FNFG stock had traded sideways for months, prior to today’s report.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
