U.S. markets returned to the plus side today after three consecutive days of losses, despite another small loss in the oil markets, and a few large oil companies, such as Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) and Conoco Phillips (NYSE:COP) announcing they will cut capital expenditures in 2016.
Despite this news, the indices seemed to be finding support near their 200-day moving averages.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims came in at 282,000 — higher than the 269,000 number the street was expecting. Continuing claims reached 2.24 million, up from 2.16 million the week before. Traders are still focused on the positive that jobless claims continue to fall below 300,000 each week.
In other news, U.S. import prices were off 0.4% in November, mostly due to lower energy costs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 200 points earlier, before paring its gains to finish 0.5% ahead. The S&P 500 was not quite as strong, gaining 0.2%, and the Nasdaq was up 0.4%. The major sectors were mixed, with healthcare showing the most strength, and utilities looking weak.
And speaking of good health, some reassuring words from Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) had that stock soaring. CMG, Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) and Cyberark Software Ltd (NASDAQ:CYBR) are three of today’s best stocks.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG)
CMG stock was rebounding 5% today after founder and co-CEO Steve Ells apologized to customers in an interview on the Today show, and said the company is enacting new procedures to become the “safest place to eat.”
Yesterday, more than 120 students became ill after eating at a Chipotle restaurant in Boston. Previous incidents of E. coli outbreak have also caused 52 other individuals in nine different states to become ill in the past two months.
CMG stock has been on a down hill run since the first E. coli incident, falling from $760 per share to a recent low near $540.
Twitter Inc. (TWTR)
TWTR stock had a great day after the social media site announced it will be testing a new feature that will send out ads to people who check Tweets without logging in or having Twitter accounts.
The upshot of this change could be revenue that cashes in on advertising to up to a half a billion people every month. Twitter hopes to garner an additional $1.25 billion from this new advertising campaign. The feature will begin with some advertisers in the U.S., U.K., Japan and Australia.
TWTR stock was up more than 6% today on the news.
Cyberark Software Ltd (CYBR)
CYBR stock jumped nearly 9% today after receiving an analyst upgrade from JPMorgan Chase and Co (NYSE:JPM), which raised it from “underweight” to “overweight.” JPM also put out a price target for CYBR stock of $48 — 13% higher than today’s close.
JPM said that CyberArk is likely to experience strong demand in various security sectors next year. The upgrade comes at a fortuitous time, because CYBR stock has dropped by more than 40% since hitting a 52-week high of $76.35 in June. CYBR recently bottomed near $37.50.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
