Stocks soared Wednesday with a big assist from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which agreed to its first output reduction in eight years. Not surprisingly, energy — the seventh-largest sector weight in the S&P 500 — clobbered the broader market.
Still, the major indices didn’t do too poorly for themselves. The S&P 500 climbed 0.52%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite notched a gain of 0.24%.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was an unsurprising beneficiary from Wednesday’s news. But BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) also stood out from the pack.
Here’s why:
BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY)
BlackBerry, arguably one of the forefathers of the smartphone phenomenon, said it isn’t doing hardware — at least, not how it used to.
BlackBerry will now outsource production of handsets, and investors cheered the news, sending BBRY stock higher by 5.7% on more than six times the average daily volume.
BBRY was once the dominant purveyor of smartphones, but that dominance eroded when the iPhone launched nine years ago. The popularity of BlackBerry devices further tumbled as users transitioned to Android devices and corporations, once reliable BBRY customers, allowed employees to use iPhones and Android devices in place of BlackBerry products.
Canada-based BlackBerry will now focus on software and security offerings.
The news came alongside a breakeven quarter against analysts’ expectations for a 5-cent loss.
Dillard’s, Inc. (DDS)
Department store operator Dillard’s soared 5.3% on more than double the usual turnover following some positive analyst commentary.
Credit Suisse analysts Michael Exstein and Christine Lee upgraded DDS stock to “outperform” from “neutral.” The analysts also unveiled a $70 price target on DDS, implying significant upside for the shares from Wednesday’s close.
DDS “has focused on localization of merchandising and remains the only regional buying structure in the industry. While we do not expect a significant improvement in reported profitability, we believe the company will continue to reduce overall debt and buy back stock,” said Credit Suisse in a note posted by Barron’s.
The news brought DDS further up the latest hill in its roller-coaster 2016. Shares hit the 50-day moving average around $62.50 before retreating to close at $61.20.
In the same note, the analysts downgraded Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) to “neutral” with a $40 price target.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)
Shares of XOM surged on more than double the average daily volume following news of the OPEC production cut.
Texas-based Exxon Mobil, a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, benefited alongside rival oil producers after after OPEC said it would pare output to 32.5 million to 33 million barrels per day, or roughly 750,000 barrels a day less than it produced last month. It took two days of “round-the-clock talks,” and the exact details of the deal won’t be finalized until November.
OPEC accounts for about 40% of global oil production. While the cartel is reducing output, production in Russia has surged to a post-Soviet era record.
Brent crude rose as much as 6.5% in London, Bloomberg reports.
XOM stock finished 4.4% higher in an aggressive break above shares’ 200-day moving average, which Exxon had been battling as resistance after it fell as support mid-month. Shares now are up against the 50-day MA.
As of this writing, Todd Shriber did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
