U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as the Federal Reserve again held off on raising interest rates. However, comments from Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen set the stage for a rate hike in December. The S&P 500 rose 1.09% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9%. The Nasdaq Composite finished by higher by 1.03%.
On a strong day for stocks, Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE), FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) were among the strongest of the strong.
Adobe Systems Incorporated (ADBE)
Shares of Adobe Systems climbed 7.1% on more than triple the average daily volume, touching a new 52-week high along the way, after the company reported impressive fiscal third-quarter results.
Adobe, which makes software used for graphic design, among other applications, reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of 75 cents a share on sales of $1.46 billion. Analysts expected ADBE to earn 72 cents per share on sales of $1.45 billion. Cloud computing also drove growth for Adobe.
Adobe’s “Creative Cloud package of software tools added more subscribers, which drove revenue. Its digital media segment revenue increased 29 percent year-over-year,” reports CNBC.
Adobe’s forecasts now suggest 20%-plus growth in Digital Media and Marketing Cloud.
The beat could prompt Adobe to outperform for the rest of the year.
FedEx Corporation (FDX)
A day after investors pushed the stock higher on news of 2017 fee hikes, FDX stock climbed 6.9% on nearly quadruple the average turnover after reporting solid fiscal first-quarter earnings and boosting its outlook.
Tennessee-based FDX earned $2.90 per share in its fiscal first quarter on revenue of $14.7 billion. Analysts were expecting FedEx to earn $2.79 a share on sales of $14.6 billion.
FedEx also raised its earnings outlook for fiscal 2017 to $11.85 to $12.35 per share from $11.75 to $12.25.
The company expects to add 50,000 seasonal workers to meet shipping demands for it what it expects to be record e-commerce shopping during the upcoming holiday season, according to a Bloomberg report.
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
MSFT, the world’s largest software maker and a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, advanced 1.6% on above-average volume after the company unveiled significant additions to its shareholder rewards efforts.
Microsoft is implementing a new $40 billion share repurchase program after the current slate of buybacks ends at the end of this year. The buyback figure is equal to 9% of MSFT’s shares outstanding.
Meanwhile, the company also announced a boost to its dividend, from 36 cents per share quarterly to 39 cents. Based on the new dividend, MSFT yields around 2.7%.
InvestorPlace’s Chris Tyler says this fresh cash spend should be a catalyst for even more bullishness in MSFT stock going forward.
As of this writing, Todd Shriber did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
