News of a possible trade deal between the U.S. and China sent equities climbing into the close on Thursday. However, that optimism did not follow through into Friday’s session. Instead, it was a bunch of choppy, frustrating action in the stock market today.
Going into the close on Thursday, investors were buying on the premise that, so long as President Donald Trump agreed to the deal, then phase one of the trade would be done. It sent foreign equities higher overnight, as well as U.S. future prices on Friday morning.
However, morning gains were quickly flushed after the open, even though a deal is in place and both sides have agreed to the terms.
Buy the rumor, sell the news?
Perhaps that would be the best move, with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY) climbing just 0.05% on the day. We’ll have to see how equities react in the last few weeks of the year and see whether we get that Santa Claus rally going into 2020.
Movers in the Stock Market Today
AT&T (NYSE:T) is starting to roll out its “low-band 5G” network in select areas such as Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and San Diego, and will initially address 10 markets in total, followed by the release of the new Samsung (OTCMKTS:SSNLF) Galaxy Note 10+ with 5G capabilities. There will be a separate high-band 5G+ that will be available for businesses, stadiums and campuses.
In other AT&T-related news, the company will raise its quarterly dividend to 52 cents a share, bringing its yield to 5.4%. The company will also begin an accelerated buyback program.
After three weeks as the box office leader, Disney’s (NYSE:DIS) Frozen 2 will likely take a back seat to Sony’s (NYSE:SNE) Jumanji: The Next Level this weekend. Jumanji is expected to gross between $40 million and $50 million this weekend, while Frozen 2 is forecast to earn another $21 million, bringing its total to around $368 million domestically.
Don’t worry Disney fans. The company still has another Star Wars installment later this month.
The Justice Department is preparing to take legal action against Live Nation (NYSE:LYV), which caused its stock to take a hit of 7.3% going into Friday’s close. The DoJ says there is reason to believe that Live Nation is in violation of its merger.
In an effort to curb black market cannabis sales, Ontario will open up 20 more cannabis stores. The announcement sent shares of cannabis stocks higher earlier the day, while names like Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), Aphria (NYSE:APHA), Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) and others try to bottom.
Heard on the Street
Snap (NYSE:SNAP) shares were upgraded to “outperform” at JMP Securities and assigned a $20 price target. The target implies roughly 33% upside. (Snap was on our list of Top Stock Trades on Friday).
Bluebird Bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) was upgraded to “outperform” at Oppenheimer and assigned a $135 price target.
Despite slipping after a relatively strong earnings result, Cowen isn’t backing off Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU). The analyst reiterated the stock as a “top idea” and maintained their “outperform” rating and $250 price target.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long T.
