Equities have been all over the place this week, and that action continued in the stock market today.
On Monday, we had one of the best days bulls have ever seen. On Tuesday, big morning gains completely evaporated by the afternoon, giving investors the largest intraday reversal since 2008. For the stock market today, the S&P 500 roared to life, climbing almost 3.5% on the day.
Apologies for the week-long history lesson, but it underpins something that a lot of investors seem to be forgetting: We’re still in a high-volatility environment, with big moves in both directions.
The Federal Reserve minutes were released in the stock market today. While not shocking now, the emergency meeting from March 15 revealed that the group sees an economic outlook that has “deteriorated sharply.” That was the meeting where the Fed cut interest rates by 100 basis points, despite some members fearing an overly negative reaction to such news and preferring a 50 basis point cut.
According to the minutes release, Fed members saw one of two likely outcomes. Either the economy begins to recover in the second half of 2020 or there is no significant recovery until next year.
Teen Faves
The results are back from Piper Sandler’s teen survey, which the analysts do twice per year.
Coming in hot was Nike (NYSE:NKE) as the winner for both the top clothing and footwear brands. The runner-ups for clothing were American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO), Adidas (OTCMKTS:ADDDF), Hollister (NYSE:ANF) and PacSun.
Vans (NYSE:VFC), Adidas and Converse (another Nike brand) made the top list in the shoe department. As for food, the top restaurant chain was Chick-fil-A, followed by Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Chipotle (NYSE:CMG).
Movers in the Stock Market Today
Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) shares rocketed higher on the day, up more than 11% after an update to its guidance. The company released preliminary first-quarter results, with management expecting revenue between $269 million and $271 million versus consensus estimates of $268.1 million. Active users also came in strong, at 365 million to 367 million.
However, management pulled its full-year outlook amid the uncertainty — no surprise there — while COO Françoise Brougher will step down, effective immediately.
Shares of Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) were up 13.5% today on an update of the company’s liquidity. Wynn upsized its prior offering of $350 million senior notes to $600 million. They come with a 7.75% coupon and are due in 2025.
According to JPMorgan analysts, Wynn Resorts presently has about $3 billion in liquidity. That should give the company almost a year-and-a-half of property operating expenses and interest expenses. The analysts kept their overweight rating on the stock.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) 5G iPhones could launch in December now, according to Wedbush analysts Daniel Ives and Strecker Backe. Due to the novel coronavirus, the analysts see a 10%-15% chance of a release date in October. Wedbush still keeps Apple at an “outperform” rating with a price target of $335.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) could pull in as much as $489 million in a ventilator contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The first 6,132 ventilators will be delivered by June 1. GM plans to deliver 30,000 units by the end of August while working with Ventec Life Systems.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long PINS and AAPL.
