The stock markets in the United States rebounded after a three-day decline on Thursday. The rally was due to the improvement in the employment situation in the country. The Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals who filed for jobless claims declined by 21,000 to 323,000 last week.
Based on the data compiled by Bloomberg, the economists estimated that the average number of jobless claims would be around 335,000. A separate report showed that wholesale prices declined for the second month in October while the Philadelphia Fed’s index of manufacturing fell 6.5% in the region for the month of November, which is lower than estimates.
Commenting on the performance of the stock markets today, Lawrence Creatura, fund manager at Federal Investors Inc told Bloomberg, “After three consecutive negative days it’s reasonable to expect a breather. There is some good news in the labor report too in that it does indicate a degree of improvement in the labor market.”
Yesterday, the minutes of the meeting of the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee (FOMC) indicated that policymakers perceived an ongoing improvement in the labor market, which warrants the reduction of the Fed’s $85 billion monthly bond buying program over the coming months.
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)- 16, 009.80 (+0.69%)
- S&P 500- 1,795.90 (+0.82%)
- NASDAQ- 3,969.15 (+1.22%)
- Russell 2000- 1,118.65 (+1.71%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,044.34 (-0.10%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,681.33 (0.00%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 9,196.08 (-0.07%)
Asia Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 15, 365.60 (+1.92%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 23,580.29 (-0.51%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 2, 409.99 (-0.61%)
Stocks in Focus
The stock price of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) increased 6% to as much as $20.11 per share after hedge fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital revealed that he has a long position and recommended buying the stock during the Robin Hood Investor Conference today.
In an interview with CNBC, Einhorn said, “You look at the multiples and what their earnings power here can be; we think [Micron’s] earnings are going to be a lot better than people think. Next year, maybe $3.50 a share, the following year maybe $4 a share.”
The shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR) climbed 15% to as high as $73.57 today after reporting a profit that exceeded the consensus estimate of Wall Street analysts for the fourth quarter. The coffee company delivered $0.89 earnings per share compared with the $0.75 earnings per share average estimate.
On the other hand, the stock value of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) increased nearly 2% to as much as $39.18 per share after the Treasury Department revealed its plans to sell 31.1 million common shares of the automaker. The Treasury said the sale might occur by the end of the year depending on trading volumes and market conditions.
