Commenting on VF Corp’s earnings and today’s trading Gorilla Trades strategist Ken Berman said:
Q3 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Despite Reporting Positives Earnings, VF Corp Trades Lower
The major indices are all trading modestly higher following a strong opening rally in stocks, as bulls are eyeing the first positive session in four days on Wall Street. European assets bounced back following yesterday’s scary selloff, but investors remain on the edge due to the worrisome COVID reports from France, Italy, and Spain and the uptick in the number of U.S. cases. While most of this morning’s earnings reports were positive the market’s reaction was lackluster, and most reporting firms are trading lower at midday, with VF Corp (VFC, – 3.0%) being the biggest name.
In economic news, the retail sales report provided a sizable bullish surprise as both headline and core sales beat expectations, jumping higher by 1.9% and 1.5% respectively. Industrial production missed the consensus estimate, but as the Michigan consumer sentiment number was also higher-than-expected, bulls can be delighted by today’s reports. Growth sensitive stocks are having a day thanks to the positive numbers, even though there hasn’t been meaningful progress in the ongoing stimulus talks.
Market Wrap
Dow: 28,726, + 232 or 0.8%
S&P 500: 3,500 + 17 or 0.5%
Nasdaq: 11,737, + 23 or 0.2%
Russell 2000: 1,641, + 2 or 0.1%
Market breadth has been relatively weak this morning as small-caps are taking a breather following yesterday’s rally, with the number of advancing issues roughly matching decliners on the NYSE at midday. Only 10 stocks hit new 52-week lows on the NYSE and the Nasdaq, while 145 stocks hit new 52-week highs. The major indices have been spiked below their daily VWAPs (Volume-Weighted Average Price) following a bullish start to the session, hinting at a possible intraday trend reversal. Healthcare stocks, industrials, and consumer-related issues have been leading today’s rally, with financials also showing promising signs in early trading, and only the real estate and energy sectors lagging clearly behind the broader market, which is great news for bulls for the afternoon session. Stay tuned!