Tuesday erases Monday’s losses, riding optimism
Despite the start of earnings season, markets roared back Tuesday, absorbing Monday’s losses and then some. Tech propelled the Nasdaq by nearly 4%. Tuesday marked a four-day winning streak for the index, its longest since December. The S&P (up 3%) and Dow (2.39%) closed at their highest levels since March 10. Since the market bottomed on March 23, the S&P has climbed 23.5%.
Speaking of earnings, Johnson & Johnson reported an earnings and revenue beat, but offered a bleak profit outlook for 2020. JNJ rose 4.48%. Similarly, Apple reported a rebound in iPhone sales to China after the February slump. The stock jumped 5%. But the biggest winner on Tuesday was Amazon, scaling new heights of $2,283 after a 5.28% climb. Business is so good there that it’s hiring 75,000 more workers. That should make up for Amazon firing two more workers who complained about working conditions during this pandemic.
The TSX also enjoyed a positive session, gaining 1.3%. Since March 23, the Toronto index has risen 20%. On Tuesday, it lagged Wall Street, because oil took another dive. The energy sector lost 1.63% as a barrel of WTI fell 7.5% though, oddly enough, WCS leapt 40%. Like Wall Street, tech led Toronto’s gains with Shopify ralling 11.25% and Lightspeed gaining nearly 14%. Generally speaking, investors are either talking about a V-shaped recovery or expecting a bumpy coming weeks as more earnings reports, profit warnings and dividend suspensions hit the headlines.
🩺 Johnson & Johnson +4.48%
🍎 Apple +5%
📦 Amazon.com +5.28%
🛍 Shopify Inc. +11.25%
💾 Lightspeed POS +14%