After Market: Stock Indexes Stall, but Tesla Accelerates and Retailers Rise

DailyFinance Staff
Updated

Stocks drifted lower Tuesday thanks to middling economic news that held the market in check, but Tesla raced ahead and some big name retailers posted big gains. But middling economic news held the market in check.

The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) fell 27 points, the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) lost 5 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) slipped 2 points.

Tesla (TSLA) soared 13 percent after its all-electric car was named car of the year by Consumer Reports. Morgan Stanley (MS) also raised its target on the stock, which has been on fire. It's gone from $34 a share a year ago, to nearly $250 today.

This is a big week for retail industry earnings, and Home Depot (HD) got things off to a good start. Its beat estimates and raised its dividend. Home Depot shares rose 4 percent.

Macy's (M) jumped 6 percent and some other department stores followed suit. J.C. Penney (JCP) also rose 6 percent, Sears (SHLD) gained 2 percent and Dillard's (DDS) rose 8 percent.

But banking giant JPMorgan (JPM) fell 1.8 percent after lowering its profit outlook for the current quarter.

Let's stick with earnings. On the plus side:

  • Frontier Communications (FTR) rose 10.5 percent.

  • Bloomin' Brands (BLMN), which owns Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill, jumped 14 percent.

  • Zulily (ZU), the daily shopping site, soared 41 percent after reporting a big sales jump.

  • Live Nation gained 8 percent. It reports increased attendance at its concerts.

  • And Solar City (SCTY) rose 3 percent, even though the solar panel company delayed reporting its full year results. But this is another company that has soared over the past year, up nearly 350 percent.

On the downside of the earnings scorecard:

  • Tenet Healthcare (THC) posted a loss. Its stock fell 9 percent.

  • And RealPage (RP), which makes software for rental housing, tumbled 22 percent.

Elsewhere, GameStop (GME) rose nearly 7 percent on a Seeking Alpha report that an activist investor may be interested in the company. LinkedIn (LNKD) rose 5 percent after launching a beta version of its Chinese language site. And Intermune (ITMN) soared 170 percent -- that's not a typo, 170 percent -- on positive clinical trials for its treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

What to Watch Wednesday:

  • The Mortgage Bankers Association reports weekly mortgage applications at 7 a.m. Eastern time.

These major companies are scheduled to release quarterly financial statements:

  • Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF)

  • Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD)

  • Barnes & Noble (BKS)

  • Cablevision Systems (CVC)

  • Chesapeake Energy (CHK)

  • Dollar Tree (DLTR)

  • L Brands (LB)

  • Lowe's (LOW)

  • J.C. Penney (JCP)

  • Target (TGT)

  • TJX (TJX)

  • TiVo (TIVO)

-Produced by Drew Trachtenberg.

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