The markets blasted off today following the results of the preliminary, French Presidential elections. Investors took the opportunity to buy up the markets once again which sent the Dow 30 up 219, the S&P 500 up 25, and the Nasdaq 100 higher by 73. This week is promising to be an exciting one as there is a barrage of earnings due, along with Trumps promise to announce his tax reform details by Wednesday. Tomorrow traders will also have to contend with economic news such as consumer confidence and new home sales due out in the morning.
Hasbro (HAS ) was a big winner today blasting off 5.90% after the toy company earnings that beat on both its top and bottom lines. Revenue was higher by more than 2% thanks to "strong demand for toys based on franchises such as Nerf and Transformers." Remember that last week Mattel (MAT ) disappointing with poor earnings which had many considering the relevance of traditional toy makers in a digital world. The announcement today sent shares of Hasbro comfortably to new highs on the year. Hasbro is the clear leader with over a 30% gain on the year.
Halliburton (HAL ) was higher to start the day today as the oil service company announced earings that came in better than what the street expected. According to the report, revenue was higher by about 2% from a year ago to $4.8B as it "benefited from an increase in drilling activity in North America." Weak oil prices did slow the stock however and it ended up lower by 0.68% on the day.
Amazon (AMZN ) added another 0.99% to its impressive rally as Wedbush Securities raised its price target on the stock to $1,250 a share. According to the analyst report, Wedbush says it expects "substantial earnings growth" at Amazon. Amzon also announced it would be launching a furniture section of its site to compete with companies like Wayfair (W ). Amazon will announce earnings this Thursday.
