The markets surged higher to finish the week, erasing most of the massive selloff on Thursday. The Dow 30 gained 140, the S&P 500 added 15 and the Nasdaq 100 gained 28. It was almost as if Thursday never happened and investors were content to take on risk again. Next week begins with an FOMC member speaking along with new home sales numbers.
Foot Locker (FL ) shares plummeted today after the shoe retailer announced earnings that were well below analysts' estimates. Revenue was also a bad miss as well which sent investors heading for the exits. In their conference call the company blamed "delayed income tax returns for sluggish sales early in the first quarter." Foot Locker says "stronger sales in March and April weren't enough to offset the slow start in February." Investors weren't in the mood for excuses and sent the stock to new lows. For the year shares are lower by almost 17%.
Salesforce.com (CRM ) had a wild ride today, finishing lower after starting the day at new highs. The software company had good news and even raised its outlook for the year after it reported earnings and revenue that were much better than Wall Street expected. Revenue was higher by almost 25% to $2.39B, but that wasn't enough to stop investors from taking some profit. Shares have been higher all year long in almost a straight up line which may have led to some of the selling pressure today.
Gap (GPS ) was yet another retailer to take a plunge today despite being higher at the open. Shares started the day higher after the retailer announced a beat on both its top and bottom lines for the first quarter. This was not expected by the street but thanks to same store sales improving across all its brands, the company was able to show good results for the quarter. Technical traders noted the move today which stopped right at the $22 support area.