The markets faced another day of weakness as the Presidential election polls show a tightening race. Markets don't like uncertainty, and with the new polls out it seems that it is still unclear who the ultimate victor will be. The Dow 30 was off another 28, the S&P 500 lost 9, and the Nasdaq 100 lost another 47 due to the drop in Facebook. Tomorrows focus will continue to be on the election along with the last unemployment rate update for Obama's term.
Facebook (FB ) shares lost 5.68% today after releasing their earnings yesterday after the close. Despite having quarterly profits that beat expectations by almost three times last years results and revenue that beat estimates investors still took the opportunity to sell. The main focus of the earnings report was the company saying that revenue growth from advertising will slow meaningfully next year. Also, Facebook has already committed to showing users less ads in their news feeds in the middle of next year. All of this combined sent shares to their lowest level in over 3 months with above average volume.
Fitbit (FIT ) was today's biggest loser as shares plummeted over 32%, hitting a new, all time low. The company, which makes wearable fitness devices warned that holiday sales will be much weaker than expected. The company is blaming the shortfall on soft demand for activity trackers, increased competition in the space, along with manufacturing problems related to its new Flex 2 device. Volume today was near all time highs as shares fell, closing at their lows of the session.
Whole Foods (WFM ) reported earnings that beat analyst estimates and shares started the day higher. However, investors were focused on the news that the grocery store chain has reported five quarters of falling sales, and faces intense competition from retailers including Walmart (WMT ) and Amazon (AMZN ). As a side note, the company announced that its co-founder, John Mackey will take back full command of the company after splitting the CEO role with Walter Robb for the past six years. Shares still closed the day lower by 0.14%, but likely due to the weak overall markets.