The markets mostly struggled to find conviction today as healthcare and financials could not make up their minds. The Dow 30 was lower by 3, the S&P 500 lost 1, but the Nasdaq 100 was able to gain 20 on the day. Tomorrows scheduled news is light with only the weekly crude oil inventory report due out in the morning.
Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) shares plummeted to new lows today after sports retailer announced their earnings. The focus was on the same store sales numbers which were much worse than expected for the first three months of the year. The company blamed the poor numbers on "a challenging retail environment". Shares of Dicks closed at 2017 lows and are now off by over 20% on the year. Technical traders will note the support area approaching in the $39 area.
Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) blasted off today, hitting new 2017 highs in the process as it was reported that private equity firms TPG Group and Dragooneer Investment Group took stakes in the online crafts retailer with the goal of pressuring Etsy to put itself up for sale.Investors cheered the news sending shares to new 6 month highs.
Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) shares suffered more losses today after announcing earnings that were mostly in line with estimates. Revenue was the black eye for the company's quarterly earnings report as it slightly missed expectations. Some analysts were bearish due to same store sales, which were negative but not as negative as the analyst community was thinking. Despite the selloff today shares are only lower by 1% for the year. Traders have been putting the stock under pressure though. In the last 4 trading days the stock is lower by 7.5%.
Ford (NYSE: F) shares flirted with new lows today despite reports that the automaker plans to reduce its workforce in North America and Asia by about 10%. The company has been openly trying to find ways to improve profits and boost its sagging stock price. Today's announcement apparently was not a good way to achieve that goal.