With little news for traders to focus on the markets once again continued higher today with small gains. The Dow 30 was up 66 (0.37%), the S&P 500 was up 7 (0.33%), and the Nasdaq 100 also finished the day with gains of 12 (0.26%) points. Tomorrow traders will get an early look at unemployment claims, which are expected to see a small uptick.
Retailer Lululemon (LULU ) posted a rise in sales during the first quarter and lifted its full-year forecast, but said its profit fell 5.2%. Lululemon reported a profit of 33 cents a share, down from 34 cents a share one year ago, while its revenue rose 17% to $495.5 million. This good news sent the stock up 4.90% to new highs.
In the airline space, Southwest Airlines (LUV ) added 1.00% as the company reported that it flew 10.9 billion revenue passenger miles in May, a 6.4% rise compared to one year ago. Southwest also said that based on current trends, it expects to see a modest increase in second-quarter operating revenue.
Lending Club (LC ) had a small 0.68% gain on the day after Reuters reported that Lending Club co-founder and CEO Renaud Laplanche has been speaking to private equity firms and banks about financing a potential buyout of the online lender. Reuters, citing sources, said the talks were preliminary and may not lead to a deal. So essentially shares rose today on a rumor.
Skullcandy (SKUL ) shot up 16.03% today as news came out that the wearable tech company's founder Rick Alden wants to take the company private. In a 13D filing, Alden mentioned he was exploring the option.
Lastly, Amazon (AMZN ) continued on its rally today (0.40%) after CEO Jeff Bezos said Amazon will up its investment in India by $3 billion, bringing the total amount to $5 billion. Bezos, who made the announcement at a meeting with business leaders, released a statement that said the company sees "huge potential in the Indian economy."