Netflix Is Up Despite Down Day for Tech Stocks The stock market appears to be taking a breather before the mid-term elections tomorrow.
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Volatility as measured by the VIX index has fallen below 20, and the swings in the market were less dramatic today than through most of last week. The Entrepreneur Index™ was down 0.39 percent today.
The Dow and S&P 500 indexes were up 0.76 percent and 0.56 percent respectively, while the Nasdaq 100 was off 1.47 percent.
Technology stocks were down on the day, as investors appear to be looking for value over growth. Negative sentiment on Apple Inc., which reported disappointing earnings last week, may also be weighing on the market. Akamai Technologies had the biggest decline in the sector and on the Entrepreneur Index™, falling 3.92 percent. It spiked more than 15 percent last week after the company reported great earnings results. Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com were also down 1.67 percent and 2.27 percent respectively. Netflix had the biggest gain in the tech sector, rising 2.05 percent.
Loews Corp. posted the biggest overall gain on the day, rising 5.42 percent after the company reported earnings this morning. The company missed earnings estimates, but saw profits nearly double from the same quarter last year. The conglomerate run by the Tisch family is seeing strong results in its property and casualty insurance business as well as the Loews hotels business. It also credited a lower tax rate for the surge in profits.
Hess Corp. attracted some value buyers. Shares in the oil and gas producer were down 25 percent in October as the price of oil came down sharply from a multi-year high in early October. The stock was up 4.06 percent today despite a small decline in the price of oil again. The company reported healthy profits this quarter for the first time since 2014.
Other stocks that have been beaten up lately also saw good gains. Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. was up 3.52 percent. The stock is off 27 percent this year. Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan rose 2.37 percent after its stock dropped more than 10 percent through October. Food maker J.M. Smucker Company also had a 2.17 percent jump. It was down late last week after competitor Kraft Heinz reported poor financial results.
Investors continued to show interest in the REIT stocks. Macerich Company (2.41 percent), Extra Space Storage (1.89 percent), and Equity Residential (1.91 percent) all posted nice gains.
Wynn Resorts was down 2.14 percent. It soared 12 percent last week after gambling revenues in Macau, where the company operates three casinos, came in above expectations. Specialty retailer Bed Bath & Beyond was down 3.06 percent. The stock has dropped 35 percent in the year to date.
The Entrepreneur Index™ collects the top 60 publicly traded companies founded and run by entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial spirit is a valuable asset for any business, and this index recognizes its importance, no matter how much a company has grown. These inspirational businesses can be tracked in real time on Entrepreneur.com.
