Tech Industry Leads the Market Higher on Great Day for Google, Facebook and Amazon Stocks Plus, a delay in auto tariffs lifts investors' spirits.
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The stock market continues to swing based on trade tensions with China and other major trading partners of the U.S.
Share prices were down in early morning trading but rallied after President Trump's administration indicated that it planned to delay tariffs on automobiles and auto-parts from numerous countries for up to six months. The major indexes all posted solid gains. Technology stocks, and particularly the internet giants, once again led the market higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 1.13 percent and the Entrepreneur Indexâ„¢ gained 1.14 percent. The Dow and S&P 500 indexes were up a more modest 0.45 percent and 0.58 percent respectively.
The FAANGs found their footing today and posted the biggest gains in the technology sector. Alphabet Inc. (3.91 percent), Facebook (3.09 percent), Netflix (2.69 percent) and Amazon (1.75 percent) were all up sharply. The rest of the sector was generally strong as well. Twitter (2.63 percent) and Adobe Systems Inc. (1.82 percent) posted good gains, as did Verisign (1.38 percent) and Akamai Technologies (1.19 percent). NVIDIA Corp and salesforce.com had the biggest losses in the group, falling 1.33 percent and 1.9 percent respectively.
Related: Warren Buffett Recently Invested in Amazon. It Made Him Nearly $250 Million Before.
Only two other stocks outside the tech sector fell by more than one percent. Under Armour Inc., which posted the biggest gain (3.25 percent) on the Entrepreneur Indexâ„¢ yesterday, gave back 1.25 percent today. Gap Inc., which has suffered from the uncertain trade landscape, was down 1.97 percent. The stock is now down 13.1 percent so far this year.
Ralph Lauren Corp. bounced back with a decent gain of 1.52 percent, after falling more than eight percent over the last two days. Most of the automotive sector rose on the news about delaying auto tariffs. Ford Motor Co. rose 1.17 percent. Tesla, however, had a small loss of 0.15 percent.
Estee Lauder Companies, which has been showing strong growth in the Chinese and Asian markets, was up 1.78 percent today. The stock is up 30.7 percent on the year despite rising trade tensions.
Other good gains on the day were posted by Cognizant Technology (1.47 percent), retailer Dollar Tree Inc. (1.47 percent), Wynn Resorts (1.57 percent) and Hess Corp. (1.34 percent).
Expect the stock market to continue to be choppy as sentiment on trade issues swings from positive to negative -- largely based on President Trump's tweets. The President, a self-described "tariff man," called the trade battle with China a "squabble" yesterday and suggested that a deal between the two countries could still get done.
The Entrepreneur Indexâ„¢ 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.
