The Big Winner of Cyber Monday? Victoria's Secret. L Brands stock was up almost 7 percent on Monday, and another 3.78 percent today
By Andrew Osterland •
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L Brands is experiencing some early holiday cheer.
After rising nearly 7 percent on Cyber Monday -- the biggest day of online shopping in history -- L Brands, makers of Victoria's Secret lingerie and operators of Bath & Body Works stores, was up another 3.78 percent today.
That was the largest gain on the Entrepreneur Index™, which closed up 0.17 percent.
The stock market appeared in a holding pattern today after strong Cyber Monday sales buoyed investor sentiment yesterday. With the uncertainty surrounding the health of the global economy, U.S.-China trade negotiations, and falling oil prices weighing on the market, investors appeared to be waiting for some clarity.
The G20 economic summit -- where U.S.-China relations will be center stage -- begins on Friday and an OPEC meeting, where potential cuts in oil production will be discussed, is scheduled for next week. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will also speak tomorrow at the Economic Club of New York, undoubtedly fueling speculation on the odds of another interest rate hike in December.
The Dow and S&P 500 indexes were up 0.44 percent and 0.33 percent respectively, while the Nasdaq composite index was up 0.01 percent.
The technology sector was uncharacteristically quiet today, with only five of 13 tech stocks on the Entrepreneur Index™ rising or falling more than 1 percent. Netflix had the biggest gain in the sector, rising 2.01 percent, while Verisign Inc., which registers internet domain names, had the biggest loss at 1.91 percent.
Facebook continued to suffer slings and arrows from all directions. A former Facebook employee accused the company of having a "black people problem," suggesting it lacked organizational diversity. Meanwhile, Facebook's VP of policy was grilled today by representatives from nine countries in the U.K. parliament on fake news and disinformation issues. The representatives were angry that CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not attend the meeting. The stock was down 1.01 percent on the day.
While L Brands had a strong day, other clothing manufacturers did not. Luxury brand Ralph Lauren was down 3.85 percent and Under Armour Inc. fell 1.89 percent.
Retailer stocks were also mixed with Costco Wholesale Group rising 1.62 percent and discount retailer Dollar Tree Inc. falling 1.6 percent. Walmart was down 0.12 percent and Bed Bath & Beyond was down 4.4 percent -- the biggest decline on the Entrepreneur Index™ today.
Tyson Foods slid 1.88 percent and is now down 28 percent for the year. Fellow food-maker J.M. Smucker Company was up 0.16 percent on the day.
Other notable gains on the Entrepreneur Index™ today included whiskey-maker Brown-Forman Corp. (2.06 percent), Cognizant Technology (1.67 percent), Chipotle Mexican Grill (1.59 percent) and Comcast (1.55 percent).
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.
