Disney profit surprise lists Wall Street
Disney’s surprise quarterly profit blew some magic dust onto the markets Wednesday. Investors also bought stocks on signs that Congressional Democrats and the White House were nearing a deal on a coronavirus relief bill.
The Dow added 1.4% while the Nasdaq and S&P gained more than half percent. Hard hit cyclical sectors like materials, industrials and financials joined technology stocks in the rally.
Hancock Thematic Opportunities Fund co-portfolio manager Ger Van Der Geer:
“It’s great to see market breadth is finally starting to become a little bit better. It had been very very much supported by a small group of stocks. What we see now in the last couple of days is expectation that the government will come with more stimulus.”
Disney shares were among the top movers on the Dow and S&P, jumping one day after eking out an adjusted profit that trumped the per share loss that Wall Street was expecting.
Johnson & Johnson rose. The U.S. government will pay the drugmaker more than $1 billion for 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine.
Square surged. The payments processor’s quarterly revenue shot up 64% as consumers staying at home used its platform to buy more goods online.
