Why MercadoLibre, CenturyLink, and Goldcorp Jumped Today
Wall Street reacted favorably to the latest news from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, and the Dow Jones Industrials jumped to yet another record with a high double-digit advance. As expected, the Fed raised short-term interest rates by a quarter percent to a new range between 1.25% and 1.5%, and with Chair Janet Yellen giving way to her predecessor, the central bank suggested that it would likely make three further interest rate increases in 2018. That sat well with investors generally, and good news from some individual companies also helped bolster market sentiment. MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI), CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL), and Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.
MercadoLibre gets good reviews
Shares of MercadoLibre climbed 8% after getting a favorable write-up from a major stock analysis company. Analysts at Piper Jaffray were positive on the Latin American e-commerce giant, repeating their prior stock rating of overweight but boosting their price target by more than 20% to $330 per share. MercadoLibre has shown solid fundamental progress as the Latin American economy has rebounded lately, and continued encouraging performance from key commodity markets that form the backbone of many national economies across the region could continue to bode well for a rising consumer class and its ability to fuel e-commerce growth.
Image source: MercadoLibre.
CenturyLink connects with optimism
CenturyLink stock picked up 7% in the wake of positive comments from analysts at Morgan Stanley. Those following the stock for the Wall Street giant said that 2017 has been a difficult one for the telecom industry, especially for companies with exposure to old-style wireline assets like CenturyLink. However, unlike some of its peers, CenturyLink has the advantage of having combined forces with Level 3, and those who are bullish on the telecom company think that larger scale and greater diversity in business could help it stand out from other companies with substantial landline exposure. Even with today's gain, CenturyLink is still down nearly 40% in just the past six months.
Goldcorp gets a lift
Finally, shares of Goldcorp rose 6%. The gold market gained ground today, with bullion rising more than $10 per ounce to $1,255. Ordinarily, news of an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve would be bearish for gold mining companies like Goldcorp, because higher rates mean greater financing costs for commodity investors who own gold or have investment positions in the yellow metal. Yet some investors see the Fed decision as being less hawkish than it might have been, and the prospects of a little pain now in exchange for less-dramatic future moves could help support gold prices. Goldcorp has large and growing gold reserves, and that puts the mining giant in great position to benefit if gold holds onto its gains and keeps moving higher.
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Dan Caplinger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends MercadoLibre. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
