Good Evening. The U.S. stock market rose strongly on Tuesday, with gains quickening in the last hour of trading after a mostly quiet day before Thanksgiving.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both increased by 1.36%, while the Dow Jones increased by 1.18%. The S&P 500 ended over 4,000 for the first time since September, while the Dow had its best closing in three months.
GOOD EARNINGS ALL AROUND
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) announced quarterly sales and earnings that were above Wall Street’s forecasts, driven by the strength of its signature Abercrombie brand. The stock’s intraday gain was the most in two years.
- Earnings Per Share: $0.01 vs. $(0.12) expected
- Revenue: $880.1 Million vs. $835.9 Million expected
“We are cautiously optimistic as the holiday season kicks into high gear,” Abercrombie CEO Fran Horowitz said in a statement. “We have strategically adjusted our inventory receipts for holiday and early 2023…”
What about the competitors? Tuesday’s earnings releases from Abercrombie and American Eagle follow better-than-anticipated third-quarter profits from brands such as Gap Inc. and Urban Outfitters Inc., which both had faster sales growth at their higher-end brands.
UPDATE ON RAILROAD STRIKE
The nation’s biggest train union narrowly rejected a preliminary labor deal negotiated by the Biden administration, heightening the possibility of an economy-damaging rail strike before the Holiday break. A strike may begin as early as December 5 unless a new deal is negotiated or the Congress takes preventative action.
A little refresher since the last time we covered this… The Association of American Railroads estimates that a rail strike would cost the US economy around $2 billion per day. This size of a shipping halt might result in worldwide food shortages and other consequences. Each week, around $2.8 billion in chemical exports would be affected, according to the American Chemistry Council.
What do employees seek? The deal, which provided the greatest pay raise in four decades at 24% by 2024, was rejected owing to a lack of concessions from management on what union leaders say are arbitrary attendance regulations and continuous understaffing difficulties since the epidemic.
Going forward… The contract must be approved by 12 unions, and the SMART Transportation Division union rejected it yesterday, joining a number of smaller unions that have previously voted against it. BLET, the second-largest railroad employees’ union, ratified the contract by a razor-thin margin but said it will respect the picket line.