WW and Virgin Galactic Stocks Crater — and What Else Is Happening in the Stock Market Wednesday
If investors were betting that July’s inflation report would have a big impact on the market, they were mistaken. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is doing next to nothing Wednesday morning even after July’s consumer-price index was released. Shares of Wendy’s, Virgin Galactic, and WW were on the move.
Dow futures have ticked up 30 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures have advanced 0.1%, and Nasdaq Composite futures have risen 0.1%. All three are slightly higher than they were before the release.
The consumer-price index rose 5.4% in July year over year, a touch higher than the 5.3% economists had predicted, while it increased 0.5% from June, in line with expectations. Core CPI rose 4.3% year over year, in line with forecasts, and just 0.3% in July from June, a touch lower than forecasts for a 0.4% increase.
“Since the data, the market has done remarkably little—in keeping with the near-consensus report,” writes BMO Capital Markets’ Ian Lyngen.
For now, at least, it seems like the stock market is content to take a wait-and-see approach over whether inflation is transitory or not.
Shares of WW International (WW), the former WeightWatchers, has dropped 24% after missing earnings forecasts and offering weaker than expected guidance. WW stock was also downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.
Virgin Galactic (SPCE) has fallen 4.9% after getting cut to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Perrigo (PRGO) has tumbled 9.7% after the company reported a lower than expected profit.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) has fallen 2.2% after it said the Delta variant has impact third-quarter revenue.
Wendy’s has risen 4.3% after reporting better-than-expected earnings and raising its full-year guidance.
Write to Ben Levisohn at [email protected]
