Technology stocks paced the market to moderate gains.
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Technology stocks outpaced the rest of the market today, pushing the Nasdaq Composite index up 1.15 percent.
The Dow and S&P 500 indexes rose 0.7 percent and 0.68 percent respectively. The Entrepreneur Index™ closed the day up 0.89 percent with twelve of thirteen tech stocks on the index posting gains.
Leading the technology pack were Netflix, (2.91 percent), Adobe Systems Inc. (2.98 percent) and NVIDIA Corp. (2.74 percent). Netflix, down more than 45 percent between its high set last June and Christmas, is now up 50 percent since then. Adobe, meanwhile is up just under 20 percent in that period. Chipmaker NVIDIA has also staged a nice rebound, up twelve percent in the last four trading sessions. It fell sharply last week after it reduced revenue guidance for the fourth quarter by 20 percent. It is still down 49 percent from its peak set in early October.
Other tech stocks posting good gains included Twitter, (2.14 percent), Akamai Technologies, (2.32 percent) and Facebook, (1.87 percent). Chipmaker Analog Devices, (-0.84 percent) was the only technology stock on the Entrepreneur Index™ to fall on the day.
O’Reilly Auto Parts was up 2.72 percent — the biggest gain on the Entrepreneur Index™ outside the tech sector. Shares in the auto parts retailer are up more than 60 percent from a 52-week low set last April. The company will report earnings on Wednesday.
Other notable gains on the index included Fedex Corp. (1.91 percent), asset manager Franklin Resources, (1.59 percent) and retailer Bed Bath & Beyond, (2.22 percent).
Shares in biotech drug-maker Alexion Pharmaceuticals were up as much as three percent in early trading after the company beat earnings and revenue estimates by a wide margin. Alexion even gave strong forward guidance for 2019, but the stock couldn’t hold its morning gains. It finished the day down 2.0 percent. Fellow drug-maker Regeneron Pharmaceuticals also fell 1.1 percent today.
Other stocks with notable declines included casino-operator Wynn Resorts, (-1.33 percent), pest-control company Rollins Inc. (-1.36 percent) and Ralph Lauren Corp. (-1.06 percent).
Alphabet Inc. (formerly Google), up 1.99 percent today, reported earnings after the market close. It handily beat earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter, but the stock was down in early after-market trading. Alphabet is the last of the FAANG stocks to report results for the fourth quarter.
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.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/327459