Why Macy's, Hostess Brands, and Perrigo Jumped Today

The stock market lost ground Thursday as investors reacted negatively to news regarding proposed U.S. corporate and individual income tax cuts. Reports surfaced that the Senate version of tax reform legislation would use a much less aggressive framework, retaining a complex set of seven tax brackets and potentially delaying corporate tax rate reductions until 2019. Major benchmarks fell around 0.5%, with small caps underperforming their larger counterparts. Yet some companies still were able to deliver good news today, and Macy's (NYSE: M), Hostess Brands (NASDAQ: TWNK), and Perrigo (NYSE: PRGO) 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.

Shares of Macy's climbed 11% after the department store retailer released its third-quarter financial report. Investors had been prepared for the retail giant to suffer another year-over-year decline in revenue, and sure enough, Macy's top line was down 6% on a 4% drop in comparable sales. However, the company believes that the holiday season will be strong, thanks to e-commerce initiatives and the newly relaunched loyalty program driving shoppers into stores and onto online channels. If strategic moves like new store concepts and monetizing valuable real estate work out, then Macy's could come out of the holidays looking better than ever.

Image source: Macy's.

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Source: Fool.com