GDP Plunge Sends Stock Markets Falling; UPS, Apache Jump on Strong Shipping, Encouraging Energy Trends
The stock market has been able to recover sharply from the worst of its bear market earlier this year, but it's not invulnerable to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today's news of 1.4 million new first-time claims for unemployment insurance as well as second-quarter GDP numbers that were 9.5% lower than they were in the first quarter were just the latest signs of the damage that the coronavirus has done. Wall Street finally felt the ill effects, and just before noon EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was down 304 points to 26,236. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) fell 24 points to 3,235, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) lost 2 points to 10,541.
Hidden among the stock market benchmarks, though, are thousands of individual companies seeing very different things from the current economic situation. United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) saw its stock soar in response to its latest quarterly financial report, as the shipping giant tries to ramp up to meet the huge surge in demand from those stuck at home during the pandemic. Elsewhere, Apache (NASDAQ: APA) has had a hard time with the slump in oil prices, but investors were still pleased with what they saw from the oil and gas exploration and production company.
Shares of United Parcel Service soared 17% after the parcel delivery company reported its second-quarter financial results. Investors had expected solid results during a period in which deliveries have become more essential than ever, but even the most bullish of them were surprised at what they saw from UPS.
Source Fool.com
