Palo Alto Boosts the Nasdaq Despite Another Retail Stock Debacle
It's been another tough week for the stock market, as a big plunge in retail stocks raised new concerns about the impact of inflation on financial markets more broadly as well as the overall economy. However, Friday brought at least the hope of a bounce. As of 8:15 a.m. ET, futures contracts on the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) were up more than 1.5% to 12,065, as the index tries to pull itself up from its bear-market drop over the past six months.
It's not surprising to find a tech stock trying to pull the tech-heavy index higher, and Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) played that role Friday morning as the cybersecurity company confirmed its ability to keep growing even under more challenging conditions. However, that didn't stop the retail industry from having its latest debacle of the day, with Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST) falling sharply. Here are the details.
Shares of Palo Alto Networks jumped 12% in premarket trading Friday morning. The cybersecurity specialist reported strong results for the fiscal third quarter that ended April 30, and investors breathed a sigh of relief that it avoided some of the pressure that its peers have faced.
Source Fool.com