U.S. stocks crawled back Wednesday, even as uncertainty roils markets around the world and investors fret over the potential consequences of a U.S.-led military strike on Syria.
The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all modestly higher after Tuesday’s sharp fall in reaction to a potential strike on Syria.
World markets continued to tumble Wednesday. European markets closed lower, while Asian markets ended in the red. Both Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell by as much as 1.6%.
Investors moved into assets deemed “safe,” pushing up the prices of gold and U.S. Treasury 10-year bonds. Oil prices also surged another 1% after rising 3% on Tuesday.
The world seems increasingly convinced that the U.S. — and its allies — will make a military strike against Syrian government forces in the coming days. U.S. officials report that Syrian forces used chemical weapons to attack innocent people.
“Those who use chemical weapons against defenseless men, women and children should and must be held accountable,” said Vice President Joe Biden in a speech to the American Legion.
Oil stocks Chevron and Exxon Mobil were some of the best performing in the Dow on the new, each gaining more than 2%.
What’s moving: Shares of BlackBerry continued to climb on Wednesday, rising nearly 5%. The jump comes a day after reports surfaced that the ailing smartphone maker is considering spinning off its Messenger unit into a more agile subsidiary.
Some traders on StockTwits thought that would be a smart move.
duke2duke: $BBRY news of spinning off the messaging portion is good for shareholders. The parts are much more valuable than the sum.
willhassell: if $BBRY does spin of BBM i think they could make some good money by making it a messaging app across all the smartphones.
It’s been a good couple days for jewelry retailers. Shares of Zale jumped 20% after it reported its first full-year profit in several years. A day earlier, Tiffany & Co reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
Traders were impressed with the pop, especially as a number of other retailers have been struggling.
winrx: $ZLC Nice numbers coming from a retailer for a change.
abubnic: Apparently, diamonds are not a short’s best friend.
TiVo shares were up following healthy earnings after the bell on Tuesday. The rise was driven by several factors, including good reviews for its new Roamio box, a jump in subscribers and revenue generated from legal settlements.
One trader said the stock has legs.
biofreak: $TIVO Looking like a pretty good long time play here. Picked up some TIVO in PM
