The summer doldrums appear to be officially here. Stocks didn’t do much Tuesday morning — a day after the market was mostly spinning its wheels.
The Dow, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all higher.
But even though the broader market is relatively calm, there were several interesting stocks on the move. Here’s what you need to know:
1) New York Times, UPS deliver bad news: The New York Times reported a bad quarter, with earnings plunging and coming short of analyst projections amid higher costs. The stock is down almost 6%.
Shipping giant UPS reported earnings that were short of what Wall Street was expecting, and its stock is down more than 3%. Profits in U.S. package deliveries, its second-biggest unit, were down 81.5% from the same time last year.
2) Apple nears all-time high: Apple is less than 2% from an all-time high, with the stock inching closer to $100.
Shares have rallied lately following a stock split that brought the stock price to a more affordable level for average investors. Wall Street is also excited about new products like the next iPhone as well as the company’s new strategy to acquire more companies. Apple has bought two small start-ups in the past few weeks.
3) Food movers: Chicken chain El Pollo Loco, after a spectacular rally following its IPO, is down more than 9%. The company’s shares more than doubled their offering price in just three trading days.
Darden Restaurants, the company that owns the Olive Garden and recently sold Red Lobster, told investors that chairman and CEO Clarence Otis would be stepping down after the end of the year. David Hughes a board member, will be following him out the door.
The moves leave three seats open at Darden’s board of directors, and the company has promised them to activist investors who had been pushing for a shake-up. Its shares are 3% higher.
5) Herbalife falters: Herbalife, the nutritional supplement producer that has been going to war with hedge fund investor Bill Ackman over his huge bet against the company, reported earnings that disappointed for the first time in a while. The stock, which soared after investors dismissed Ackman’s latest presentation against Herbalife, is down more than 11%.
6) International markets: European stocks were doing well, with the Eurostoxx 50 index about 1% higher in late trading. Russia’s MICEX index, despite the impending arrival of new sanctions, is up more than 0.8%. Asian stocks ended the day mostly higher, with Chinese stocks doing very well. Taiwan sticks out as an exception, finishing 0.3% lower.
