More than six in 10 stocks lost ground on Thursday, as markets cooled off after a four-day rally. Although most stocks fell today, the major financial averages finished sideways; the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.12%) lost less than a single point, to finish at 16,572.
Dow component Walt Disney (DIS -0.83%) was also unchanged in trading today, although the company is far more exciting than today's ho-hum performance suggests. The entertainment giant is investing $1 billion in wearable technology -- specifically, wearable technology for guests at its world-famous theme parks. MyMagic+ and FastPass+ wristbands will allow Disney to live-monitor traffic flow in its parks; but more importantly, the wristbands will allow guests to skip long lines by planning out when they'll attend certain attractions and reserving those times.
Rite Aid still has Easter to look forward to. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Although the broader market didn't budge much, Rite Aid (RAD 5.56%) shares were on the move Thursday, adding 2% by day's end. The drug store announced sales numbers for March and, yet again, Wall Street was impressed -- something investors are getting used to following Rite Aid's 270% rally in the last year. Though overall store sales were up just 0.7% from last March, Easter fell on March 31 in 2013, which gave sales a nice boost from in-store purchases of knickknacks and delicious chocolate bunnies. With Easter on April 20 this year, it looks like April same-store sales will enjoy more than a 0.7% boost!
Lastly, shares of flash sales site Zulily (NASDAQ: ZU) lost 4.9% today, continuing a steep pullback from its highs in late February. Shares have tumbled 30% from their highs in that time, as investors have reigned in their expectations. The stock has a tendency to be extremely volatile, which isn't unreasonable given the fact that it just IPO'd back in November. There's no question about it... this business has two things investors love: momentum and potential. Sales zoomed from $18 million in 2010 to $695 million in 2013, a 3,682% increase. But with barriers to entry in the online retail industry so low, and an unproven track record, I don't think Zulily deserves a $6.4 billion valuation just yet.
