Thursday was another solid day for the stock market, with gains in the Nasdaq Composite showing strength in the technology industry even as broader-based measures generally saw more modest moves. The Nasdaq has been rocketing to record highs recently, driven by the power of investor interest in high-momentum tech stocks. Market participants also took heart from news on the macroeconomic front, where retail sales showed good growth despite fears that higher gasoline prices would sap the spending power of typical American consumers. Additionally, some high-profile companies saw their shares move higher. Twitter (TWTR +0.00%), Dropbox (DBX +1.85%), and Carvana (CVNA 3.72%) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.
Twitter keeps picking up steam
Shares of Twitter jumped another 6%, bringing their gains for the month to almost 35%. The social media stock has risen regularly ever since news came out early in June that Twitter would get added to the S&P 500 index, lending it the status of being a top company in the U.S. market and suggesting that it would have the staying power to remain there. Since then, investors have gotten more upbeat about Twitter's prospects, and some have pointed to the beginning of the 2018 World Cup as a new opportunity for the microblogging platform to show its value in allowing soccer fans worldwide to comment on games and share their experiences. Despite skeptics questioning whether Twitter can match the success of other social media giants, the market has a newfound optimism for it recently.
Image source: Twitter.
Dropbox gains momentum
Dropbox stock climbed 14%, picking up more ground after the company said earlier this week that it would be able to improve on its groundbreaking storage technology to expand its applications even further. On Tuesday, Dropbox said that it would deploy its Shingled Magnetic Recording drive technology as part of its Magic Pocket custom-built storage infrastructure platform. The move should allow clients to be more flexible and efficient in storing data, and the open-source solution provides users with many options that proprietary alternatives don't. Dropbox just came public and still has plenty of obstacles to overcome, but impressive growth figures in user counts and sales point to what could become an even more attractive future for the cloud storage company.
Carvana drives higher
Finally, shares of Carvana popped 9%. The used-car retailer continued its ascent, with today's gain bringing the stock's total increase so far in June to nearly 40%. Strong fundamentals have helped lift the stock, with aggressive expansion having brought its total store count to 56 along with eight of its vending machine towers. At its current growth pace, Carvana could see 100 stores by early next year, and although profitability has thus far eluded the car retailer, executives are hopeful that they're making progress toward achieving that goal as well. Competition in auto sales is fierce, but Carvana has an interesting way of doing business that could generate positive momentum as it catches on.
