The stock market exploded higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising more than 600 points. Major benchmarks were generally up by at least 2% after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled a more dovish tone in the central bank's likely stance on future monetary policy. Investors reacted favorably to comments that rates were just below the range of estimates seen as neutral for economic growth, reading it as an indication that the Fed won't make as many interest rate increases in 2019 as previously expected. Some companies also had good news of their own to boost their share prices higher. Amazon.com (AMZN -2.56%), Wayfair (W -1.94%), and Ferroglobe (GSM -0.40%) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.
Amazon expands its cloud capabilities
Amazon.com's shares rose 6% as technology stocks that were hit hard during the market correction regained the most ground. Amazon also had a number of encouraging developments on the cloud computing front, with its Amazon Web Services unit launching a host of new services and platforms that improve database capabilities, expand data management and deploy business solutions more efficiently, and maintain a chain of accountability with respect to business transactions that clients must audit. With optimism back in the market, Amazon's ready to reassume its leadership role at the forefront of tech innovation.
Image source: Amazon.com.
Wayfair sells a great story
Wayfair shares moved higher by 14.5% after the online home furnishings retailer announced its results from the holiday weekend. For the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, Wayfair said direct sales were up 58% year over year. CEO Niraj Shah noted, "As the broader shift from brick and mortar to online shopping continues to gain momentum, Wayfair is capturing a leading market share in the home goods category." Eventually, the company will need to demonstrate that it can not only keep revenue moving higher but also make strides toward consistent profitability. For now, though, investors seem content with the progress that the retailer's made thus far.
Ferroglobe bounces back
Finally, Ferroglobe saw its stock climb nearly 26%. The shares rebounded partially from Tuesday's drop of nearly 60%, which had stemmed from the company's report of substantial declines in shipments and selling prices of silicon and various other metal alloys in the third quarter of 2018 compared to the second quarter. Overall revenue growth was weak, and break-even results on the bottom line were much worse than most had expected. Some analysts following the stock had mildly encouraging things to say about Ferroglobe's prospects, but many remain skeptical that the company can deal with the disruptions that could result from a poor environment in the metals markets.
