The stock market's woes continued on Thursday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other popular indexes fell between 1.5% and 2%. Investors continued to react negatively to yesterday's announcement from the Federal Reserve, which suggested that further interest rate increases were likely in 2019. Yet some companies managed to overcome the downward pressure in the broader market with good news that sent their shares higher. Tilray (TLRY), Fortuna Silver Mines (FSM 3.10%), and Aimmune Therapeuticals (AIMT) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.
Tilray finds its partner
Shares of Tilray climbed 10% after the marijuana company announced a deal with a major consumer-goods producer. Beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD 1.43%) and Tilray will work together on a research partnership focused on non-alcoholic beverages containing cannabis derivatives like cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol. As positive as it is that Tilray has the Budweiser maker on its side, the deal is far less extensive than what some of its peers have accomplished, as it's limited in scope only to Canada. Decisions on commercialization of any resulting beverages will have to wait until later, but investors still are optimistic that the partnership will bear fruit in the long run.
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Good fortune for Fortuna
Fortuna Silver Mines saw its stock jump 11% on a strong day for precious metals miners in general. Rising bullion prices were partially responsible for the boost, as gold jumped more than $20 an ounce to $1,264 and silver climbed by about 1.5% to move above $14.75 per ounce. Like other silver mining stocks, Fortuna has been in a downward trend throughout much of 2018, but many investors in precious metals have noted that price disparities between silver and gold have climbed to their highest level in a quarter century. That could bode well for silver's prospects going forward, and Fortuna is among those miners with the most to gain from the metal's recovery.
A competitor's pain is Aimmune's gain
Finally, Aimmune Therapeutics shares finished up 15.5%. The company was the beneficiary of bad news from a key competitor, DBV Technologies, which decided to pull its application for FDA approval for its peanut allergy patch product. Regulators were nervous about quality control, prompting DBV to delay its rollout. Aimmune is working on a competing treatment called AR101 to help those who suffer from peanut allergies, and although shareholders aren't entirely comfortable with some of the findings of recent studies of the drug, they still think that bad news for DBV is potentially good news for Aimmune.
