Thursday was a good day on Wall Street, as investors seemed to have a delayed positive reaction to the Federal Reserve's decision late Wednesday not to make an immediate interest rate cut but to suggest imminent easing in the near future. A rise in geopolitical tensions also lifted some markets, supporting stocks. Some individual companies got more of a boost than others, and Oracle (ORCL +0.74%), Eldorado Gold (EGO 0.89%), and Tilray (TLRY +0.00%) were among the top performers. Here's why they did so well.
Oracle climbs into the cloud
Shares of Oracle rose 8% after the database specialist reported its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results. Oracle said that revenue eased higher by 1% compared to the prior-year quarter, with adjusted net income picking up 3%. Yet currency impacts hid the somewhat faster pace of organic growth within the company, and Oracle pointed to sustained growth in several key cloud applications suites as evidence that it's taking advantage of trends in the tech industry. No one's going to accuse of the company of having particularly good high-growth prospects, and it still faces competitive threats. Yet at least today, shareholders seem content with Oracle's performance.
Image source: Oracle.
Eldorado shines
Eldorado Gold saw its stock climb 13% in response to big moves in the precious metals markets. Gold bullion prices jumped almost $30 per ounce to $1,390, responding to news from the Persian Gulf region that Iran had downed a U.S. drone. President Trump initially ridiculed the Iranian action but later suggested that it might have been a mistake. Even with that somewhat conciliatory tone, commodities traders still sense heightened tension that could help to sustain price increases, and as we've seen in the past, that spilled over into the gold mining sector to help Eldorado as well.
Tilray goes higher
Finally, shares of Tilray gained 9%. The Canadian cannabis company has seen its stock suffer since last fall's big boom, but investors are starting to see some of the potential upside for Tilray. In particular, as rules in the U.S. market for industrial hemp have pointed to a possible entry point for future activity, the company could look to move forward with efforts to gain a foothold in that area. That way, if marijuana becomes legal at the federal level, it would give Tilray a head start in moving forward to take advantage of the market. All that's speculative right now, but the trend appears to be moving in that direction, and investors seem to see how good that could be for the stock in a best-case scenario.
