Monday's trading session didn't show much of a firm direction for the stock market, as some major benchmarks rose while others gave up ground. There's a lot of uncertainty among investors that's coming to a head in the next few days, with probably the most awaited news set to come from the Federal Reserve in the middle of the week. Even with some market participants on hold waiting for the latest reading on interest rates, some companies saw their shares climb higher. Luckin Coffee (LK 1.80%), Tower Semiconductor (TSEM 0.45%), and ICICI Bank (IBN 0.07%) were among the top performers. Here's why they did so well.
Luckin gets a jolt
Shares of Luckin Coffee gained nearly 7% as the Chinese coffee specialist's investors continued to react favorably to good conditions in the global market. Rival Starbucks reported extremely strong quarterly results late last week, and among the Seattle-based coffee pioneer's successes was robust growth in its stores in China. Some see the moves that Luckin is making to capitalize on demand for coffee in its home country as being ill-advised, with the danger of watering down its brand while taking on costs beyond its ability to cover even as it accelerates its store expansion plans. Yet others believe that Luckin has the potential to beat out Starbucks, and those bullish shareholders seem to be carrying the day on Monday.
Image source: Getty Images.
Tower jazzes up its results
Israel-based chipmaker Tower Semiconductor saw its stock pick up almost 11% after the company reported its second-quarter financial results. The company said that it posted an 11% rise in organic revenue growth during the period, offsetting almost all of the sales it lost through a contract renegotiation with Panasonic. Net income fell from year-ago levels, but the numbers were better than most of those following the company had feared. Investors also responded well to news that the chipmaker will boost its production capacity in order to provide more chips. With applications in sectors like consumer, industrial, automotive, medical, aerospace, and defense, Tower's future looks brighter than it did earlier in the year.
Consumer lending lifts ICICI
Finally, shares of ICICI Bank gained 6%. The Indian bank posted a profit in the quarter ended in June, reversing a year-earlier loss. The company said that even though India's economy slowed down during the period, it was still able to post significant growth in retail loans. ICICI also benefited from being able to reduce its provisions for loan losses from previous periods. Weaker loan quality has been a concern in the past, but ICICI has taken steps to control potential defaults, and a strong services sector is giving the Indian bank a foundation on which to build its overall success in the fast-growing emerging market's economy.
