What happened
Shares of club-warehouse retailer Costco Wholesale (COST +0.19%) jumped on Friday. Shares surged as much as 8.4% and closed the trading day up 8%.
The stock's gain was driven by a surge in the overall stock market on Friday. Shortly after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the coronavirus and shared details on how the country plans to curb the coronavirus outbreak, the market roared higher.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Highlighting the market's big jump on Friday, the S&P 500 jumped 9.5%, rebounding from a dramatic decline on Thursday. The S&P 500's rise was the biggest one-day increase since 2008, and it was no surprise to see megacap companies like Costco rise with the overall market.
In its March 5th earnings call, Costco management said the company saw an uptick in sales in the last week of February as concerns about the coronavirus mounted and sparked consumers to stock up on certain items. Based on pictures of Costco lines on social media, this shopping craze has likely continued in March.
Now what
Costco reports monthly sales following the end of each month. So investors will get to see the impact the coronavirus panic has had when Costco reports its monthly sales in the beginning of April.
