Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
The S&P 500 Index (^GSPC 0.39%) edged closer to its all-time highs on Tuesday, as Wall Street bid stocks higher ahead of the Federal Reserve's much-anticipated policy decision tomorrow. With inflation coming in at just 0.1% in August, investors think the Fed will pare back its monthly stimulus program modestly, a sentiment that added seven points, or 0.4%, to the S&P, which ended at 1,704. That said, these three S&P stocks couldn't keep up today, and ended severely in the red as a result.
Sprint (S +0.00%) plunged 3.8% Tuesday as it continues to invest in expanding its LTE coverage. Now in 185 markets, the company hopes to woo customers away from competitors like AT&T and Verizon, both of which posted sales more than three times Sprint's last fiscal year. With telecom companies anxiously looking for new growth avenues, the pressure is on Sprint more than ever to invest its capital wisely.
A day after announcing a dividend increase and a $1.5 billion share buyback plan, International Paper (IP 1.33%) lost 2.6%. That doesn't make sense on the face of it, until you consider the company's decision to shut down an Alabama factory today. Citing a shift in consumer preferences as more and more people use digital means to keep records, the company will cut 1,100 jobs in the move.
The $9 billion logistics and delivery company Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD +0.18%) wraps up today's list of decliners, losing 1.7% after releasing an SEC document that answers prominent shareholder questions in an accessible, amusing way. From recalling a high school math lesson, to including apologies to Bill Cosby and Descartes, this free-roaming document addresses shareholder concerns about returning capital in unconventional ways that Wall Street just wasn't ready for today. The Street, after all, isn't known for its sense of humor or philosophical interest.
