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.
Major market benchmarks hit two new key milestones, with the Dow poking above 16,000 and the S&P 500 climbing through the 1,800 mark briefly before falling back toward the end of the day. In the end, the broader stock market dropped slightly, but JinkoSolar Holding (JKS 1.21%), Kirkland's (KIRK -1.30%), and Lumos Networks (LMOS) all held on to their double-digit percentage gains on the day. Let's look more closely at these stocks to see why they soared today.
JinkoSolar gained 13%, hitting another multiyear high as the Chinese solar stock announced that its sales rose 11% in the third quarter on a 6% jump in shipment volume. With a huge bottom-line beat as well, JinkoSolar solidified its status as one of the healthier players among China's many solar companies. As the shakeout in Chinese solar continues, JinkoSolar stands to become one of the survivors, putting itself in a strong position to thrive if demand for solar products continues to rise worldwide.
Retailer Kirkland's climbed 15%, adding to its 7% gain on Friday. Several other home-furnishing retailers were down on the day, although as Fool contributor Sean Williams noted earlier today, The Container Store also posted double-digit percentage gains on a relative lack of company-specific news. As the retail industry enters the key holiday season, abrupt moves from smaller players will become more frequent as channel checks reveal early trends in shopping behavior that could add up to huge gains for Kirkland's if they continue.
Lumos Networks climbed 10% as it rebounded following a secondary offering of shares last week. The stock had traded at its current level just two weeks ago before falling after private-equity investor Quadrangle Capital Partners filed to sell about $50 million in Lumos stock last week. The move won't dilute existing shareholders because Lumos isn't offering any stock of its own, but investors apparently concluded that after the market absorbed the sudden hit, Quadrangle's departure won't hurt the company's long-term prospects going forward.
