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.
After selling off the entire week in nervous anticipation of today's jobs report, the stock market shot higher after this morning's data revealed a more robust labor market. The unemployment rate fell from 7.3% in October to 7% in November, the lowest unemployment rate in five years. The economy added 203,000 jobs last month, increasing the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will start tapering its stimulus plan soon. Still, Wall Street cheered as more Americans got back to work, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +1.24%) surged 198 points, or 1.3%, to end at 16,020.
It was hard to find investors who weren't cheering stocks on Friday; in fact, not a single "boo" was heard in the Dow today -- all 30 components ended in the green. Disney (DIS +7.54%) stock, which has rocketed 43% higher in 2013, continued to go gangbusters, adding 1.8% to head into the weekend. Disney advanced today even after one of its stiffest competitors, Paramount Pictures, inked a deal with Jerry Bruckheimer, one of Hollywood's biggest names in producing. Bruckheimer had been with Disney for 20 years until his departure from the company earlier this year -- a departure that came just two months after he produced this year's biggest flop, The Lone Ranger.
I see what you did there, Disney. How kind of you to let Paramount sign your "talent" away. UBS understands. The investment bank helped send shares to all-time highs today as it boosted the price target to $78 per share.
J.C. Penney (JCP +0.00%), on the other hand, wasn't getting any love from Wall Street, plummeting 8.7% as shares ended the week more than 20% lower than where they began it. That's because, even after same-store sales jumped 10.1% in November, shareholders scoffed at the growth and rushed to the exits. Then yesterday, J.C. Penney revealed that the company -- specifically its liquidity and recent stock offering -- was being investigated by the SEC. What else could possibly go wrong? Maybe if J.C. Penney suddenly started making movies and inked ol' Bruckheimer for The Lone Ranger 2, the stock could repeat this week's miserable performance.
Lastly, shares of flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators (LL +0.00%) roared 6.8% higher as shares jumped after bullish comments from an analyst. Lumber Liquidators has recently been caught up in controversy over its supply chain, which some believe involves the illegal sourcing of timber from Russia at prices below the legal alternatives. The Feds raided one of the company's facilities in late September to investigate these suspicions, and an investigation is ongoing. Investment bank Wedbush praised the company's management today, sending the stock higher and underscoring that fact that the supply chain concerns are merely allegations at this point.
