The stock market bounced back on Wednesday with impressive gains after the Federal Reserve's latest minutes showed that the central bank doesn't intend to raise short-term rates in the immediate future. Investors had been somewhat nervous that the Fed might look at recent strength in economic data as a signal to tighten its monetary policy sooner rather than later, but even as long-term rates rise slightly, the end of quantitative easing won't necessary be followed immediately by higher Fed funds rates. Broad-market benchmarks picked up as much as 1% on the day, but Tiffany (TIF), MakeMyTrip (MMYT 5.03%), and Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) were among the top performers in Wednesday's session.
Source: Tiffany's Pinterest.
Tiffany gained 9% as the luxury jeweler reported first-quarter results that were far better than less upscale retailers have managed to post in recent days. Same-store sales jumped 11%, helping to push overall revenue higher by 13%, and Tiffany both crushed investors' expectations for earnings growth and boosted its full-year earnings guidance for 2014 by a dime per share. Gross margin jumped by two full percentage points, as low prices for gold, platinum, and silver compared to year-ago levels played a role in boosting Tiffany's bottom line. The report confirms that higher-income consumers are still faring better than their less well-off counterparts, and Tiffany is doing a good job of taking advantage of that trend while it lasts.
MakeMyTrip soared 20% as the Indian travel specialist wowed investors with its growth in its fiscal fourth quarter. Revenue jumped more than 30% from the previous year, with sizable gains in both MakeMyTrip's air-ticketing business and its hotel and vacation-packaged segment. Moreover, MakeMyTrip boosted its revenue guidance for the current fiscal year, with sales that could come in as much as 10% above what investors had expected to see. The recent election of Narendra Modi as India's new prime minister has also raised hopes that the Indian economy could start to see growth accelerate, as Modi's pro-business reputation has sent Indian stocks generally soaring.
Source: Yingli Green Energy.
Yingli Green Energy jumped 10%. The Chinese solar company announced that it began trial production of a solar module that it hopes will prove technologically superior to competitors' products. The N-type Metal-Wrap-Through technology could boost solar-cell efficiency by reducing the amount of lost energy from underexposure of the solar cell's surface. But Yingli also saw gains due to strong results from one of its solar peers in China, and although that peer is arguably in a better position to capitalize on high-margin sales, Yingli still has the potential to profit if conditions in solar keep improving.
