The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.11%) broke a five-day win streak on Wednesday, as bears finally got their day in the spotlight. While no one likes to see stocks trade in the red, you can't expect the market to set record highs every day, as the Dow had in its previous four sessions. A cut to the year's global growth forecast by the World Bank was also partially to blame for the fall, as the outlook receded from 3.2% to 2.8%. The Dow lost 102 points, or 0.6%, to end at 16,843.
Home Depot (HD -1.77%) finished as one of the Dow's worst performers on Wednesday, shedding 1.2%. It's difficult to understand exactly why shares got hit worse than their blue chip peers, especially considering the company's best-in-class status and a resurgent real estate industry that's starting to recover from a woefully slow winter. On top of that, investors should be encouraged by the fact that Home Depot is betting on itself: the company issued $2 billion worth of debt earlier this week, in part to fund its own stock buybacks.
Source: Rite Aid
Rite Aid (RAD 24.00%) reversed a four-day sell-off today that took more than 10% off the stock price. Shares of the drugstore have been hammered by Wall Street since the company said it would be facing higher drug costs that would pressure its short-term margins last week. But Rite Aid stock rebounded today, adding 3.9% as investors reconsidered the bullish case for the company. Rite Aid's recent executional brilliance, evidenced in its focus on shutting down unprofitable locations and bringing down costs, has helped to make it one of the stock market's most brilliant performers in the last year.
Lastly, shares of Melco Crown Entertainment (MLCO 1.13%), which are more prone to zigging and zagging than the crayon artwork of a kindergartener, soared 5.1% today. Melco Crown and other casino operators in the Macau region took a stumble after May's gaming revenue came in below expectations. While gambling is by no means an untested new market like 3-D printing or solar energy, it now carries a similar risk profile for Macau operators, since the industry is so dependent on Chinese regulations. Today's advance came as Citi analysts said the recent pullback was overdone, and that Macau remains an excellent engine for growth.
