The stock market finally gave up its positive momentum on Wednesday, falling back as reports from the World Bank suggested that the world economic recovery could face more difficult conditions for the remainder of the year. After the huge advances that stock markets around the world have seen lately, traders were looking for any excuse to take some of the fervor out of the market, and they took full advantage today. However, shareholders in Micron Technology (MU -0.60%), MakeMyTrip (MMYT 0.52%), and Pandora Media (P) enjoyed much better conditions Wednesday, with their respective stocks posting healthy gains.
Source: Micron Technology.
Micron Technology rose 5% after receiving an analyst upgrade. The maker of DRAM memory chips has seen a huge surge recently, after Micron survived a long period of weak demand and oversupply in the memory space. The rise of mobile devices using flash memory as their primary means of data storage has provided a renaissance in Micron's core business, and as long as those devices remain popular, Micron will have the support of an industry tailwind at its back. In particular, as former gluts turn into tighter supplies, Micron might well be able to boost prices on its existing DRAM inventory, making it even more profitable than it already has been.
Indian travel portal MakeMyTrip jumped 10%. Many attributed the climb to news that MakeMyTrip will work with another company to help make its customer reviews more reliable, and gain a stronger reputation among websites and online users. But another reason for the climb is simply that the entire Indian stock market has been performing well lately, as the rise of new Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reinvigorated hopes that India's economic growth could reignite and provide the forward progress Indian citizens and investors have wanted to see for years.
Source: Pandora.
Pandora Media gained 5% even though online-retail giant Amazon.com will release a competing streaming music service in the near future. Long-time Pandora investors will remember quite well hearing similar stories of dark times the last time a major tech player tried to penetrate the streaming-music space, only to find worries about Pandora's imminent demise to have been much exaggerated. Changes in the way that intellectual property laws cover digital music could have a huge long-term impact on Pandora if they come about, but for now, investors are hopeful that Pandora could actually benefit from the attention that a new competitive offering could bring to the service.
