Podcast Summary
Stock Market Surges on Leap Day, Domino's Pizza Reports Strong Earnings: The stock market saw unprecedented gains on leap day, with all major indexes recording increases and the Nasdaq reaching a new record high. Domino's Pizza reported strong earnings, driven by increased sales and a successful promotion, adding 3 million new members to its rewards program.
The stock market defied historical trends on leap day this year, with all three major indexes posting gains, and the Nasdaq recording its first record close in over 2 years. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also had their best Februarys since 2015. Meanwhile, Domino's Pizza reported stronger-than-expected profits, driven by increased delivery and carryout sales, as well as the success of its "buy one get one free" promotion that boosted sign-ups for its rewards program. The company added 3 million new active members in the fourth quarter, ending the year with 33 million active members. Wall Street was pleased with these results, leading to a nearly 6% jump in Domino's stock on Monday, although some gains were later given back.
Viking Therapeutics' Obesity Drug Shows Promise in Mid-Stage Study: Viking Therapeutics' obesity drug helped patients lose up to 14.7% of their weight in 13 weeks, potentially outperforming competitors, but requires further testing before market approval. Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems are reportedly in talks for a deal, which could help Boeing with production and revive Spirit's struggling stock.
Viking Therapeutics made headlines this week with promising results from its mid-stage study of an obesity medication. The drug helped patients lose up to 14.7% of their weight over 13 weeks, potentially outperforming similar medications from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. However, Viking must replicate these results in a larger study before bringing the drug to market. Shares of Viking more than doubled on the news, but some gains were later lost. Meanwhile, Boeing is reportedly in talks to buy Spirit AeroSystems, with both companies dealing with recent challenges. Boeing's stock has suffered due to 737 Max quality issues, while Spirit has struggled financially for years. The deal could help Boeing with production and potentially revive Spirit's stock, which was trading under $30 before the news compared to around $100 in 2019.
Boeing-Spirit Deal: Uneven Market Response: Boeing's shares fell while Spirit saw a surge, suggesting potential growth opportunities for Spirit from the deal
While the potential Boeing-Spirit deal brought excitement to the aviation industry, the market response was quite different for the two companies. Boeing's shares ended nearly 2% lower on Friday, while Spirit saw a significant jump of 15%. This disparity could indicate clearer skies ahead for Spirit in terms of growth opportunities from this deal. The broader market news included other stocks moving in response to various announcements, which can be explored further in the "score," a column in the Wall Street Journal's exchange section. As we look forward to the upcoming week, tune in to WSJ's Take on the Week for insights on what's to come. I'm Francesca Fontana, and I'll be back next Saturday with more market updates. In the meantime, consider exploring the Claude 3 model family by Anthropic for your enterprise AI needs. The Haiku model offers lightning-fast and cost-effective solutions, Sonnet strikes the balance between skills and speed, and Opus sets new industry benchmarks for intelligence. Learn more at anthropic.com/claude.
