The stock market plunged on Friday as uncertainty on interest rate cuts and geopolitical conflicts drove an intense sell-off in tech stocks.
Overall, S&P 500 dropped 0.9% to 4,967, while NASDAQ fell 2.1% to 15,282.
Tweet of the Day
The #MysteryBroker checks in with a quick tactical observation:
"McClellan Oscillator is at an extreme level that usually precedes strong short-term rallies (a few days to a week or two). Expect a 100- to 200-point rally in S&P 500 very soon."
He emphasizes it's "a very short…
— Michael Santoli (@michaelsantoli) April 19, 2024
Chart of the Day
Here is the ten-year chart of Costco Wholesale (COST) as of March 26, 2024, when the stock was at $731.
Costco is seeing a strong growth from its international operations. Last quarter, the company delivered 6% sales growth with 6% same-store growth. Same-store sales increased 9% internationally but was just at 4% in the United States. About 603 of the company’s 875 stores are located in United States. Shopping frequency and average ticket were also up more in foreign countries. Mexico, Korea and Australia were strong.
Costco recently opened its 6th China location in Shenzhen. As of the earnings call, that store had 200,000 members including 20,000 signed up from Hong Kong. COST’s profits grew 19% last quarter, which is a very strong number. But the 45 P/E is high, so David Sharek, Founder of School of Hard Stocks, does not imagine the stock will move up for a while.
COST was sold from the Conservative Growth Portfolio last quarter because the P/E was too high at 41. This quarter it is 45.
