JPMorgan's $1 Billion Fine; Nike Stock Jumps
Wednesday was a wave of red on Wall Street, as all three major U.S. indices finished meaningfully lower. Bearish momentum has been building up in September as investors begin coming to terms with the growing likelihood that no further stimulus relief will be coming anytime soon.
The technology sector, which has been the star of the markets in 2020 and subject to recent scrutiny over high valuations, led Wednesday's sell-off, with the Nasdaq shedding 3%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 525 points, or 1.9%, to finish at 26,763.
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Nike's doing it. Shares of shoe and apparel giant Nike (ticker: NKE) popped 8.8% on Wednesday despite the broader market upheaval, as investors applauded blowout quarterly earnings and an upbeat forecast for the fiscal year.
Although revenue fell 1% from the same period a year ago, the $10.6 billion figure was nearly $1.5 billion higher than expectations, as the company's seen higher-than-expected demand for its products. Digital sales for the Nike brand surged 82% last quarter, and earnings per share actually rose 10% from a year ago.
Nike stock was up 25% in 2020 through Wednesday's close.
Looming JPMorgan settlement. JPMorgan ( JPM) is reportedly close to reaching a nearly $1 billion settlement with U.S. regulators over allegations it manipulated the market for metals and U.S. Treasurys. Three current or former JPM employees were criminally indicted last September under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, a law that gained prominence in the 1980s as it was wielded against organized crime.
DOJ homing in on Big Tech. It's no surprise that the U.S. Department of Justice aspires to clamp down on some of Silicon Valley's biggest names, but the department is now taking more concrete steps, putting a proposal before Congress that would trim back favorable legal parameters for companies like Twitter ( TWTR), Facebook ( FB) and Alphabet ( GOOG, GOOGL).
Current law limits the liability faced by such companies for content posted on their sites.
