The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped -98 points last week as investors were unsettled by escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and North Korea, and by news that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort had been indicted on 12 counts of money laundering, tax fraud, conspiracy against the United States, and failure to register as an agent of a foreign principal. At the same time, North Korea warned that it was considering attacking Guam with missiles in retaliation for the US’s recent threats of military action against them in response to their developing nuclear weapons capability. What stocks moved the most last week? What are the 5 stocks that moved the most last week?
5 top stocks with bullish options activity
The top stock for options trading was Verizon (VZ), with 4.3 million contracts crossing in total on Friday, at a volume of 3.3 million contracts as an average daily volume of 714,039 contracts. Second on our list is CVS Health (CVS), with 1.1 million contracts traded, followed by Best Buy (BBY) with 0.9 million and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) with 0.8 million.
The best-performing ETFs of the week
To be sure, there’s no such thing as a magic stock-picking algorithm or a crystal ball to predict what’s going to happen in financial markets. But if you look at some of these top performers from recent weeks, you might get an idea of what has been driving market action. Keep in mind that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results, and investors should do their own research before making any investment decisions.
Top Macroeconomic Data
Earnings season started off strong with another blowout quarter from Apple, but there were also some top-line misses, including a disappointing report from Verizon. Plus, U.S. industrial production and capacity utilization data came in below expectations. The world’s second-largest economy may be cooling a bit, although we still expect 7% growth for all of 2014 and 2015 is still on track to be even stronger.
Top Movers in Energy Stocks
Energy stocks climbed upwards by an average of 1.8% over a period of three days, which is a significant jump for such a short time span. This means that energy companies did very well in terms of value compared to other industries. Since it’s not unusual for energy industry to see major fluctuations when oil prices increase or decrease, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on energy stock movement in order to get an idea of how the market is performing.
Active Stocks Are Rising
Last week, these five large cap companies had price increases greater than 4%, making them some of the top performers in their respective sectors. These companies have a strong following and loyal shareholders. In other words, people are betting on these companies to grow faster than expected. It might be time for you to do so as well. Take a look at these five companies that had big moves over last week and think about what it means for your portfolio and why investing in them might be right for you.
