Stocks Drop on Fed Comments; Fossil (FOSL) Surges on Second Quarter Earnings

    Stocks slipped today, based on pessimistic comments from Fed officials that caused uncertainty in US markets. Dennis Lockhart, president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank said in an interview that the Fed could start to decrease the size of the stimulus package as soon as September, but might wait if economic growth stalls. Later in the day, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank president Charles Evans said that the Fed might stop its bond-buying stimulus program as early as next month. Both of these statements caused US stocks to slide for the second time in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell by 93.31 points, or 0.60%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 9.77 points, or 0.57%. The Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) dropped 27.18 points or 0.74%. Losses were widespread, with the majority of stocks in the red today.


    Not all stocks drooped today, however. Watchmaker Fossil (NASDAQ: FOSL) surged by more than 19 dollars (17.76%) after Q2 earnings beat expectations considerably. EPS (earnings per share) jumped by 25%, to $1.15. This was a massive $0.22 higher than predictions. Net sales for the company rose 11% to $709 million, showing considerable growth for this company.

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        Disney(DIS) rose 1.5% during trading hours, making it the largest gainer on the Dow. The company reported in its second quarter earnings that profit remained relatively the same from the same quarter a year ago, even though revenue rose by 4%. Its flagship theme parks and resorts business outgrew the rest of the company at a rate of 7%. After hours, the stock shed all of its gains due to reports that one of its newest movies, The Lone Ranger, isn't performing well in theaters.

        Sony Corp(SNE) dropped 5% after turning down a proposal to spin of its entertainment division by activist investor Daniel Loeb. LightInTheBox(LITB) made gains of 6%, breaking through all of its moving averages since its IPO 2 months ago. Tesla Motors(TSLA) shed 1.75% today, prior to the release of its second quarter earnings to be released tomorrow. The stock posted gains of 5% in the last week on reports that its Model S has gained a 9% foothold in the electric car market.

Sources:
Associated Press

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