Top Stock Movers – Lululemon, Oxford Industries, WR Berkely, and More

Takeaways

• At midday, U.S. stocks plunged after reports of higher inflation and a worsening consumer sentiment than expected.
• Lululemon Athletica, as well as Oxford Industries, both warn that consumer spending is slowing down.
• Merck expects to launch an injectable form of its Keytruda anti-cancer drug this fall.

U.S. stocks fell at midday, as the inflation gauge preferred by the Federal Reserve exceeded forecasts and a new measure for consumer sentiment was lower than expected. The Nasdaq tumbled 2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell more than 1%.

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 after the CEO of the fashion athletic clothing maker warned that consumers were spending less because of inflation and economic worries.

The same comments regarding consumer spending sent shares in Tommy Bahama’s owner Oxford Industries (OXM), down.

Wolfspeed (WOLF), a manufacturer of software, fell after its interim Executive Chairman announced his resignation. He raised investor concerns over the possibility of the company not receiving the millions of federal dollars it was expecting from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2012.

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance of Japan acquired a 15% stake by W.R. Berkley, an insurer.

Merck (MRK), a major drugmaker, announced plans to release a subcutaneous version of Keytruda in October.

Rocket Lab USA (RKLB), a space rocket company, saw its shares soar after the U.S. Space Force announced that it had selected the company to compete in the National Security Space Launch program (NSSL), which could be worth up to $5.6 billion. 

Oil futures slid. Gold prices increased. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell. The U.S. currency lost ground against yen but gained against euro and remained unchanged against pound. Most major cryptocurrencies were trading lower.