The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
SHORT MARKET WEEK
Stocks ended down for the most part this holiday-shortened week, despite an uptick on Thursday and data showing the labor market somewhat cooling (which could encourage the Fed not to continue raising interest rates at a fast clip). The S&P fell 0.1 percent, the Nasdaq dropped 1.1 percent, while the Dow Jones ended up slightly with 0.6 percent. On Good Friday, while U.S. stock markets were closed, the bond market saw a jump following the anticipated March jobs report from the Labor Department which also indicated a slowdown in employment.
GOOGLE RALLIES
Shares of Google popped after the company announced that it planned to integrate conversational artificial intelligence (AI) features into its flagship search engine. CEO Sundar Pichai said the technology should make Google answer queries faster. He also noted that Google also plans to eventually add AI features to its work-related products such as Gmail. In addition, the company earlier in the week said it's making cuts to employee services such as office equipment, like laptops and staplers, and employee benefits, like fitness classes. The stock was up about 5 percent for the week.
FEDEX GETS A BOOST
FedEx's stock got a bump this week following the announcement of a $4 billion cost-cutting plan. The so-called DRIVE program will restructure the company by combining its division to operate as a full air-ground service provider. It will also implement a number of other efficiencies designed to create $2 billion of savings. The stock was up around 2 percent for the week.
WWE HYPED
World Wrestling Entertainment stock soared this week to its highest price in about four years following news it would be merging with Ultimate Fighting Championship's parent company. "Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity,” said Vince McMahon, executive chairman of WWE, in a statement. The professional wrestling giant saw its share price surge 15 percent during the shortened trading week. Ari Emanuel, CEO of UFC parent company Endeavor Group Holdings, will be the chief executive for the newly merged company, while McMahon will stay on in his role as WWE executive chairman, and the presidents of WWE and UFC, Nick Khan and Dana White respectively, will continue on as well.
