Stock Price Movement

The stock price of Macy’s is highly correlated with the S&P 500 Index. In the first week of January, both of these stock prices reported a small decline. Macy’s stock was declining and proving a negative impact on sales over the holidays. Children’s clothes and watches were a big factor in these declining sales. The S&P 500 saw a very small decline. On January 9th, the stock price of Macy’s rose by 4 points, moving from $51.84 to $55.80 per share. This was due to the announcement of cutting costs. Macy’s declared that cost-cutting initiatives will generate $100mnof annual savings starting in February. This is effective evidence that proves that news is directly correlated with stock price movements. On this same day, the S&P 500 only rose by 1 point, from $1837.49 to $1838.13.

Over the next few weeks, January 13th to January 31st, the Macy’s stock price remained steady. The most fluctuation was a movement by 1 point. There were no drastic movements. On the other hand, the S&P 500 saw many large-scale fluctuations. On January 13th, the index dropped from $1842.37 to $1819.20 because of drops in the overall market. On the next day, January 14th, the index rose back up to $1838.88. On January 23rd the index dropped from $1844.86 to $1828.46 to $1790.29. Over the next few weeks, the S&P 500 stayed in the high 1700’s and on February 11th, the price moved back into the 1800’s. The S&P 500 proved a clear decline in the overall market.

On February 25th, Macy’s made a jump from $53.06 to $56.25. This was due to an announcement that was made regard increased sales strategies and a higher price target. On this same day, the S&P 500 dropped by 2 points, which was due to a decrease in the overall market. Over the next few weeks, Macy’s price per share continued to increase. This is due to a high earnings estimate, a higher price objective and better promotions. The S&P 500 continued to increase as well over the next few weeks, however, on March 11th, it decreased by 10 points. This was because of a corporate financial action. The index continued to decrease over the next few days and on March 14th the index reached $1841.13.