10 Firms Buck Broader Market Optimism

Wall Street’s main indices finished in the green territory on Friday amid a series of catalysts buoying investor appetite.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.80 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rallied by 1.26 percent and 1.77 percent, respectively.

Despite the wider optimistic sentiment, 10 companies managed to post declines. Here is why:

To come up with Friday’s top losers, we considered only the stocks with at least $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in daily trading volume.

A person holds a cup of coffee while reading stock market data on the phone. Photo by Anna Nekrashevich on Pexels

10. Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. (NYSE:SBSW)

Sibanye Stillwater, a mining and metals processing company, saw its share prices decline by 2.88 percent or 0.10 points to end at $3.37 apiece as investor sentiment was dampened by news of job cuts.

Late last year, the company announced that it was retrenching 700 employees at its Montana mining as part of a restructuring, due in part to a dive in palladium prices and the loss of over $350 million in Montana in 2023. The recent job cut followed the first 100 layoffs in November.

The company is the largest employer in Stillwater County, employing people from across south-central and southeastern Montana. The recent layoff led to the introduction of a bill seeking to ban the import of Russian palladium.

9. Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Shares of Ambev S.A. dropped for a sixth day on Friday, losing 3.54 percent or 0.0653 points to close at $1.77 apiece as the company grapples with uncertainties brought about by strict regulations, high taxes, inflation, and rising costs.

A report by Statista earlier last month said that the global beer market is facing uncertain times as consumption in key regions noticeably declined coupled with rising costs. In the US alone, production volume fell by 19 percent, reaching a new low of 165 million barrels in 2023.

A major factor behind the decreasing demand is that global drinking habits have shifted dramatically over the last few years. Modern consumers are increasingly focused on health and wellness and seek alternatives to traditional alcoholic beverages, giving rise to the rapidly growing low and no-alcohol trend.