10 Stocks Outperform Broader Market on Wednesday

The stock market finished in the red territory on Wednesday as investors sold off positions to mitigate risks from a fresh round of tariffs due in the next few days.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell the hardest, down 2.04 percent, followed by the S&P 500, down 1.12 percent. The Dow Jones declined by 0.31 percent.

According to President Donald Trump, all cars made outside of the US would be slapped with a 25-percent tariff beginning April 2.

Meanwhile, let us take a look at the 10 companies across mixed sectors that defied a broader market downturn, having registered modest to strong gains during the trading session.

To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with $2 billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume.

The New York Stock Exchange building. Photo by Дмитрий Трепольский on Pexels

10. Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Paramount Global grew its share prices by 2.15 percent on Wednesday to end at $11.86 apiece as investor sentiment was bolstered by news that it earned the backing of a Delaware judge denying access to a pension fund investor group’s access request to the media giant’s $8-billion SkyDance sale.

In his decision dated March 24, Delaware Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster agreed to PARA’s appeal denying Rhode Island’s retirement pension fund after agreeing to the fund’s original motion in January seeking confidential files related to the merger transaction.

The retirement fund alleged that Shari Redstone and her National Amusements Inc.—PARA’s majority owner, had been self-dealing by channeling potential buyers toward a purchase of NAI or its control block.

“It is known that in a [mergers and acquisitions] setting, the individuals speaking confidentially to reporters are usually the parties’ public relations firms, their investment bankers, sometimes their lawyers, and sometimes internal personnel,” the judge noted.

9. Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Mondelez International rose by 2.54 percent on Wednesday to end at $66.33 apiece after earning a bullish outlook from an investment banking firm.

On Monday, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on MDLZ, giving it an “overweight” rating and a price target of $69 apiece. The higher target represented a 4-percent upside from the company’s closing price on Wednesday.

According to Morgan Stanley, it expects MDLZ to register a surge in sales due to better market share results, supported by expected growth in its chocolate product line and robust pricing strategies.

Additionally, MDLZ operates in areas with relatively low private label penetration as compared with its peers.

Morgan Stanley said that while MDLZ’s current valuation may appear expensive when compared with its historical share prices, the premium it targeted was justified.