What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after the broader market rebounded from a tech-driven sell-off, with investors taking the opportunity to buy stocks at lower prices.
This rally was fueled by a recovery in technology stocks and a significant bounce in Bitcoin, which stabilized after losing over half its value from its October peak. Investor sentiment was also lifted by a surprising improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment and the realization that massive AI-related capital expenditure, such as Amazon's planned $200 billion, directly benefits chipmakers like Nvidia and Broadcom. These "pick-and-shovel" winners jumped as much as 7%, helping the S&P 500 edge back into positive territory for 2026. The highlight of the day was the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which surged and crossed the historic 50,000 threshold for the first time.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Maintenance and Repair Distributors company WESCO (NYSE:WCC) jumped 6%. Is now the time to buy WESCO? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Renewable Energy company Array (NASDAQ:ARRY) jumped 5.5%. Is now the time to buy Array? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Electronic Components company Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) jumped 5.9%. Is now the time to buy Novanta? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Aerospace company AAR (NYSE:AIR) jumped 6%. Is now the time to buy AAR? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Electronic Components company Advanced Energy (NASDAQ:AEIS) jumped 6%. Is now the time to buy Advanced Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On WESCO (WCC)
WESCO’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 14 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock gained 12.9% on the news that the company reported third-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street's expectations for both revenue and profit. The electrical and industrial products supplier announced net sales of $6.2 billion, a 12.9% increase from the same period last year and ahead of consensus estimates.
A key highlight for investors was the company's organic revenue growth of 12.1%, which significantly outperformed analysts' forecasts of 7.1%. On the bottom line, WESCO's adjusted earnings per share came in at $3.92, also beating expectations. The strong performance across the board signaled robust underlying demand, leading to increased investor confidence.
WESCO is up 25.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $315.36 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of WESCO’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,530.
While Wall Street chases Nvidia at all-time highs, an under-the-radar semiconductor supplier is dominating a critical AI component these giants can’t build without. Click here to access our full research report, it’s free.