What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after comments from a key Federal Reserve official bolstered hopes for an interest rate cut.
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams stated he sees “room for a further adjustment” in the near term, sparking a significant market rally. Following his remarks, the probability of the central bank cutting rates at its December meeting jumped from 39% to over 73%, according to the CME FedWatch tool. This positive sentiment provided relief to markets amid concerns over high valuations, particularly in AI-related stocks.
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:
- Broadcasting company E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ: SSP) jumped 3.8%. Is now the time to buy E.W. Scripps? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Footwear company Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) jumped 3.8%. Is now the time to buy Crocs? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Zooming In On E.W. Scripps (SSP)
E.W. Scripps’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 81 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 previous big move we wrote about was 4 days ago when the stock gained 33.8% on the news that rival broadcaster Sinclair Inc. acquired an 8.2% stake in the company's class A non-voting shares, fueling discussions about a potential merger. According to a filing, Sinclair's board and management had engaged in "constructive discussions" with E.W. Scripps for several months regarding a potential combination of the two companies. The acquisition involved approximately 6.28 million shares. In response, Scripps' board stated it remained focused on its strategic plan but would evaluate alternatives to enhance shareholder value. The board also noted it would take steps to protect the company and its shareholders from what it termed "opportunistic actions" by Sinclair or others.
E.W. Scripps is up 63.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $4.12 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $4.38 from November 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of E.W. Scripps’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $318.25.
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