What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after Oil prices fell sharply, a direct and immediate input cost relief for manufacturers, as President Trump paused the Strait of Hormuz military escort and cited progress on a U.S.–Iran peace deal.
The underlying demand backdrop was also solid: the ISM Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) held at 52.7% in April, the fourth straight month of expansion. The ISM Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) measures whether manufacturing activity is expanding or contracting: a reading above 50 means growth. The ISM prices component, separate from the headline PMI, measures what manufacturers are paying for inputs. At 84.6% in April, it was near its highest level in years, meaning manufacturers were under intense cost pressure. A fall in oil directly reduces one of the three key inputs driving that reading.
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:
- Home Construction Materials company Gibraltar (NASDAQ:ROCK) jumped 0.4%. Is now the time to buy Gibraltar? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Electrical Systems company Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) jumped 1.3%. Is now the time to buy Whirlpool? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Whirlpool (WHR)
Whirlpool’s shares are quite volatile and have had 16 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 20 days ago when the stock gained 2.3% on the news that the company announced a $60 million investment to open a new manufacturing site in Perrysburg, Ohio, aimed at expanding its U.S. appliance production.
The new factory, which focused on parts and subassemblies for laundry appliances, represented the company's 11th manufacturing site in the U.S. and its sixth in Ohio. Whirlpool purchased a former solar panel manufacturing building and planned to convert it over the next two years, adding new manufacturing equipment and automation systems. The facility was expected to support nearby Whirlpool operations, including its washing machine facility in Clyde, and add between 100 and 150 jobs to the area. According to the company, about 80% of the major appliances Whirlpool sold in the U.S. were built domestically.
Whirlpool is down 25.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $55.75 per share, it is trading 49.6% below its 52-week high of $110.59 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Whirlpool’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $222.79.
ONE MORE THING: The $21 AI Application Stock Wall Street Forgot. While Wall Street obsesses over who’s building AI, one company is already using it to print money. And nobody’s paying attention.
AI chip stocks trade at ridiculous valuations. This company processes a trillion consumer signals monthly using AI and trades at a third of the price. The gap won’t last. The institutions will figure it out. You need to see this first. Read the FREE Report Before They Notice.