Stock market wrap: Tesla rebounds despite the European slowdown; Hoarders Lift Costco

The stock market mounted a strong recovery on Monday, recovering a fraction of its massive losses following the liquidation inspired by coronaviruses last week. the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^ DJI) posted its largest point gain of all time, while the other major market benchmarks posted similar percentage gains.

Today's stock market

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

Among the individual actions, You're here (NASDAQ: TSLA) returned in good humor from investors, with good performance even in the wake of a murky prospect for its sales prospects in Europe. Meanwhile, Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) was a big winner as investors recognized the potential of the warehouse store to meet increased consumer demand amid fears that the COVID-19 epidemic will continue to spread.

Mixed sales for Tesla

Tesla shares rose 11% as shareholders regained some confidence in the long-term growth outlook for the electric vehicle maker. The move came despite some signs of weakness in some of Tesla's European markets.

Image source: Tesla.

Tesla has seen the number of new cars registered in Norway drop from over 1,000 in February 2019 to just 83 last month. Similarly, car registrations in the Netherlands fell by more than two-thirds to 155 cars. February was the second consecutive month of weak sales for Tesla in the two countries, where the cumulative unit volume since the start of the year has fallen by more than three-quarters in Norway and by more than two-fifths in the Netherlands. Low.

However, amid fears of saturation of the European markets, Tesla remains optimistic about its prospects in North America. The automaker would push workers in North America to make sure first-quarter deliveries match their numbers in the fourth quarter of 2019, with the goal of making a good start in order to reach 500,000 deliveries in 2020.

Tesla's shares have been volatile recently, but stocks have risen significantly since the start of the year, even after the recent sale. The underlying company will have to continue to perform well to justify these price gains, but many still believe that Tesla is up to the task.

Go shopping

Actions of Costco Wholesale also increased sharply, up 10%. Buyers flooded stores over the weekend to prepare for the possibility of extending the stay in homes if the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States worsens.

Wall Street analysts visited Costco's New Jersey area sites, noting that traffic was higher than usual. In addition, analysts took photos of several out-of-stock items, showing that customers appear to store items such as toilet paper, bottled water, and other essential items.

So far, the regions of the United States have not been subject to the same quarantines and locks as other regions of the world. Yet given warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calling on U.S. residents to prepare for the epidemic, it is not surprising to see customers heading to the retail giant to respond to their needs.

It is unclear whether the increased traffic will only drive sales from what may have happened in the future or whether it will represent a permanent boost for Costco. Anyway, the decision once again puts the lie to the idea that e-commerce has definitively removed the need for warehouse retailers.

Find out why Tesla is one of the top 10 titles to buy now

Motley Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner have spent more than a decade beating the market. After all, the newsletter that they have been managing for over a decade, Motley Fool Equity Advisor, tripled the market. *

Tom and David have just released their top ten stock picks that investors can buy right now. You're here is on the list – but there are nine others you could ignore.

Click here to access the full list!

* Returns from the portfolio advisor as of December 1, 2019

Dan Caplinger has no position on any of the securities mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares and recommends Tesla. Motley Fool recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The views and opinions expressed here are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.