CE100™ Dips, but Rebound in Platform Companies Softens Rough Week

In the stock market, there comes a point at which, perhaps, one is satisfied with a less wild ride than is being seen in the broader indices.

To that end, the CE100™ Index slipped 2.3%, quite a bit better than the 4.4% decline seen in the Nasdaq. Not fun, of course, but not as bad as it could have been.

And for that (relatively) muted showing, much is owed to the platform firms — the marketplaces and the connected digital firms that bring gamers and consumers, still, to online outposts to get what they need. That blunted the horrible, no good, really tough week that sent retail names skidding.

Viewed through the prism of the year to date performance, the CE100™ hewed pretty closely to the overall sector, sliding nearly 32%, while the Nasdaq was off more than 28%.

CE100™ Relative Performance

Source: PYMNTS

To get a sense of how rough the downdraft was, consider the fact that all pillars fell, and the best performing segment was the “Have Fun” group, which was down “only” 50 basis points (the group is off 37.4%), trailed by the “Pay and Be Paid” Index (which slid 70 basis points and has lost roughly 40% year to date).

Drill down a bit, and the “Move” Index was down 5.2% for the week, followed by two segments that were down by 4.2% — the “Eat” and “Shop” pillars.

Platform Performance

There were a few positive performances logged throughout the past five days. DraftKings surged 11.3% on the week, helping guide the “Have Fun” unit to its relatively muted losses.

The company said this week that it has launched its online sportsbook and online casino products in Ontario, Canada. That launch will include 130 online casino game variations through DraftKings Casino such as baccarat, blackjack, roulette and slots.

Separately, Pinduoduo gained a bit more than 8%, giving a bit of positive momentum after Chinese officials seemed to acknowledge that tech regulation had hurt the private sector. Pinterest gained 6.7%, where the company seems to have been a bit buoyant amid the push to boost commerce initiatives.

See also: Pinterest Makes Itself More Shoppable as Platform Positions Commerce to Pick up Ad Slack

And yet — the retail and the “Move” sector … oy vey. Within the “Move” pantheon, Tesla was off 13.7%, as the Elon Musk “will he or won’t he” debate over the Twitter takeover continues.

Walmart was the standout decliner here, plummeting nearly 20% on the week. Consumers are getting walloped by inflation and are shifting into lower priced items, and the commerce giant is seeing its own margins pinched by higher input costs.

Read more: Walmart Sees Demand Shift for Low-Priced Bacon and High-Ticket Game Consoles

“Price leadership is especially important right now as one-stop-shopping becomes more than just a convenience issue when people are paying over $4 a gallon for fuel,” CEO Doug McMillon said, noting that Walmart itself spent $160 million more on fuel for its own trucks during the quarter. The company’s digital business growth, which was up just 1% versus a year ago, is a marked slowdown from 38% seen over the past two years.

For the CE100™, one week of outperformance does not a trend make, but, again, it could have been a lot worse.