Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ), The Home Depot, Inc. (HD): Fed Minutes Fuel Volatility — Ignore it

Looking ahead, CEO Meg Whitman will have her hands full trying to keep the stock’s momentum going; it’s up roughly 75% year to date. The company’s PC business is struggling as the industry declines and substitute technologies gain market share. It also faces competition from large competitors like Cisco, which are eyeing Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ)’s traditional business markets.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the rare Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES:^DJI) winners today, up 0.8%. The tech giant is also trying to catch up with consumers as they transition from PCs to mobile devices. Last quarter highlighted this difficulty with an inventory adjustment of $900 million from promotions and discounts. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) bulls still believe the company can return stronger than ever as its server and tools business gain share in an expanding market. If the company can develop better mobile devices to go with its Windows 8 launch, there could be upside left in the stock, which has gained only 3% over the last 12 months.

There’s also good news on the housing front for these two: Existing-home sales in the U.S. increased by 6.5% last month, which marked the highest sales level since November 2009. While consumers may be jumping in to take advantage of low interest rates while they last, it could still bring more traffic into stores as consumers begin improvement projects on these houses.

The article Fed Minutes Fuel Volatility — Ignore it originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Daniel Miller.

Fool contributor Daniel Miller has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Home Depot and Lowe’s. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft.

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