Hot Stocks: TSLA rises on signs of increased demand; CLX, X climb on earnings; SBUX drops
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While jobs data drove much of the conversation on Wall Street during Friday's midday trading, earnings news still provided the catalyst for many individual stock moves. Clorox (CLX) and U.S. Steel (X) both rose in the wake of their quarterly results. Meanwhile, Starbucks (SBUX) slumped as weakness in China weighed on comparable sales.
In other news, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) climbed as an analyst spotlighted a potential increase in demand and the company revealed a year-over-year rise in sales of China-produced vehicles.
Gainers
Tesla (TSLA) rose in midday trading amid signs of rising demand for its electric vehicles. Piper Sandler argued that recent price cuts for its Model Y product have led to increased demand.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk's EV maker reported that it sold 66,051 China-made vehicles in January, a 10% rise compared to the same period last year. TSLA rose 5% in intraday action, on track for its highest close since November.
Earnings news sparked buying in Clorox (CLX), which rose 7% in midday trading. The cleaning products maker said revenue rose 1% from last year to reach $1.72B. 
Meanwhile, CLX reported that price hikes helped it expand its margin compared to last year. This allowed the firm to easily top analysts' consensus.
U.S. Steel (X) also advanced in the wake of its quarterly results. Earnings and revenue slumped from last year, but the figures still easily exceeded expectations. X climbed 5% in midday trading.
Decliner
Starbucks (SBUX) lost ground following its quarterly results. Shares of the coffeehouse chain declined about 3% in midday trading after the company showed slower comparable store sales growth than Wall Street had predicted. 
SBUX reported global comparable store sales that rose 5% from last year, below the nearly 7% that analysts had predicted. North American comparable sales topped projections with an increase of 10%. However, China weighed on the overall results, with comparable sales in the country plunging 28%.

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