CE 100 Index Surges 4.9% as Ocado Leads Shopping Names Higher  

The CE 100 Stock Index notched a 4.9% rally in a week that saw all pillars gain ground.

And with the last week of March firmly in the rearview mirror, the Index stands 15.7% higher year to date, wrapping up a first quarter that showed overall strong momentum.

Shopping-related names led the week’s upswing, surging 6.5%.  

In the shopping group, Ocado Group was up 22.9% after the firm won a legal ruling in the United Kingdom against Norwegian firm AutoStore Holdings. The case centered on patent infringement, where AutoStore had alleged that Ocado had infringed on half a dozen patents tied to using robots in warehouse settings.

Shopping Names in the Lead

Elsewhere, Ocado reported results last week that showed that first-quarter revenues gained 3.4% year on year in the most recent quarter to 584 million GPB. The company also said that average orders per week gained 3.6% to 381,000. Active customers in the period were up 13.8% to 951,000.

Ocado’s momentum was trailed by MercadoLibre, which gained 11%. As announced by the platform this week, the company has enabled crypto trading in Chile. 

In terms of the mechanics, Mercado Pago users in that country can now trade bitcoin and ether with a minimum amount of 50 Chilean pesos per a company LinkedIn post.

AI Stocks Still in Investors’ Sights

The Enablers pillar was up 6.2%, led by C3.ai, which soared 32.9%. Companies in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector have been riding a wave of investor enthusiasm. And as noted here, AI is helping brands and retailers create personalized shopping experiences that can boost top lines and improve inventory management. Elsewhere, various media reports into the weekend, through sites like Pelo Buddy claimed that  Peloton would use AI more fully in its coaching and instruction.

In a statement emailed to the site, Peloton told Pelo Buddy, “We have always said that Peloton is a technology company first and foremost, and we have been upfront about our shift from focusing on hardware to software. There is nothing more indicative of where the future of technology is headed than artificial intelligence. Peloton was at the forefront of the in-home immersive fitness experience, and we will be at the forefront of the AI fitness experience as well.”

But the rising AI tide did not lift all AI-related boats this past week. We note that shares in Snap slipped 3%. As we’ve reported, Snap is among the companies seeking to boost the evolution of augmented reality. At the end of February, the company announced an AI-powered chatbot.  

WeWork shares lost just about 4%. In a blog posting last week, CEO and Chairman Sandeep Mathrani noted that revenues in the most recent quarter were up 18% and that occupancy reached 75% with 547,000 consolidated physical memberships in the latest period, an increase of 17% year-over-year. All Access memberships and pay-as-you-go On Demand products, the CEO said, grew to 70,000 members in the fourth quarter, a 56% increase year-over-year.