Shares of Hershey Inc.
HSY,
have reversed an earlier loss to be up 0.4% in afternoon trading, which puts them on track to snap the longest losing streak in 25 years. The chocolate seller’s stock had been down 1.3% at the intraday low of $194.64, which was hit at about 11 a.m. Eastern before launching its come back. The stock had dropped 6.7% over the past nine sessions to close Tuesday at a 20-month low of $197.18, which was the longest losing streak since the nine-session stretch that ended Dec. 18, 1998. The selloff comes amid fears of weak consumer spending, as interest rates push up borrowing costs and as student loan payments restart. The company is expected to report third-quarter results on or about Oct. 26, according to FactSet. If the stock pulls another U-turn in the final hour of the regular session and closes down, a 10-day losing streak would be the longest on record, based on available data going back to January 1972, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The stock has tumbled 21.4% over the past three months, while the Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF
XLP,
has dropped 8.8% and the S&P 500
SPX,
has lost 4.8%.
