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Fox News said on Tuesday that it is launching an over-the-top opinion streaming service called Fox Nation. The 21st Century Fox Inc. standalone service is expected to debut in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the company. Fox said the price will be announced at a later date. Fox Nation will take deep dives into the issues of the day, while offering exclusive events and more than 20 years of archival programming, according to a news release. Shares of 21st Century Fox are up 23% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index [s; SPX] is up 16%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Broadcom Ltd. said it was “evaluating its options” regarding its hostile takeover bid for Qualcomm Inc. , after Qualcomm raised its own bid for NXP Semiconductors NV on Tuesday. “Broadcom believes the price increase demonstrates the Qualcomm board’s disregard for its fiduciary duty to maximize value for Qualcomm stockholders,” Broadcom said in a release. Qualcomm increased its bid for NXP to $127.50 a share, from $110 previously. “We believe any responsible board would have seriously engaged with Broadcom regarding Broadcom’s value-maximizing offer and the terms of the NXP acquisition,” Broadcom said in its statement. NXP shares are up 6% in premarket trading, to $125.62, while Qualcomm shares are down 3.5% and Broadcom shares are up 2.2%. The S&P 500 is down 0.4%, compared with a 1.4% gain for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index .

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From:: Stock Market News

A downturn in shares of Walmart Inc. on Tuesday was weighing on consumer staples, and a popular exchange-traded fund that tracks the sector. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF was off 1.9% in early trade, with one of the biggest weights on the fund derived from the more than 9% drop in shares of Walmart Inc. . Other consumer-staples names were driven, including Kroger Co. , off 3.6% and shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. , down 1.4%. The decline in consumer staples was among the most severe among the S&P 500 index’s 11 sectors during the session. Walmart’s stock, on track to post its steepest daily percentage decline in about three years, also was exacting a more than 70-point toll on the Dow Jones Industrial Average . The Walmart share stumbles comes after the world’s biggest retailer reported that online sales growth slowed during the fourth quarter. The online sales slippage also put its profit margin under pressure. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index was slightly higher, up 0.1%, at 7,248, while the S&P 500 was off 0.4% at 2,722. The Dow was down 193 points, or 0.8%, at 25,023.

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Shares of Gap Inc. slide more than 3% Tuesday, after the company said its Gap brand Chief Executive Jeff Kirwan is leaving, prompting KeyBanc analysts to downgrade the stock to sector weight from overweight. “A change to Gap banner underscores structural weakness at the brand,” analysts led by Edward Yruma wrote in a note. Kirwan was in the CEO role since December of 2014, “and we do have some concerns that issues (product, brand perception, store fleet) with Gap banner may be difficult to fix,” said the note. Gap said it will start searching for a replacement and installed Brent Hyder, current Gap Inc. executive vice president, global talent and sustainability, as interim brand head. “While we remain confident in Old Navy’s ability to post solid results against difficult comparisons, we have less confidence in an operational turn at Gap banner in the short to medium term,” wrote Yruma. Gap shares have fallen 5.9% in 2018 to date, but have gained 31% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was being dragged lower by a pullback in shares of Walmart Inc. Shares of Walmart were down 9%, or $9.39, at $95.50, putting the retailing giant in position to mark its worst daily percentage decline since Oct. 14, 2015, according to FactSet data. That decline was weighing mightily on the Dow, exacting a more than 65-point toll. A $1 swing in any one of the Dow’s 30 components equating to a 6.83-point move. Walmart Inc.’s share stumble comes after its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings a share were weaker than forecast. The lion’s share of the Dow’s 136-point drop, or 0.5%, at 25,057, was tied to Walmart. Another Dow component, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was delivering a 24-point tax. The S&P 500 index retreated 0.2% at 2,726, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.3% at 7,262, bucking the market’s broader drift lower.

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From:: Stock Market News

Merck & Co. Inc. shares dipped 1.6% in morning trade Tuesday after the company lost a patent case to Gilead Sciences Inc. . Gilead shares rose 0.4% in morning trade. The case, which involves alleged patent infringement by Gilead’s hepatitis C therapy Sovaldi on a patent held by Merck’s Idenix Pharmaceuticals unit, was decided against Merck late Friday. Previously, a jury ruled in favor of Merck and granted the company $2.5 billion. However, the judge reversed the decision late Friday in a surprise decision and “determined the Idenix patent to be invalid for lack of enablement,” said RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams. Without the damages charge and associated royalties, there is an about $2 upside to Gilead’s price target, Abrahams said, increasing the company’s price target to $94. Gilead shares have surged 12.4% over the last three months, compared with a 2.4% rise in Merck shares and a 5.5% rise in the S&P 500 .

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From:: Stock Market News

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a suit filed by shareholders of Fannie Mae [s:fnma] and Freddie Mac [s:fmcc], the two mortgage finance giants taken into government conservatorship at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. In 2012, the U.S. Treasury amended the terms of the 2008 bailout to require Fannie and Freddie’s conservator to sweep quarterly profits to the government, a move which effectively wiped out shareholders. They’ve fought the “net worth sweep” in court for years, including in Perry Capital LLC v. Mnuchin, a 2017 case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which the shareholders appealed after it was decided in the government’s favor. Congress has attempted to find a long-term role for the two enterprises, but has failed, even as the companies have remitted nearly all their capital to the government.

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From:: Stock Market News

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. shares were upgraded to hold from sell by analysts at Stifel on Monday as they take a wait and see approach following the company’s appointment of Brian Niccol as chief executive officer. “We are moving to the sidelines as we wait for the new CEO to provide his turnaround plan for the company,” lead analyst Chris O’Cull wrote in a note. “We believe new investors are taking a more optimistic view of the company’s prospects, arguing the new CEO has the experience to reverse the declining traffic trend and recover margin. As a result, we believe investors’ ebullience can support the stock in spite of weaker fundamentals.” Chipotle lured Niccol away from Yum Brands Inc.-owned Taco Bell, where he was the chief executive for three years. “Mr. Niccol has pushed the boundaries at Taco Bell and solidified their position in the consumer’s awareness. Chipotle needs a similar reboot to help the brand reengage lapsed customer,” O’Cull wrote. Chipotle shares were down a little more than 1% in early trade on Tuesday, and have declined more than 29% in the last 12 months. By comparison, the S&P 500 index is up roughly 16%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Brazilian steak house chain Fogo de Chão Inc. said Tuesday it has reached an agreement to be acquired by private-equity firm Rhone Capital units in an all-cash deal valued at $560 million. Under terms of the deal, Fogo de Chão shareholders will receive $15.75 a share in cash, equal to a 25.5% premium over its closing share price on Friday. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. The news comes after the company’s board conducted a review of its strategic options; the company went public in 2015. Fogo operates as a churrascaria, offering fire-roasted, high-quality meats that are prepared and served Brazilian style by gaucho chefs. Shares were halted for the news, but have fallen 13% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stock benchmarks drifted lower at the open on Tuesday, with investors finding few reasons to keep pushing shares higher following a six-session rally that gave indexes their biggest one-week percentage gain in years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 90 points, or 0.3%, at 25,142, the S&P 500 index was off 0.2% at 2,727. The Nasdaq Composite Index , meanwhile, was off 0.2% at 7,227. Wall Street investors are watching a rising dollar and climbing bond yields, both of which could make equities less attractive at current levels, even as macroeconomic conditions and corporate earnings are still seen as strong. The dollar, as measured by the U.S. ICE Dollar Index was up 0.5% at 89.57, while the 10-year Treasury note was at 2.90%. In corporate news, Rite Aid surged after privately held grocer Albertsons Cos. said it would buy the rest of the drugstore chain that Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. isn’t buying.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News