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Shares of Nordic American Offshore Ltd. plummeted 41% toward a record low in premarket trade Friday, after the operator of platform supply vessels announced a share offering, which would nearly triple the shares outstanding, that priced at a sharp discount. The company announced late Thursday a public offering of 33.3 million shares, but said early Friday that it was boosting the offering to 40 million shares. The company recently had about 20.7 million shares outstanding, according to FactSet. The share offering priced at $1.25, which was 39% below Thursday’s closing price of $2.05. Nordic American said the underwriters of the offering have reserved about $10 million worth of the new share for sale to Nordic American Tankers Ltd., the company’s largest shareholder, and $2 million worth of new shares to Executive Chairman Herbjorn Hansson. The company plans to use the proceeds from the stock offering for general corporate purposes and for the expansion of its fleet. The stock has tumbled 31% over the past three months through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 7.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

All 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average are now losing ground in premarket trade Friday, with the sum of the declines implying a bigger selloff than the whole. The biggest percentage decliners are shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , down 1.7%; J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s stock , which is shedding 1.6%; and Apple Inc. shares , which are losing 1.0%. Meanwhile, the premarket price declines of the Dow components are on track to shave about 137 points off the Dow, but Dow futures are down just 96 points. Among the biggest price decliners, Goldman’s stock price decline of $4.36 is set to shave 29.9 points off the Dow’s price, Apple’s stock drop of $1.24 is set to knock 8.50 points off the Dow and JPMorgan’s stock fall of $1.43 is set to take 9.8 points off the Dow.

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From:: Stock Market News

The early selloff in the Dow Jones Industrial Average Friday is nearly unanimous, with the shares of 29 of 30 components declining in premarket trade. Among the biggest percentage declines ahead of the open, shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were shedding 1.4%, of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. were giving up 1.2%, of Apple Inc. were falling 0.8% and of Caterpillar Inc. were losing 0.7%. The long gainer is Merck & Co.’s , which inched up less than 0.1%. Dow futures were down 81 points in recent trade, putting the blue-chip barometer in danger of snapping a streak of 10-straight record closes.

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

Little Tikes has recalled about a half-million toddler swings, after reports of multiple injuries to children, including broken arms. The recall involves about 540,000 2-in-1 Snug’n Secure pink toddler swings, with a pink T-shaped restraint in front, and is suspended by four yellow ropes. The swings being recalled were made by Little Tikes in the U.S., and sold at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , Toys “R” Us and online at littletikes.com from November 2009 through May 2014 for about $25. The company has received about 140 reports of the swing breaking and 39 reports of injuries, which included abrasions, bruises, cuts, bumps to the head and two broken arms, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Ohio-based Little Tikes is a subsidiary of privately-held MGA Entertainment Inc., based in Van Nuys, Calif.

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From:: Stock Market News

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. shares rose 1.8% in Friday premarket trading after the company announced fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates. Net income was $192.0 million, or 61 cents per share, compared with a loss of $131.0 million, or 43 cents per share, last year. Adjusted EPS was 64 cents, beating the 61-cent FactSet consensus. Sales totaled $3.96 billion, down from $4.0 billion last year and just below the $3.98 billion FactSet consensus. Same-store sales fell 0.7%, while the FactSet consensus was a 0.3% decline. J.C. Penney expects full-year 2017 same-store sales to range from a 1% decline to a 1% increase, and adjusted EPS of 40 cents to 65 cents. The FactSet consensus is for a 1.3% increase and EPS of 54 cents. The retailer also announced plans to close 130 to 140 stores and two distribution centers in the next few months. It is initiating a voluntary early retirement program for about 6,000 eligible associates. J.C. Penney expects an annual cost savings of about $200 million. The full list of store closures will be available mid-March with the closures taking place in the second quarter of 2017. J.C. Penney shares are down 11% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 22.5% for the same period.

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From:: Stock Market News

Athletics shoe retailer Foot Locker Inc. reported Friday a fiscal fourth-quarter profit that rose to $189 million, or $1.42 a share, from $158 million, or $1.14 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as regulatory changes in the calculation of taxes, adjusted earnings per share for the quarter to Jan. 28 were $1.37, above the FactSet consensus of $1.32. Revenue increased to $2.11 billion from $2.01 billion, matching the FactSet consensus of $2.11 billion. Same-store sales increased 5.0%, beating the FactSet consensus of 4.5% growth. “Due in part to the change in the cadence of income tax refund check distribution, we are facing a challenging retail sales environment as we enter 2017; however, we believe the strategic initiatives we have in place, coupled with our strong vendor relationships, will enable us to deliver another year of record performance,” said Chief Executive Richard Johnson. The stock, which was indicated about 1.8% higher in premarket trade, has shed 7.6% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 8% and the S&P 500 has gained 7.2%.

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Super Micro Computer Inc. dropped 8% in late trading Thursday after a report said Apple Inc. ended its relationship with the company after finding “a potential security vulnerability” in a data center server provided by Super Micro. The Information’s Amir Efrati reported, citing mostly unnamed sources, that Apple discovered an issue with the Super Micro equipment in early 2016, and that Super Micro stopped shipping equipment to Apple by the middle of the year. Super Micro slashed its forecasts in July 2016, leading to a big stock drop, and disclosed in an earnings conference call a couple weeks later that it had lost two large data center customers that the company did not name. Super Micro shares fell to $25.20 in late trading Thursday after The Information released its report, after closing the day’s session at $27.40.

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From:: Stock Market News

Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car division, Waymo, announced a lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. on Thursday that claims the founder of Uber acquisition Otto used key technology he helped develop while working for Google’s parent company. The lawsuit, announced in a Waymo blog post, claims that Anthony Levandowski downloaded proprietary information on key components for self-driving technology before leaving Alphabet and founding Otto, which makes self-driving trucks for hauling. “We believe these actions were part of a concerted plan to steal Waymo’s trade secrets and intellectual property,” the blog post reads. “Months before the mass download of files, Mr. Levandowski told colleagues that he had plans to ‘replicate’ Waymo’s technology at a competitor.” Alphabet and Uber have a complicated relationship: Google made a venture investment in Uber in 2013, but is developing its own ride-sharing service as Uber looks to distance itself from Google’s mapping services.

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From:: Stock Market News

Merck & Co. said late Thursday it will book a pre-tax charge of $2.9 billion for a hepatitis C drug candidate. Merck said recent changes to its product profile and expectations for pricing caused it to evaluate the drug candidate uprifosbuvir, which it acquired along with Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2014, as an intangible asset for impairment. As a result, Merck said the charge lowers its unadjusted fourth-quarter results to a loss of 22 cents a share, from previous earnings of 42 cents a share. Adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter are not affected, Merck said. Shares of Merck declined 0.5% to $65.52 after hours.

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