Apple’s stock surges to all-time intraday high

Shares of Apple Inc. rallied 1.2% in afternoon trade Tuesday to reach an all-time intraday record, extending the run of gains following strong quarterly results and amid growing optimism over new iPhone releases. The stock recently traded as high as $134.88, surpassing the previous all-time intraday high of $134.54 reached on April 28, 2015. The stock had closed at a record on Monday, passing the previous record set two-years earlier, following an upbeat report from Goldman Sachs. The stock has rallied 11% since Apple reported after the Jan. 31 close fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations. The buzz on Tuesday is that Apple’s appearance on the list of Wireless Power Consortium members boosts hopes that the 10th anniversary release of the new iPhone 8 later this year will include wireless charging. The stock has soared 43% over the past 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 28%.

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From:: Stock Market News

SEC fines Morgan Stanley for unsuitable sales of inverse ETFs

The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney on Tuesday, fining the firm $8 million for selling unsuitable ETF products to customers and not obtaining proof the clients understood the risks involved with purchasing inverse ETFs. Morgan Stanley admitted its wrongdoing. Those clients did not sign disclosure notices that explained that single inverse ETFs were typically unsuitable for investors planning to hold them longer than one trading session unless used as part of a trading or hedging strategy. Many of the clients who purchased single inverse ETFs to be held long-term in retirement and other accounts experienced losses. Morgan Stanley also failed to conduct risk reviews to evaluate the suitability of inverse ETFs for each advisory client and did not ensure that certain financial advisers completed training on the product and its risks.

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From:: Stock Market News

Russia reportedly deploys controversial cruise missile

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Russia has deployed a cruise missile that American officials say violates a 1987 arms-control treaty, potentially complicating relations with a Trump White House that had planned to seek more common ground, according to the New York Times. The Obama administration objected to the missile and had asked Russia to make it compliant with 1987 ban on intermediate ground-launched weapons. Yet Russia apparently has gone ahead and deployed a number of these new missiles that U.S. officials call a SSC-8. The Pentagon is considering options to counter the missile and shield NATO allies within its range, the Times said.

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From:: Stock Market News

White House to reopen for public tours

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The White House will reopen for public tours, first lady Melania Trump said Tuesday. It will reopen on March 7. Members of Congress — who can arrange visits for their constituents — have voiced displeasure over the unavailability of such tours.

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From:: Stock Market News

Financial ETFs jump after Yellen hints that near-term rate hike is possible

Exchange-traded funds that track the financial sector jumped on Tuesday, after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen offered an upbeat outlook for the U.S. economy and suggested that interest rates could be raised at “upcoming meetings.” Some took the comments as implying that the Federal Open Market Committee could raise key interest rates as early as the Fed’s next policy meeting in March. Higher rates are seen as a tailwind for the sector, in large part because of bank net interest margin, or the difference between the interest they earn on the loans they make and the interest they pay out. Low rates can depress net interest margins, which can lead to lower earnings. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF rose 0.8% and was by far the biggest gainer among S&P 500 sectors. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF added 1.2% while the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF advanced 1.3%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Home Repossessions Return to Pre-Crisis Pace

For the first time since the national housing crisis, the monthly pace of completed foreclosures has fallen back to pre-crisis levels.

Residential loans that were at least 90 days past due accounted for 2.6 percent of all U.S. loans outstanding as of year-end 2016.

The rate of serious mortgage delinquency turned out to be the lowest it’s been since June 2007 based on historical performance data.


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From:: Financing

Under Armour upgraded as stock’s plunge helps balance out risk versus reward

Shares of Under Armour Inc. tacked on 0.4% in morning trade Tuesday, after the athletic apparel and accessories company was upgraded at Morgan Stanley, which citing a more balanced risk-versus-reward scenario following the plunge in the stock price over the past year. Analyst Jay Sole raised his rating to equal weight, after being at underweight for teh past 13 months, but he cut his stock price target to $20, which is below current levels, from $25. The stock has tumbled 46% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has climbed 25%. Sole said among some of the investor concerns are whether the Under Armour brand is broken and how well the company can control costs. “Visibility is still relatively low, but we think answers [will] begin to emerge over the next six months,” Sole wrote in a note to clients. “The stock now discounts more reasonable long-term assumptions, in our view, even though in the near term this means an elevated multiple.”

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Treasury yields jump as Yellen seen priming the market for more rate hikes

Treasury yields jumped on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen left the door open to an interest-rate increase at the central bank’s coming March policy meeting. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 4.5 basis points to 2.481%, while the yield on the two-year note — typically the most sensitive to rate-hike expectations — rose 3.7 basis points to 1.246%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond rose 3.5 basis points to 3.067%. Yellen said that Fed officials will consider raising interest rates “at our upcoming meetings,” a decidedly more hawkish message than the central bank’s latest policy outlook, which cautioned that the central bank would be careful to raise interest rates gradually. Yellen added that waiting too long to raise interest rates would be “unwise” because it could force the central bank to play catch-up.

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold futures off session highs as traders weigh Yellen’s remarks

Gold futures edged higher Tuesday, but traded well off the session’s highs as traders weighed prepared remarks from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, as well as comments from Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker. In prepared remarks ahead of her testimony to Congress, Yellen said interest-rate hikes can be gradual but the central bank will look to incoming economic data to see if an adjustment to the federal funds rate would be appropriate. Separately, Lacker said that “significantly higher rates are warranted.” April gold rose $2.10, or 0.2%, to trade at $1,227.90 an ounce, below the intraday high of $1,236.

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From:: Stock Market News