Author: admin

The S&P 500 rallied 0.3% to 2,628, and is on track to check off a couple technical achievements needed to mark a “near-term positive,” according to J.P. Morgan technical strategist Jason Hunter. He said sustained closes above 2,620, and a rally through 2,650, would help confirm the potential bullish momentum divergences now present on intraday charts. Bullish momentum divergences refers to the fact that while prices on hourly charts made a lower low on Friday, the Relative Strength Index (RSI), which tracks how the magnitude of recent gains compare with the magnitude of recent losses, made a higher high. Hunter said another technical positive would be if the RSI closed above the 50 level, which it hasn’t been able to do since the S&P 500 started selling off on Jan. 30. The RSI reached a high of 50.91 earlier Monday, a higher high than the 48.39 seen early last Wednesday, before slipping to 46.98 in recent trade.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Amazon.com Inc. is creating its own chip for artificial-intelligence tasks that could help power its various hardware pieces, according to a new report from The Information. The report, which cites a person familiar with Amazon’s plans, said that Amazon’s chip will be designed to help its voice-enabled products more efficiently handle tasks, “by allowing more data processing to be handled on the device than in the cloud.” Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. are also working on their own AI chips, the report said, in what could ultimately come to hurt traditional chip makers like Nvidia Corp. , whose graphics processing units have proven useful for AI tasks. Amazon shares are up 0.9% in Monday morning trading and 64% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 Index has gained 14% in that time.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Infrastructure-themed exchange-traded funds rose on Monday after President Donald Trump unveiled an infrastructure program, although they lagged the overall market as questions remained over the program’s structure and financing. The Global X US Infrastructure Development ETF rose 0.7% and was on track for a day of heavier-than-average trading volume. The iShares Global Infrastructure ETF added 0.3% on the day. The Trump administration released a program to transform how the nation’s infrastructure is funded and developed, but the initiative faces an uncertain road in Congress over finding the money to pay for it. Trump will propose spending $200 billion over 10 years, largely in the form of competitive grants designed to encourage states and cities to raise their own money. Questions about the proposal may limit the upside potential in the ETFs, which in the past have risen on hopes for an infrastructure stimulus package that would spur demand in their underlying components. Both funds have struggled of late; the Global X fund has dropped 6.8% thus far this month, while the iShares ETF has lost 6.7% over the same period. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% on Monday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.9%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. gained 3.1% in Monday morning trading after analysts at Instinet upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. The stock was currently the leading gainer among Dow Jones Industrial Average components. “We believe Cisco’s webscale switching wins are durable and its window for a campus switching refresh will extend through 2019,” wrote the analysts, led by Jeffrey Kvaal. “After years of false starts, Cisco now has beachheads at Microsoft Inc. , Google , and Alibaba .” Kvaal is optimistic about the campus switching refresh, which is generating higher prices, as well as the security business, which he sees gaining share either organically or via M&A. “Tax reform and the recurring revenue transition are not central to our view, though may cushion a market downturn via buybacks/dividends and rising visibility,” he added. Kvaal now has a $46 price target on the stock. Cisco shares have gained 25% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 Index is up 14%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

MetLife Inc. said Monday it is planning to increase its investment in employees using tax savings from the overhaul that was written into law in December. The life insurer said it will establish a minimum wage of $15 an hour and a minimum group life insurance benefit of $75,000, regardless of an employee’s pay. The benefit was previously set at one times annual pay. The company is planning to introduce a $300 minimum monthly credit for the cash-balance formula of its defined benefit pension plan, also regardless of employee pay. It will enhance its 401-k plan by moving to auto-enrollment and extend company-paid group legal services offered through MetLife’s Hyatt Legal Plans. Shares were not active premarket, but have fallen 5% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 13%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. ran up 3.0% into record territory in morning trade Monday, after the media and entertainment company was upgraded at KeyBanc Capital, which cited expectations of operating leverage expansion from its TV renewal cycle and increasing digital content opportunities. Analyst Evan Wingren raised his rating to overweight, after being at sector weight the past 3 1/2 months, and set a $43 stock price target. “Despite the move in the stock over the [last 12 months], we continue to see further upside from execution of the renewal cycle, incremental content opportunities, and advertising,” Wingren wrote in a note to clients. The stock rose 3.0% on Friday after the company disclosed that The Vanguard Group increased its stake in the company to 3.50 million shares, or 8.94% of the shares outstanding. The stock has soared 31.4% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.7%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Barnes & Noble Inc. named on Monday Timothy Mantel as its chief merchandising officer, effective immediately. Mantel was previously the CMO of GNC Corp. . Mantel succeeds the bookseller’s previous CMO Mary Amicucci, who left the company in September 2017 after 20 months in the role. Barnes & Noble’s stock was down 1.0% in premarket trade. It has plunged 32% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has rallied 11% and the S&P 500 has gained 1.4%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Workday Inc. are up 2.3% in premarket trading Monday after Needham analyst Scott Berg upgraded the stock to buy from hold. Berg thinks that the company’s financials platform is gaining traction, given positive signs from his recent industry checks. He also believes that the company’s human-capital management software is selling well with large businesses, while the education and government segments are performing strongly as well. He sees potential for the company to start making acquisitions in fiscal 2019 or 2020 that could “augment its applications growth.” Berg now has a $130 price target on Workday shares. “We believe bookings upside plus visibility into 20% FCF margins in FY19 will keep the share price moving higher and support our Buy rating,” he wrote. Workday shares have gained 32% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 Index is up 13%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Oracle Corp. said it was opening 12 new datacenter regions as it expands the breadth and depth of its cloud business in Asia, Europe and the Americas. The expansion in Asia includes China, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and South Korea; in Europe, the expansion includes Amsterdam and Switzerland; and in the Americas, it includes two centers in Canada and two new U.S. locations, to support the U.S. Department of Defense. The company said that as it expands its cloud business, it expects margins to to expand as well. Oracle did not provide information on hiring plans or costs. The stock, which was indicated up about 1% in premarket trade, has lost 3.2% over the past three months while the S&P 500 has gained 1.4%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News