Nike board hikes quarterly dividend 13%

Nike Inc. said late Thursday its board approved a 13% increase in the company’s quarterly dividend. The 18-cents-a-share dividend is payable Jan. 3 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 5. Shares of Nike ticked up 0.1% to $51.68 after hours, following a 1.8% climb during the regular session.

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From:: Stock Market News

Mortgage Rates Skyrocket, Could Go Higher

Mortgage rates shot up to the highest level since the first week of the year thanks to the election, and a further increase could lie ahead in the next week.

During October, 30-year note rates averaged 3.76 percent, up from 3.75 percent the previous month when it was the lowest it’s been since May 2013.

But 30-year interest rates on residential loans have still improved compared to the same month last year, when the average note rate was 4.25 percent.


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From:: Financing

Gap shares fall on weak outlook

Gap Inc. shares fell 2.3% in late Thursday trading after the retailer offered guidance that falls below the current consensus. Gap, whose brands include the namesake Gap stores, Banana Republic and Old Navy, reported third-quarter net income of $204 million, or 51 cents per share, down from $248 million, or 61 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were 60 cents, meeting the FactSet consensus. Sales totaled $3.80 billion, also meeting the FactSet consensus. Same-store sales fell 3% for the quarter, including a negative impact of two percentage points from an August fire at the Fishkill, NY distribution center. Gap and Banana Republic both reported an 8% same-store sales decline, while Old Navy’s same-store sales rose 3%. Gap sees full-year 2016 EPS in the range of $1.41 to $1.50, and adjusted EPS in the range of $1.87 to $1.92. The FactSet consensus is $2.01. Gap shares are up 24.3% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 7% for the same period.

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

Salesforce stock soars on earnings and sales beat

Shares of Salesforce.com Inc. soared more than 6% in after-hours trade Thursday following a stronger-than-expected earnings report. The company reported a loss of $37 million, or 5 cents a share, bigger than a year-earlier loss of $25 million, or 4 cents a share. Excluding one-time items, however, the company reported a profit of 24 cents, topping average analyst estimates of 21 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue soared 25% year-over-year to $2.14 billion, compared with the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion, prompting Salesforce to raise its fiscal 2017 revenue guidance to a range of $8.36 billion to $8.37 billion, ahead of the $8.31 billion currently forecast by Wall Street. Salesforce attributed the earnings growth to a surge in new bookings. For fiscal 2018, it is calling for revenue in the range of $10.1 billion to $10.15 billion, compared with the FactSet estimate of $10.07 billion. Prior to the after-hours rally, shares of Salesforce had been down 1.5% in the past three months, underperforming the S&P 500 , which is up 0.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Marvell Technology shares climb after earnings beat

Shares of Marvell Technology rose 9% in after-hours trade Thursday after the company beat third-quarter earnings expectations. It reported net income of $73 million, or 14 cents per share, compared to a loss of $54.4 million, or 11 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. It reported adjusted earnings per share of 20 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 12 cents. Marvell reported revenue of $654 million, down from $674 million in the year-earlier period and above the FactSet consensus of $615 million. Additionally, the company announced a $1 billion share buyback program and said it intends to repurchase about $500 million worth of shares in the next 12 months. Marvell issued a fourth quarter outlook of $565 million for revenue. The FactSet consensus was for revenue of $594 million. Shares of Marvell have gained 15% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of less than 1%

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From:: Stock Market News

Ross shares rise on better-than-expected earnings

Shares of Ross Stores Inc. gained in Thursday’s extended session after the retailer posted better-than-expected earnings. Ross reported its third-quarter earnings rose to $244.5 million, or 62 cents a share, from $215.7 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 11% to $3.09 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 56 cents a share on revenue of $2.96 billion. The clothing store predicted a “very promotional” holiday season due to uncertain economic, political and retail environments but maintained its fourth-quarter same-store sales outlook at 1% to 2% growth and earnings per share of 72 cents to 75 cents versus an average estimate of 75 cents. Ross shares rose more than 2% after hours.

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From:: Stock Market News

Applied Materials’ stock slumps disappointing sales offsets profit beat

Shares of Applied Materials Inc. slumped 5.1% in after-hours trade Thursday, after the chip equipment maker’s fiscal fourth-quarter sales came up a bit shy, although profit beat expectations. Earnings for the quarter ended Oct. 30 rose to $610 million, or 56 cents a share, from $336 million, or 28 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 66 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 65 cents. Revenue rose to $3.297 billion from $2.368 billion, just below the FactSet consensus of $3.307 billion, as a 25% increase in the value of new orders to $3.03 billion missed expectations of $3.21 billion. For the fiscal first quarter, the company expects revenue of $3.20 billion to $3.34 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $3.14 billion, while the adjusted EPS outlook of 62 cents to 70 cents is above expectations of 59 cents. The stock has soared 65% year to date through Thursday’s close, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index has run up 31% and the S&P 500 has gained 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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Amazon is preparing to expand streaming video to 200 countries globally: WSJ

Amazon.com Inc. is reportedly planning to play global catchup with Netflix Inc. . Amazon is preparing to launch its streaming video service into about 200 countries, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources. The Journal reported the news on Thursday following a YouTube video that hinted at the rollout. Netflix stock dropped as much as 1.4% to an intraday low of $113.56 minutes after The Journal broke the news, before paring the losses.Shares of Amazon were up more than 1% in afternoon trade and are up nearly 12% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 Index is up nearly 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.

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From:: Stock Market News