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Shares of Priceline Group Inc. rose nearly 3.9% late Monday after the online travel site reported third-quarter per-share earnings and sales above expectations. Priceline said it earned $506 million, or $10.13 a share, in the quarter, compared with $1.2 billion, or $23.41 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Priceline said it earned $1.6 billion, or $31.18 a share, in the quarter, compared with $25.35 a share a year ago. Sales rose to $3.69 billion in the quarter, from $3.10 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of $29.92 a share on sales of $3.62 billion in the quarter. The company said its profits were dragged down by a non-cash charge of $941 million relating to OpenTable, the company’s online restaurant reservation business it acquired in 2014. Priceline said the charge is related to changes in OpenTable’s business strategy “as it relates to OpenTable’s international expansion and other growth opportunities.” The change in strategy resulted in OpenTable updating its forecasted financial results to reflect a “material reduction” in forecasted long-term financial results from the initiatives, Priceline said. “While OpenTable will continue to pursue these growth opportunities, they will do so on a more measured and deliberate basis,” it said. Shares of Priceline had ended the regular session up 3.9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday, with the S&P 500 index snapping a historic 9-day losing streak, after FBI Director James Comey’s revelation that the bureau won’t pursue charges against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sparked a sharp relief rally. Stocks rallied into the close, with the S&P 500 climbing 46.34 points, or 2.2%, to 2,131.52, with financial shares seeing the largest gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 371.80 points, or 2.1%, to 18,260.08 as all of its components finished in the green. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. were among the blue-chip gauge’s best performers. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 119.80 points, or 2.4%, to 5,166.17.

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From:: Stock Market News

Ride-hailing startup Lyft Inc. announced Monday that it had added Ben Horowitz, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, to its board of directors. Andreeseen Horowitz is an existing investor in the company. Other board members include General Motors President Dan Ammann and Jonathan Christodoro of Icahn Capital. The company said it had “big plans” for 2017 and that it had 1 million new passengers on the Lyft platform in October.

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold futures dropped Monday, suffering from their largest percentage loss since Oct. 4. Prices were hit by a rally in the U.S. dollar , which climbed following news that the Federal Bureau of Investigation won’t bring charges against presidential nominee Hillary Clinton after a review into Clinton’s emails. December gold settled at $1,279.40 an ounce, down $25.10, or 1.9%. That was the lowest finish since Oct. 27, according to FactSet data.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed above its 50-day moving average in intraday trade Monday for the first time in a month. The Dow was up 335 points at 18,223, while the 50-day MA, which many chart watchers view as a guide to the shorter-term trend, currently extends to 18,216. The Dow hasn’t closed above the 50-day MA since Sept. 8. Since then, it rose above the 50-day MA intraday on Sept. 22 and Oct. 10, but pulled back below it before the close. The Dow hasn’t closed above its 50-day MA line for 42 sessions; the last time it stayed below that line that long was when it was below it for the 54 sessions ending Oct. 9, 2015. Back then, the Dow soared 1,073 points over the next month.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Transportation Average surged 2.1% in morning trade Monday to break out of a resistance level that capped the index’s gains for the past eight months. That bodes well for the broader stock market, said Oppenheimer technical analyst Ari Wald, who wrote in a note to clients that “transports are a bullish tell.” Five previous rallies above 8,000 all peaked and pulled back before exceeding resistance at the 8,050 to 8,150 range. On Monday, the index was headed for the highest close since Nov. 20, 2015. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 308 points at 18,195, but still well below its Aug. 15 closing high of 18,636.05. “In terms of market leadership, we’re encouraged about the relative resiliency in the Dow Jones Transportation Average because we view it as the’right’ leadership and another piece of evidence that points to buyable weakness,” Wald wrote. He said the 2012 election period was also characterized by broader market weakness and outperformance by the Dow transports, and eventually led to a resumption of broader market strength.

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From:: Stock Market News