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The Dow Jones Industrial Average was retreating sharply lower on Tuesday, with the blue-chip gauge on pace for its worst single-session decline in about 8 months. The Dow was off nearly 340 points at its nadir, putting it on pace to suffer its steepest slide since May 17, 2017, according to FactSet data, when it fell 373 points or 1.8%. The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index were also facing selling pressure, and threatening to mark the first back-to-back declines for those benchmarks in January. Moves lower come ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech later Tuesday and as investors await the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting. Rising yields have contributed to concerns as well, with the 10-year Treasury yield climbing above 2.72% for the first time in three years.

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

U.S. stocks opened with broad losses Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping more than 200 points as rising bond yields contributed to a global equity selloff. The Dow was off 209 points, or 0.8%, while stocks overall saw additional pressure from a selloff by health care shares. The sector came under pressure after Amazon.com Inc. , Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase announced they were teaming up to find ways to cut health-care costs. Dow component United Health Group dropped 5.6%, while Express Scripts dropped more than 9% to lead S&P 500 decliners. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% to 2,834, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8% to 7,403.

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

Shares of Nucor Inc. rallied 2.1% in premarket trade Tuesday toward a 9 1/2-year high, after the steel products maker reported fourth-quarter results that beat expectations and a sharp rise in average prices. Net income rose to $383.9 million, or $1.20 a share, from $159.6 million, or 50 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The results include a 55 cents-per-share benefit related to tax-reform legislation. The FactSet EPS consensus was 55 cents. Revenue fell 2% to $5.09 billion, but beat the FactSet consensus of $4.85 billion, as average sales price per ton rose 14% from a year ago. The company said as steel imports continue to rise and hurt the U.S. steel industry, a final determination is expected in the next few months, following the Commerce Department’s preliminary ruling in December about how cold-rolled steel from Vietnam that originated in China evaded U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidy orders. Nucor shares have run up 18% over the past three months through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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

Cars.com Inc. and media company Tronc Inc. said on Tuesday that they’ve agreed to a deal to convert Tronc’s eight affiliate markets, including Los Angeles and Chicago, into Cars.com’s direct retail channel. Los Angeles and Chicago are two of the nation’s top markets for new car sales. Cars.com said in a news release that Tronc represents 37% of Cars.com’s wholesale revenue. The agreement, which will see more than 2,000 car deal customers move to Cars.com, will take effect Feb. 1. Tronc’s sales and support teams will also join Cars.com to help with the transition. The deal also includes a multi-year advertising and marketing agreement between Cars.com and Tronc. “This mutually beneficial new agreement with Cars.com is expected to improve our bottom line and allow us to pursue other strategic initiatives,” Tronc Chief Executive Justin Dearborn said in a statement. Shares of Tronc are up 59% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 25% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 32%. Cars.com went public in June 2017 after spinning off from Tenga Inc. . Shares are up 24% in the last three months.

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

HCA Healthcare Inc. reported Tuesday fourth-quarter net earnings of $474 million, or $1.30 a share, down from $920 million, or $2.39 a share, in the same period a year ago. The results include a non-cash increase in the provision for income taxes of $301 million, or 83 cents a share, related to tax-reform legislation. The FactSet consensus for adjusted earnings per share was $1.87. Total revenue rose to $11.56 billion from $10.64 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $11.21 billion, amid a 2.3% rise in same-facility equivalent admissions and a 3.5% increase in same-facility revenue per equivalent admission. The stock soared 7.6% in premarket trade, despite a broad selloff in health care stocks following the announcement that Amazon.com Inc. , J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. were forming a company to improve their employees health care benefits. For 2018, the company expects revenue of $45.0 billion to $46.0 billion, surrounding the FactSet consensus of $45.3 billion. Separately, HCA initiated a quarterly dividend of 35 cents a share, payable March 30 to shareholders of record on March 1. The stock had run up 28% over the past three months through Monday, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has climbed 12% and the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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

A measure of volatility on Wall Street on Tuesday rose to its highest level in more than 5 months as U.S. equity benchmarks looked set to extend a slide as the yield in a 10-year Treasury notes hovered around its highest level in more than three years. The CBOE Volatility Index was up at 14.16, up 2.1%, marking its highest level since Aug. 18, 2017, according to FactSet data. The VIX uses bullish and bearish option bets on the S&P 500 index to reflect expected volatility over the coming 30 days, and it typically rises as stocks fall. However, the gauge, sometimes referred to as the fear index, has been abnormally low, trading below its historical average at around 20. To be sure, it is still holding at a level below that historic mean but its recent pick up suggests that investors are betting that volatility will accelerate in the future. A rise in 10-year Treasury note yield above 2.72% on Monday also has drawn attention, because rising rates can undercut appetite for stocks if government paper offer richer yields than risk assets like stocks. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were off triple digits, while those for the Nasdaq-100 index and the S&P 500 index were all down firmly Tuesday morning. All three benchmarks finished firmly lower on Monday. Neither the Dow nor the S&P 500 have recorded back-to-back losses in January.

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From:: Stock Market News

McDonald’s Corp. reported fourth-quarter net income of $698.7 million, or 87 cents per share on Tuesday, down from $1.20 billion, or $1.44 per share, for the same period last year. Diluted EPS fell due to tax costs associated with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Adjusted EPS was $1.71, well ahead of the $1.59 FactSet consensus. Revenue of $5.34 billion, fell from $6.03 billion last year, but exceeded the FactSet consensus of $5.23 billion. Global same-store sales rose 5.5%, ahead of the 4.9% FactSet consensus. U.S. same-store sales increased 4.5% due to the McPick 2 platform, beverage value items, and “strong consumer response” to Buttermilk Crispy Tenders and delivery. McDonald’s plans to open 1,000 new McDonald’s restaurants, three-quarters of which will be funded by an expanding network of affiliates and licensees, said Chief Financial Officer Kevin Ozan. The company will also invest $2.4 billion in existing locations to accelerate the company’s Experience of the Future plans in the U.S. which includes digital upgrades. McDonald’s shares are up 0.1% in premarket trading, and are up 44.5% for the past year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 32.4% for the last 12 months.

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

Shares of all 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average companies fell in premarket trade Tuesday, with Dow futures pointing toward the biggest point decline for the blue-chip barometer in over five months. The biggest weight on the Dow was UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s stock , which plunged $16.66, or 6.7%, amid concerns over increased competition after Amazon.com Inc. , Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. announced plans for a new company to improve their employees’ health care. That selloff would shave about 115 points off the Dow’s price. Pfizer Inc. shares fell 1.6%, erasing earlier gains of as much as 2.5% after the drug maker beat profit expectations; that would shave just about 4 points off the Dow. Dow futures were down 254 points. Among other decliners, shares of J.P. Morgan Chase shares fell 0.5%, McDonald’s Corp. lost 0.3% after reporting fourth-quarter results, Caterpillar Inc. dropped 1.4% and Apple Inc. shed 1.2%.

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

Apple Inc. is pushing back plans for several software feature enhancements on the iPhone as it focuses on improving “performance and quality issues,” according to a report from Axios on Tuesday. The story said that Apple will delay making improvements to areas such as the mail app, photo-editing software, and the home screen until 2019. The company will still move forward with plans to enhance augmented-reality features and add new parental-control options, Axios said, noting that Apple’s software chief Craig Federighi announced the new priorities to employees during a meeting in early January. Apple has come under pressure over the last few weeks after the company said in response to consumer complaints that it intentionally slowed down older iPhone batteries. Shares of Apple are down 1.4% in premarket trading. The stock is up 38% over the past 12 months, compared with a 32% gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Wells Fargo on questions about why the beverage company merged with Keurig Green Mountain. Its price target was raised to $124 from $112. “In short, we’re not entirely clear by see some benefits given expanded distribution, stepped up innovation and more allied brand type partnerships,” analysts led by Bonnie Herzog wrote. Wells Fargo proposes a few reasons why the companies would combine, like JAB’s plans for additional M&A in the future. But it’s unclear. “We believe enough uncertainty exists to keep shares range-bound in the near-term and are therefore reducing our rating to market perform,” the note said. Dr. Pepper Snapple shares closed Monday up 22.4%, and shares are up 29% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 25.1% for the last 12 months.

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