Author: admin

Debris that may be from a missing EgyptAir passenger plane has been found near a Greek island, reports said Thursday. Two large orange-colored objects, possibly plastic pieces, were spotted floating near the island of Karpathos, Greek military officials said, according a Reuters report. The debris was discovered by an Egyptian aircraft, according to the Press Association. EgyptAir Flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo disappeared early Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea, the airline said. The plane was carrying 66 passengers.

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 Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. surged 1.3% in morning trade Thursday, after the specialty grocery store’s chief financial office said the company was looking to deepen its relationship with Amazon.com Inc. given the success of the Prime partnership. Speaking at BMO Capital Markets’ farm-to-market conference Brad Lukow said while the partnership is in its early days, he has been “quit a little bit surprised by the take up,” according to a transcript provided by FactSet. As part of the partnership, Amazon Prime members in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Jose use the Amazon app to access products picked in Sprouts stores, which are delivered to the home. “And then, when we analyze the data, we see a couple things, one is we’re seeing great incremental sales growth as a result of this,” Brukow said, according to the transcript. “And, the basket is actually–a bigger basket in our typical experience.” Amazon shares eased 0.6% in early trade. Sprouts’ stock was still down 8.5% year to date, while the S&P 500 was down 0.2%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks opened lower Thursday as signs that the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate hike could come as early as June spooked investors. Though strong earnings reports from Wal-Mart and Cisco helped offset declines somewhat. The S&P 500 fell 8 points, or 0.4%, to 2,040. The Dow industrials fell 80 points, or 0.5%, to 17,445. The Nasdaq Composite fell 23 points, or 0.5%, to 4,716. Minutes from the Fed’s April meeting released on Wednesday showed a majority of Fed policy makers would be comfortable raising interest rates in June provided the U.S. economy continues to strengthen.

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 auto parts retailers are taking a hit in premarket trade Thursday, in the wake of Advance Auto Parts Inc. disappointing first-quarter results, downbeat outlook and departure of its chief financial officer. Advance Auto’s stock tumbled 7.6%, putting it on course to open at the lowest level since October 2014. Shares of AutoZone Inc. slumped 2.8%, of O’Reilly Automotive Inc. shed 2.2% and of Genuine Parts Co. slid 0.7%.

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

Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. fell 0.6% in Thursday premarket trading after the retailer announced guidance below estimates. Dick’s reported net income of $56.9 million, or 50 cents per share, down from $63.3 million, or 53 cents per share, last year, but exceeding the FactSet consensus of 49 cents per share. Sales for the quarter met the FactSet consensus at $1.66 billion, up from $1.57 billion last year. Same-store sales increased 0.5%, ahead of the 0.3% FactSet consensus. Dick’s expects second-quarter earnings per share between 62 cents and 72 cents. The FactSet consensus is 78 cents per share. And same-store sales for the second quarter are expected to be between negative 4% and negative 1%. The FactSet consensus is positive 0.6%. Full-year earnings per share are expected to fall in the range of $2.60 and $2.90, below the FactSet consensus of $2.95. Same-store sales are expected to be in the range of negative 1% and positive 1%, also below the positive 1.4% FactSet consensus. “Given the expected near-term liquidation activity in the market, we have adjusted our guidance to contemplate this dynamic,” said Chief Executive Edward Stack in a statement. Dick’s shares are up 7.8% for the year so far, but down 28.7% for the past year. The S&P 500 is down 3.8% 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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. will give the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s a big boost Thursday, but not quite enough to halt the recent slide. Wal-Mart’s stock shot up $5.80, or 9.2%, in recent premarket trade after the world’s largest retailer fiscal first-quarter results and current-quarter outlook were above expectations, which puts it on track to post the biggest one-day percentage gain since October 2008. That price gain would add about 40 points to the Dow, which is a price-weighted index. Cisco’s shares climbed $1.44, or 5.4%, ahead of the open, which would add about 10 points to the Dow, after the networking giant beat profit expectations and provided an upbeat outlook. Despite the combined 50-point boost from Wal-Mart and Cisco, Dow futures were still down 27 points, after the Dow fell 184 points the past two sessions.

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

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. shares jumped 8.2% in Thursday premarket trading after the retail giant announced earnings that beat estimates. The company reported net income of $3.08 billion, or 98 cents per share, down from $3.34 billion, or $1.03 last year. The FactSet consensus was 88 cents per share. Sales for the quarter totaled $115.9 billion, up from $114.8 billion and exceeding the FactSet consensus of $113.2 billion. Wal-Mart same-store sales grew 1%, driven by a 1.5% increase in traffic. The FactSet consensus was 0.5%. Wal-Mart U.S. same-store sales were up 1% with sales totaling $73.3 billion. Sales at Wal-Mart International totaled $28.08 billion, and sales at Sam’s Club were $13.6 billion. The retailer expects second-quarter earnings per share between 95 cents and $1.08, within range of the 98 cents per share FactSet estimate. And same-store sales for Wal-Mart U.S. are expected to rise 1% with a “slightly positive” same-store sales increase at Sam’s Club. Wal-Mart shares are up 3% for the year so far, but down 17.4% for the past year. The S&P 500 is up 0.2% for the year to date.

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 Advance Auto Parts Inc. tumbled 9.6% in premarket trade Thursday, after the autoparts retailer missed first-quarter profit and sales expectations, cut its outlook and said its chief financial officer was leaving. For the quarter ended April 23, earnings rose to $158.8 million, or $2.14 a share, from $148.1 million, or $2.00 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $2.51, below the FactSet consensus of $2.60. Sales fell to $2.98 billion from $3.04 billion, while same-store sales declined 1.9%, missing the FactSet consensus for sales of $3.01 billion and for a same-store sales decline of 0.5%. The company cut its full-year 2016 same-store sales outlook to negative 3% to negative 5%, from growth in the low single digits percentage range. Given sales trends experienced at the end of the first quarter, Advance Auto no longer expects to achieve its full-year free cash flow target of at least $500 million. Separately, CFO Mike Norona will be leaving the company after eight years in the position. The stock has dropped 4.5% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.2%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

French President Francois Hollande told reporters Thursday that the missing EgyptAir FlightMS804 had likely “crashed,” according to the BBC.
Aircrafts and vessels were searching a section of the Mediterranean Sea for the flight that vanished on its way to Cairo from Paris earlier in the day. “The information we have gathered – ministers, members of government and, of course, the Egyptian authorities – confirm sadly that it has crashed. It is lost,” Hollande said. There was confusion earlier after an EgyptAir official said search and rescue teams had picked up a possible emergency locator signal at 4:26 a.m. Cairo time, 89 minutes after the aircraft vanished. However an official for Egypt’s civil aviation ministry later said the report was an error, according to The Wall Street Journal. The plane was roughly 30 minutes from landing, when contact was lost somewhere between the islands of Crete and Cyprus, according to the BBC. A total of 56 passengers, three security members and seven crew members were on board the flight which included 30 Egyptians, 15 French and several other nationalities. Greece’s Navy is investigating a report from the crew of a Greek merchant ship that said they saw something similar to an “explosion” lighting up the sky 130 miles east of the island of Karpathos.

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

Moody’s Investor Service cut its 2016 growth forecast for the U.S. economy to 2% from 2.3%, citing subdued global demand and weak business investment. Moody’s 2016 growth outlook for advanced markets is 1.7% in 2016, down from 1.9% in 2015, according to the agency’s Global Credit Research report released Wednesday. “The global recovery has weakened further and the outlook across countries remains uneven and largely weaker than in the previous two decades,” said Elena Duggar, an Associate Managing Director at Moody’s. The ratings agency said a more pronounced slowdown than expected from China’s economy is currently one of the biggest risks to the global economy. In its U.S. analysis, Moody’s predicted the Federal Reserve will lift benchmark interest rates twice this year, at most, and make the moves gradually to prevent potential disruption for capital markets and growth. Moody’s said U.S. consumption would continue to strengthen through the rest of the year, but the economy will see drag from subdued external demand and low energy prices on industrial production and business investment.

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