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Weight Watchers International Inc.’s stock rocketed higher for a second-straight session on Tuesday, a day after the weight management services company said Oprah Winfrey had taken a 10% stake. The stock shot up 32% in morning trade on volume of 36.8 million shares, which was about 12 times the full-day average over the past 30 days, according to FactSet. It is now on track to have its third-biggest percentage gain in its history, a day after producing its biggest gain ever. On Monday, the stock had more than doubled, soaring 105% on volume of more than 75 times the full-day average. Analyst Linda Bolton Weiser at B. Riley & Co., who doesn’t actually cover Weight Watchers, wrote in a note to clients: “We can’t imagine a bigger-time weight-loss spokesperson than Oprah Winfrey-she will put the Weight Watchers brand name front-and-center-the media exposure will be huge.” The shares have now run up 170% in two sessions, and has nearly quintupled since closing at a record low of $3.78 on July 9.

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From:: Stock Market News

Hedge funds witnessed the largest asset decline in the third quarter since the financial crisis of 2008 on uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate policy and worries about China. Hedge fund capital sank by $95 billion to $2.87 trillion at the end of the quarter, according to data from Hedge Fund Research Inc. Tuesday. “The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index fell 3.9% in third quarter 2015, extending a four-month drawdown of 5.1% and bringing HFRI performance to minus 1.5% year to date through September,” said HFR. The index, however, still outperformed the S&P 500 by 370 basis points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 700 points, the biggest margin since 2008.

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The Canadian dollar strengthened Tuesday after Canadians voted to elect Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau as the country’s new prime minister. The nation-wide vote, held on Monday, led to the ouster of Stephen Harper, who was running for what would have been his fourth term as prime minister. The Canadian dollar strengthened by 0.3% to 77.04 U.S. cents, paring a decline from Monday’s session. It traded at 76.79 late Monday in New York. The yield on the Canadian 10-year sovereign bond rose 6.1 basis points to 1.52%, according to FactSet data.

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 slightly lower on Tuesday as investors digested a slew of earnings reports and better-than-expected housing data. The S&P 500 opened 3 points, or 0.1%, lower at 2,030. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 40 points, or 0.2%, to 17,190. The Nasdaq Composite began the day down 6 points, or 0.1%, at 4,898.

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From:: Stock Market News

The premarket selloff in International Business Machines Corp.’s stock can be blamed for the decline in Dow Jones Industrial Average futures ahead of Tuesday’s open. IBM’s stock slumped $7.18, or 4.8%, ahead of the open, after the technology company missed third-quarter revenue expectations and cut its full-year profit outlook. That decline would shave off about 48 points from the Dow . Meanwhile, Dow futures were down 20 points. Shares of fellow Dow components Travelers Companies Inc. gained $2.80, or $2.6%, and Verizon Communications Inc. tacked on 55 cents, or 1.2%, in premarket trade after third-quarter results, which would add a combined 22 points to the Dow, not enough to offset IBM’s decline.

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Amazon.com Inc. now has around 47 million U.S. Prime users, who spend an average of $1,200 a year on its e-commerce site versus just $600 for non-members, according to a new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Amazon’s Prime growth has nearly tripled in two years, according to the report, with Amazon gaining three million members in the third quarter. The report points to Amazon’s first annual Prime Day for some of the improvement. The day of discounts, held on July 15, helped spur a 7% increase in Prime membership last quarter, versus a 3% increase the year prior. In July, Amazon said “hundreds of thousands” of new members signed up on Prime Day, the biggest ever single-day jump in membership for Amazon. Shares of the e-commerce company were inactive in premarket trade. They have risen 17.5% over the last three months, versus a 4.5% decline for the S&P 500. Also Read: Amazon to hire 100,000 seasonal workers for the holidays.

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

Barnes & Noble Inc. said it was implementing a new $50 million stock repurchase program, with no expiration date. The book seller said repurchases will be made through open-market or privately-negotiated deals. The stock, which edged up 0.3% in light premarket trade, has tumbled 29% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has lost 4.5%.

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.com Inc. now has around 47 million U.S. Prime users, who spend an average of $1,200 a year on its e-commerce site versus just $600 for non-members, according to a new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Amazon’s Prime growth has nearly tripled in two years, according to the report, with Amazon gaining three million members in the third quarter. The report points to Amazon’s first annual Prime Day for some of the improvement. The day of discounts, held on July 15, helped spur a 7% increase in Prime membership last quarter, versus a 3% increase the year prior. In July, Amazon said “hundreds of thousands” of new members signed up on Prime Day, the biggest ever single-day jump in membership for Amazon. Shares of the e-commerce company were inactive in premarket trade. They have risen 17.5% over the last three months, versus a 4.5% decline for the S&P 500.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Construction started on new U.S. homes rose 6.5% to an annual rate of 1.21 million in September, according to government data released Tuesday. After two months of declines, the gain in September brings starts back close to June’s level, which was an eight-year high. Starts for single-family homes rose 0.3% in September to an annual rate of 740,000, while starts in buildings with at least five units jumped 17% to a pace of 454,000. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected an overall September starts rate of 1.14 million. The annual pace of permits for new construction, a sign of future demand, fell 5.0% in September to 1.10 million. The pace of permits for single-family homes fell 0.3% to an annual rate of 697000, while the pace of permits for apartments fell 14.6% to 369,000. Economists caution over reading too much into a single monthly home-construction report because the data are subject to substantial revisions.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. were up a little more than 1% after it said on Tuesday it had net income of $4.2 billion, or 99 cents per share in the third quarter, up from $3.8 billion, or 89 cents per share in the year-prior period. The wireless, Internet and cable TV provider reported adjusted per-share earnings of $1.04, above the FactSet consensus of $1.02. Verizon reported revenue of $33.2 billion, an increase from last year’s third-quarter revenue of $31.6 billion, and edging out the FactSet consensus of $32.9 billion. Verizon said its positive earnings were fueled by growth in its wireless and Fios segments. “Fios customer growth also improve from the previous quarter,” Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said in a statement. “We expect future revenue growth from mobile over-the-top video, including digital advertising, and the Internet of Things.” In September, Verizon launched go90, a mobile-first social entertainment platform, and acquired AOL Inc. back in June for $4 billion. In the first nine months of 2015, Verizon spent about $22 billion on spectrum licenses and capital for future network capacity. Shares of Verizon are down more than 4% in the year to date, while the S&P is down a little more than 1%.

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