Author: admin

U.S. stocks opened mostly lower Wednesday after the producer-price index, an important inflation indicator, declined in September and retail sales matched economists’ forecasts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 36 points, or 0.2%, to 17,049, while the S&P 500 was 2 points, or 0.1%, lower at 2,001. The Nasdaq Composite Index was 7 points, or 0.2%, higher at 4,805.

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

Twitter Inc. shares rose 3% Wednesday after the company announced in a tweet that it appointed Omid Kordestani as executive chairman of the board of directors. “Omid is a proven & experienced leader, who will directly help & coach me and our leadership, and help us recruit the best folks to Twitter,” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey wrote in a tweet. Kordestani was previously Google’s chief business officer, according to a Google search. The appointment of Kordestani comes a day after Twitter announced the company would lay off up to 8% of its global workforce.

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

The dollar declined against its main rivals Wednesday after a raft of disappointing economic data dampened expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase this year. Retail sales rose by just 0.1% in September after showing no change in August, matching expectations from economists polled by MarketWatch. But the rebound wasn’t significant enough to reassure investors that a rate hike might happen this year. U.S. producer prices fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in September, outpacing a forecast for a 0.2% decline from a MarketWatch survey. The euro rose to $1.1442 from $1.1405 shortly before the data. The dollar fell to 119.32 yen from 119.65 yen. The British pound rose to $1.5412 from $1.5390. The Fed’s interest rate-setting committee is set to meet twice more this year — in October and December. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen has said that both meetings are “live” –meaning a rate hike could happen at either meeting. The Fed hasn’t raise interest rates since 2006.

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

Treasury yields fell Wednesday to their lowest level in nearly two weeks after economic data on U.S. retail sales and wholesale prices came in weaker than economists expected. The yield on the 10-year benchmark Treasury note lost 4.8 basis points to 2.007% while the 30-year bond yield fell by 4.1 basis points to 2.855%. Among shorter maturities, the yield on the two-year note lost four basis points to 0.585%.

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

TripAdvisor Inc.’s stock soared 23% in active premarket trade Wednesday, after the online travel company announced an instant booking partnership with Priceline Group Inc. . About 800,000 TripAdvisor shares have changed hands ahead of the open, a little more than half full-day average of about 1.5 million shares, according to FactSet. “Having The Priceline Group join the instant booking platform is a huge win for travelers and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have them as our first strategic, global online travel agency partner,” said TripAdvisor Chief Executive Stephen Kaufer. “Millions of TripAdvisor users coming to the site to plan, compare prices and book their trip will be able to instantly book options from The Priceline Group’s global hotel inventory in addition to the 235,000 properties that are already instantly bookable on TripAdvisor.” TripAdvisor’s stock, which is on track to open at the highest level since July 27, had tumbled 26% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 had lost 5%. Priceline’s stock gained 1% in premarket trade.

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

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – U.S. wholesale prices fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in September, largely because of the biggest drop in gasoline since the first month of the year. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had predicted a seasonally adjusted 0.2% decrease in the producer price index. Excluding the volatile categories of food, energy and trade, core prices dipped 0.3%, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The price of goods sank 1.2% while services declined 0.4%. Over the past year overall producer prices have fallen an unadjusted 1.1%, and the year-over-year increase has been negative for eight straight months. Core wholesale prices are up 0.5% in the past 12 months, however.

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

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Sales at U.S. retailers rose just 0.1% in September after no change in August, suggesting consumers pared spending toward the end of summer. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a seasonally adjusted 0.1% increase. Auto sales were strong once again, jumping 1.7%, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. And sales at gas stations fell as expected, down 3.2%, because of lower prices at the pump. Yet total sales excluding autos and gas were flat. Sales fell at Internet retailers, general stores, home centers, groceries and outlets that sell appliances and electronics. Sales rose again at restaurants and clothing stores. So-called control group sales that factor into GDP rose 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

Twitter Inc. was downgraded to market perform from market outperform at JMP Securities on Wednesday due to “limited visibility” around engagement growth. The downgrade comes a day after Twitter’s new permanent CEO Jack Dorsey announced plans to cut 8% of its workforce, or roughly 350 people. While the company’s new management should stabilize Twitter, analysts at JMP Securities said they continue to see engagement growing below that of industry peers, which they believe will impact monetization longer term. The job cuts, which mostly affect people in engineering roles, suggests that it could take time for the organization to return to growth and begin capitalizing on product innovation, engagement and monetization, the analysts said. While JMP previously had a $43 price target on Twitter’s stock, it believes the company now has an “implied valuation” in the low $30s. Shares of Twitter fell 0.8% in premarket trade, putting the stock on track to open around $28.83. Its shares are down 21% over the last three months, vastly underperforming the S&P 500, down 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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Oracle fell 1% in premarket trade after JMP Securities downgraded the stock to market underperform from market perform amid greater competition from Amazon Web Services . The analysts also reduced their price target to $31, which implies an 18% stock-price decline from Tuesday’s closing price. Shares of Oracle were on track to open down 1% to $37.43 on Wednesday. They have fallen 7.3% over the last three months, versus a 5% decline for the S&P 500. In addition to increased competition from Amazon, the JMP analysts pointed to customer dissatisfaction with Oracle’s pricing, concerns regarding the company’s aggressive sales incentives, and new corporate expense controls as reasons for the downgrade. The downgrade makes JMP one of the most bearish brokerages on Oracle. The average rating on the stock currently is overweight, according to a poll of more than 20 analysts on FactSet.

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

Consumer goods company Jarden Corp. has agreed to acquire Visant Holding Corp. from investment funds managed by KKR & Co., aPriori Capital Partners, and other stockholders for $1.5 billion, according to a release. Visant is parent company to Jostens Inc., the brand best known for its school yearbooks, caps and gowns, diplomas and other graduation items. The company, founded in 1897, generates about $740 million in revenue annually. Jostens will report as part of Jarden’s Outdoor Solutions Segment which, for the 12 months ended June 30, 2015, would have reported revenue totalling about $10 billion, the release said. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015. Jarden stock is up 5.9% for the year so far. The S&P is down 2.9% 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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News