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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Sales of new single-family homes rebounded in July after a sharp decline in June, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Sales of new single-family homes rose 5.4% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 507,000 after a 7.7% decline in the prior month. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected an annual rate of 510,000 in July, compared with an originally estimated June rate of 482,000. On Tuesday, the government revised July’s rate slightly to 481,000. Sales of new homes in July were up 25.8% from a year earlier. The median price of new homes hit $285,900 in July, up 2.0% from the year-earlier period. The supply of new homes on the U.S. market fell to 5.2 months in July from 5.3 months in June.

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From:: Stock Market News

​WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)- Consumer confidence ​rose in August to the highest level since January and the second highest level since the end of the recession. The consumer confidence index climbed to 101.5 from a revised 91.0 in July, the Conference Board said Tuesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had projected the index to rise to 94.0. The present situation index, a measure of current conditions, soared to a postrecession high of 115.1 from 104 in July. The future expectations index increased to 92.5 from 82.3. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was considerably more upbeat, primarily due to a more favorable appraisal of the labor market. The uncertainty expressed last month about the short-term outlook has dissipated and consumers are once again feeling optimistic about the near future,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at board.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The federal government will run a budget deficit of $426 billion in fiscal 2015, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Tuesday. That is $60 billion less than the shortfall the nonpartisan CBO projected in March. The CBO said the new estimate is largely a reflection of greater-than-anticipated receipts of individual and corporate income taxes. The projected 2015 deficit would be the smallest since 2007, and represent 2.4% of gross domestic product. As a result of the new estimate, the CBO now projects the government will hit its borrowing limit in November or December. The agency had previously said the Treasury would exhaust its capacity to borrow in October or November. The deficit for fiscal 2014 was $485 billion. The government’s fiscal year runs from October through September.

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From:: Stock Market News

The New York Stock Exchange has invoked a rule intended to facilitate a smooth opening to trading during what’s expected to be a bumpy period
Tuesday. So-called Rule 48 was used yesterday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,000 points at Monday’s open, eventually rebounding somewhat to close off nearly 600 points in whipsawing action. On Tuesday, the Dow jumped 389 points, or 2.4%, at 16,261.

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From:: Stock Market News

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. rebounded along with a host of other tech stocks Tuesday morning, moving its shares back above the price commanded in its record-breaking initial public offering. The Chinese e-commerce giant opened with a 5.4% jump at $68.84 Tuesday, a day after it fell below the $68 IPO price for the first time. Alibaba Chief Executive Daniel Zhang asked employees to be calm about the declining share price in a letter earlier Tuesday, writing, “Do not let the fog cloud your vision; broaden your horizons to see the bigger picture.”

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Netflix Inc. bounced back, climbing as much as 8% in the market open on Tuesday. This comes a day after Netflix closed down 6.8%, entering bear market territory, and the media sector suffered selloffs across the board in what’s been labeled “Black Monday.” The Walt Disney Co. and AMC Networks Inc. climbed 3% in the open, while Viacom Inc. and Time Warner Inc. opened up 2%. The S&P bounced back more than 2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Energy, mining and materials stocks rallied sharply Tuesday as the market staged a rebound from Monday’s steep selloff. The S&P 500 Energy subsector led the index higher, climbing 2.8% in early trading. Among individual stocks, Transocean Ltd. gained 5.4%, NRG Energy rose 4.3% and Dow Chemcial Co. gained 3.6%. Mining giant Freeport McMoRan gained about 3%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of all 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average are surging in premarket trade Tuesday, which points toward a snapping of the three-session streak in which all 30 components closed lower. Among the best early performers, shares of Apple Inc. climbed 5.8%, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. rose 4.1%, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. rallied 3.6% and Merck & Co. jumped 3.6%. The stocks gaining the least among the Dow 30 were those of McDonald’s Corp. , up 2.3%, and DuPont Co. , up 2.3%. Dow futures had surged 593 points in recent trade, which would retrace about 40% of the 1,478-point tumble of the past three sessions.

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From:: Stock Market News

Apple Inc.’s stock soared 5.8% in premarket trade Tuesday, bouncing off Monday’s 10-month low close, with Wall Street analysts rushing to the technology giant’s defense. Apple’s stock has been hit particularly hard recently–it tumbled 22% from June 20 through Monday, while the S&P 500 has dropped 11%–on fears over the company’s exposure to a slowing Chinese economy. Apple’s derives 16% of its revenue from China, according to FactSet. Analyst Brian White at Cantor Fitzgerald said China concerns are “way overblown,” and the recent market selloff has taken Apple’s stock to “severely depressed valuation levels.” He believes the 4G expansion in China, the rise of the middle class there and Apple’s expansion across the country “will continue to provide big opportunities for growth at Apple.” RBC Capital analyst Amit Daryanani said recent comments by Apple CEO Tim Cook suggest July and August have been strong, in China specifically. Daryanani reminded that even when U.S. markets went through a severe correction in 2008 to 2009, Apple’s U.S. revenue were up 29% and iPhone shipments increased more than 70%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Best Buy Co. Inc.’s stock soared 12% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the electronics and appliance retailer reported fiscal second-quarter profit and sales that rose well above expectations. For the quarter ended Aug. 1, net earnings came in at $164 million, or 46 cents a share, compared with $146 million, or 39 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as one-time restructuring charges, adjusted earnings per share were 49 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 34 cents. Revenue grew to $8.53 billion from $8.46 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $8.29 billion. Same-store sales rose 3.8%, above the FactSet consensus of 0.9% growth, with domestic sales growth of 2.7% beating expectations of a 1.3% rise. “We believe these better-than-expected second quarter results are affirmation that our strategy of offering advice, service and convenience at competitive prices is paying off,” said Chief Executive Hubert Joly. The stock has tumbled 25% year to date to close at a one-year low on Monday, while the S&P 500 has lost 8.1%.

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From:: Stock Market News