Category: Stock Market News

Gold prices settled lower Monday as Italian voters rejected constitutional reforms as expected and prospects that the Federal Reserve may tighten monetary policy at an accelerated pace rose. Gold for February delivery declined $1.30, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,176.50 an ounce. Meanwhile, silver for March delivery settled up 6.7 cents, or 0.4%, at $16.90 an ounce.

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Amazon.com Inc. shares are up 2.6% in Monday trading, on track to snap a five-session losing streak, after the e-commerce giant announced the new Amazon Go app, coming in early 2017. Amazon shares have lost 5.1% over the past five days. Unveiled via video available on the Amazon Twitter page, details so far are few, but the video shows customers walking into a store, activating the app, and then shopping freely. The clip promises “no lines, no checkout,” saying that technology including AI and machine learning has been “woven into the fabric” of the store so shoppers won’t have to stop at a register to tally their purchase. Amazon gives a Seattle address at the end of the clip where the store seemingly will be located. Amazon stock is up 12.4% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 8% for the same period.

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The overall wearables market grew 3.1% in the third quarter, led by demand for fitness bands, which outpaced sales of smartwatches like Apple Watch and Samsung Gear, according to new data from industry tracker IDC. Roughly 23 million wearables were shipped last quarter, with basic wearables, mostly comprised of fitness bands, accounting for 85% of the market and growing at a double-digit pace. Fitbit Inc. maintained its place as the market leader, capturing a 23% share, with shipments growing 11% year-over-year. Xiaomi, Garmin , Apple and Samsung rounded out the top five, however Apple’s shipments tumbled 71% year-over-year, reducing its share to 1.1% versus 3.9% last year. Samsung’s shipments, meanwhile, soared 90%, boosting its share to 1% from 0.5% a year ago. Shares of Apple fell 0.3% to $109.57 in late-morning trade Monday, while those of Fitbit rose 1.8% to $8.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%.

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Food company General Mills Inc. on Monday unveiled a new organizational structure aimed at boosting growth and helping the company scale internationally. The company is eliminating the role of international chief operating officer and creating four business groups that will report directly to Jeff Harmening, the company’s new chief operating officer. The groups are North America Retail, Europe & Australia, Asia & Latin America and Convenience Stores and Foodservice. The company will align its current dairy strategic brand unit, based in France, to the new structure, and will work with Harmening to explore opportunities. General Mills said it’s the number two company globally in yogurt and super-premium ice cream, thanks to brands including Yoplait and Haagen-Dazs. The overhaul will impact 400 to 600 jobs. “The capability investments and savings generated by these changes will help us deliver our fiscal 2018 adjusted operating profit margin target of 20 percent,”said Harmening. Shares were trading flat, but are up 5.7% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained about 8%.

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Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. surged 2.9% in active morning trade Monday, after the oil and gas company announced $450 million in asset sales. Trading volume of 17.7 million shares makes the stock the second-most active on the major U.S. exchanges. The company said it reached a deal to sell a portion of the acreage and properties in its Haynesville Shale area in northern Louisiana, including 78,000 net acres, to a private company. Chesapeake said it has now reached $2 billion in gross proceeds from asset sales, as part of its long-term target to reach $2 billion to $3 billion in debt reduction. Analyst Neal Dingmann reiterated his buy rating on the company, saying the deal should help the company reach its leverage goals. “Our thesis remains that the company’s massive acreage position…ensures adequate upcoming liquidity/leverage growth,” Dingmann wrote in a note to clients. The stock

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Dutch company Travel B.V. on Monday filed for an initial public offering of its travel site Trivago, filing to sell 28.5 million American depositary shares of the company priced at $13 to $15 a pop. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it has applied to list the shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “TVRG.” The company, which is known in the U.S. from its television ads, will offer Class A shares and Class B shares, with the latter to be held solely by Expedia Inc. and its subsidiaries. Each Class A share will have a nominal value of EUR0.06, said the filing. J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are lead underwriters, with Allen & Co. LLC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi. Deutsche Bank, Cowen and Co. and Guggenheim Securities acting as co-bookrunners.

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Shares of McDonald’s Corp. climbed 1.1% in morning trade Monday, after the fast food giant was upgraded by Instinet analyst Mark Kalinowski, who said investor fears about slowing same-store sales are overblown. Kalinowski raised his rating to buy from neutral, and lifted his stock price target to $139–16% above current levels–from $126. “Our checks suggest that November should end up as one of the best same-store sales months for the quick-service burger sector in 2016, with McDonald’s playing a key role in this despite lapping difficult comparisons,” Kalinowski wrote in a note to clients. He said that although it is difficult to pinpoint the reason for the same-store sales improvement, it is nevertheless important that sales don’t appear as bad as anticipated. “Once investors obtain more comfort with this, those that have been avoiding the stock due to these difficult comparisons may choose to re-enter it,” Hargreaves said. The stock has gained 1.2% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has run up 11%.

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The Dow industrials on Monday opened at an all-time high as crude-oil prices extended last week’s OPEC-inspired rally, and as investors dismissed concerns about the outcome of Italy’s referendum on Sunday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 85 points, or 0.5%, at 19,260, the S&P 500 index began trade 9 points, or 0.4%, higher at 2,201, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 27 points, or 0.5%, at 5,282. On Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation after a vote to reform existing rules that might make it easier for euroskeptics to take power in the country was rejected. The rejection of the referendum raises questions about the shared European currency, the euro, which roiled markets earlier in the New York day. But the resumption of crude-oil futures climb, after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reached a pact last week to curb production, has helped to lift appetite for assets perceived as risky, like stocks. On the corporate side, shares of Visa led the Dow industrials in early trade, while UnitedHealth Group Inc. shares were the biggest laggards among blue-chip names.

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Under Armour Inc. announced Monday that it signed a 10-year deal with Major League Baseball to be the exclusive provider of on-field uniforms, its first-ever deal with a professional sports league. The deal, which begins with the 2020 MLB season, will include jerseys, game-day outerwear, year-round training apparel and an assortment of merchandise for fans. “This is a watershed moment for the Under Armour brand as this partnership with MLB and Fanatics furthers our collective dedication to bringing passion, energy and innovation to the game of baseball,” said Under Armour Chief Executive Kevin Plank. The stock, which tacked on 0.8% in morning trade, has tumbled 27% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 7.7%.

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Liberty Mutual Insurance said Monday it has agreed to buy Ironshore Inc. from Fosun International Ltd. in a deal valued at about $3 billion. Ironshore will continue to operate with the same management team and brand. The company had gross premiums written of $2.2 billion in 2015 and operates out of hubs in the U.S., Bermuda and London.

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