Category: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, boosted by better-than-expected results from a number of major companies, including ConocoPhillips [S: COP] and Twitter [S: TWTR]. Both stocks rose, with Twitter surging 3.9% and Conoco up 1.8%. A drop in weekly jobless claims, the latest positive sign for the labor market, added to the positive tone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average [S: DJIA] rose 51.3 points, or 0.3%, to 18,252. The S&P 500 [S: SPX] gained 7 points, or 0.3%, to trade at 2,146. The Nasdaq Composite Index [S: COMP] opened 23 points higher, for a gain of 0.4%, trading at 5,273.

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday that it’s adding “holiday helpers” at store checkouts, starting Nov. 4. These staffers will direct customers to the shortest lines, open additional registers and grab items that shoppers forgot to add to their carts, among other duties. The retailer says there are five times as many same-day pickup orders during the holiday shopping weeks, so it is also adding staff to help with pickup service. Wal-Mart shares are up 0.2% in premarket trading, and up 13.5% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 4.7% for 2016 to date.

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Gannett Co. Inc. on Thursday reported a loss of $24.24 million, or 21 cents per share for the third quarter vs. earnings of $39.17 million, or 33 cents per share during the same period last year. Adjusted earnings for the quarter were 6 cents, well below FactSet’s 19 cents per-share consensus. Revenue hit $772.32 million during the quarter, compared with $701.24 million a year ago. Revenue was above FactSet’s consensus of $752.00 million. Gannett expects fourth-quarter revenue to see a 14% to 16% increase, while FactSet implies an 8.3% increase. Shares were inactive premarket, but are down more than 39% in the year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up nearly 5%.

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HCA Holdings Inc. shares rose as much as 4.2% in premarket trade Thursday after the company reported better than expected profit. Net income for the latest quarter rose to $618 million, or $1.59 per share, from $449 million, or $1.05 per share, in the year-earlier period. The FactSet earnings-per-share consensus was $1.42. The latest results include a reduction in its income tax provision, an $11 million tax benefit and $11 million legal claim costs. Revenue rose to $10.27 billion from $9.86 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $10.37 billion. HCA stock rose 16.7% year-to-date, compared with a 4.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. shares rose 2.7% in Thursday premarket trading after the beverage company reported third-quarter earnings that beat estimates. The company said it had net income of $240 million, or $1.29 per share, up from $202 million, or $1.05 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.17, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.11. Revenue for the quarter was $1.68 billion, up from $1.63 billion and above the FactSet estimate of $1.65 billion. The water category grew 16% with strength in the Bai, Fiji and Aguafiel brands. The company also saw growth across carbonated beverages including Schweppes (9%), Squirt (7%) and Crush (4%). The company continues to expect full-year sales growth of 2% and now expects adjusted EPS in the range of $4.32 to $4.40. The FactSet EPS consensus is $4.37. Dr. Pepper Snapple shares are down nearly 5% for the year so far while the S&P 500 Index is up 4.7% for the same period.

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Shares of Twitter Inc. soared in premarket trade Thursday on the back of third-quarter, a welcome change for investors following a 1 1/2-year string of disappointing results. The stock had dropped sharply on the day following the past six quarterly results, by an average of 10%. The stock shot up 5.2% ahead of the open. Volume spiked to 2.2 million shares, about an hour after results were released, compared with a full-day average of about 45.2 million shares. The stock has tumbled 25% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 4.7%.

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United Parcel Service Inc. reported third-quarter earnings that rose to $1.27 billion, or $1.44 a share, from $1.26 billion, or $1.39 a share, in the same period a year ago. That matched the FactSet consensus of $1.44. Revenue rose 4.9% to $14.9 billion from $14.2 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $14.7 billion. U.S. domestic package revenue increased 4.8% to $9.3 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $9.0 billion, while international package revenue growth of 2.2% to $3.0 billion matched expectations and supply chain and freight revenue growth of 8.1% to $2.62 billion fell just shy of expectations of $2.66 billion. The package delivery giant affirmed its 2016 adjusted earnings per share outlook of $5.70 to $5.90. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has climbed 13% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 4.7%.

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Wayfair Inc. has partnered with financial services company Affirm to provide a new financing option that will allow customers to make their home furnishings purchases using monthly payments. Wayfair already has a private label credit card. Wayfair customers can select Affirm at checkout to view their monthly payments. Wayfair shares are down 27.5% for the year so far while the S&P 500 Index is up 4.7%.

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ConocoPhillips shares are up 0.3% in Thursday premarket trading after the energy company provided upbeat full-year outlook. ConocoPhillips reported a net loss of $1.0 billion, or 84 cents per share, compared with aloss of $1.1 billion, or 87 cents per share, for the same period last year. The adjusted loss was 66 cents per share against a FactSet consensus of a loss of 68 cents per share. ConocoPhillips increased the midpoint of full-year production guidance to 1,565 million barrels oil equivalent per day (MBOED) after third-quarter production reached 1,557 MBOED. Production guidance excludes Libya. The company also lowered its 2016 capital expenditures guidance to $5.2 billion from $5.5 billion. ConocoPhillips shares are down 10.5% for the year so far, while the S&P 500 Index is up 4.7% for the same period.

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Sirius XM Holdings Inc. shares rose 2.6% in premarket trade Thursday after the company matched third-quarter earnings expectations. Net income for the latest quarter rose to $194 million, or 4 cents per share, from $167 million, or 3 cents per share in the year-earlier period. The FactSet earnings-per-share consensus was 4 cents. Revenue rose to $1.28 billion from $1.17 billion, compared to the FactSet consensus of $1.27 billion. Sirius said it would distribute its first quarterly dividend of 1 cent per share, payable on Nov. 30. The company plans to add $2 billion to their share buyback program, bringing its total share buyback authorization to $10 billion, $7.6 billion of which it has already bought back. The company also raised its revenue guidance for 2016 to about $5 billion. Sirius shares rose 4.2% year-to-date, compared with a 4.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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