Category: Stock Market News

Protesters with the Black Lives Matter UK group on Friday shut down the roadway heading into London’s Heathrow Airport and disrupted transportation in other U.K. cities, according to reports. A small group of protesters blocked cars on the M4 motorway and some had chained themselves to the tarmac on the road going into Heathrow, according to The Independent newspaper. Black Lives Matter UK staged a national day of action to mark the fifth year since the shooting death of 29-year-old Mark Duggan by police in London. Black Lives Matter UK said on its Twitter page that at least four people were arrested at Heathrow. In Birmingham, five people were arrested for obstructing the main road into Birmingham Airport, The Telegraph newspaper reported. Activists shut down tram lines in Nottingham’s city center, Black Lives Matter UK said on Twitter.

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Shares of Symantec Corp. rallied in Thursday’s extended session after the cybersecurity company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Symantec reported its fiscal first-quarter earnings rose to $135 million, or 22 cents a share, from $117 million, or 17 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding certain items, the company would have earned 29 cents a share. Revenue fell 3% to $884 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 25 cents a share on revenue of $877 million. For the current quarter, the company expects revenue of $960 million to $990 million and earnings per share of 18 cents to 21 cents on an adjusted basis. Symantec climbed 4.9% after hours.

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Shares of Weight Watchers International Inc. plunged late Thursday after the company reported second-quarter sales below Wall Street expectations. Weight Watchers said it earned $31 million, or 46 cents a share, compared with $28 million, or 49 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales reached $310 million in the quarter, unchanged from the year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report earnings of 46 cents a share on sales of $318 million. Shares fell 8% after hours after ending the regular session up 5.4%.

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Activision Blizzard Inc. earnings results came in better than expected Thursday, and the video game publisher’s stock added about 3% in late trading. The company reported profit of 17 cents a share on sales of $1.57 billion; after adjustments, Activision claimed a profit of 45 cents a share. Analysts on average expected adjusted profit of 42 cents on sales of $1.45 billion, according to FactSet. Chief Executive Bobby Kotick credited the May launch of “Overwatch,” along with continued strong performance from the newest “Call of Duty” and acquisition King Digital’s “Candy Crush” series for the performance, and raised the company’s annual guidance. Activision now forecasts full-year profit of 87 cents a share on sales of $6.4 billion. Activision stock topped $41.50 in late trading after closing with a 1.1% gain at $40.83.

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Shares of Priceline Group Inc. surged 4.1% in after-hours trade Thursday, after the online travel booking company beat profit expectations by a wide margin and provided an in-line outlook, which offset a slight sales miss. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $580.6 million, or $11.60 a share, from $517.0 million, or $9.94 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $13.93, well above the FactSet consensus of $12.67. Revenue rose to $2.56 billion from $2.28 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $2.59 billion, as agency and merchant revenue both missed expectations, while advertising and other revenue topped forecasts. For the third quarter, Priceline expects adjusted EPS of $28.30 to $29.80, surrounding the FactSet consensus of $28.98. In nine of the previous 10 quarterly reports, Priceline had provided an earnings outlook that was below expectations, then beat those lowered expectations in the following earnings report. The stock had run up 6.7% year to date through Thursday’s close, while the S&P 500 had gained 5.9%.

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LinkedIn Corp. reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and sales on Thursday, as it continued to grow premium membership and sold more recruiting tools and sponsored content. The professional social network recorded a far worse loss compared with the year-earlier period, with its total loss falling to $119 million, or 89 cents a share, compared with a loss of $68 million, or 53 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. But excluding one-time costs, such as stock-based compensation, the company reported non-GAAP earnings of $1.13 a share, beating the 78-cent consensus estimate on FactSet. Revenue for the period rose to $932.7 million from $712 million in the year-earlier period, beating the Street view of $899 million. Shares of LinkedIn rose 0.3% to $192.57 in after-hours trade. The stock has risen 54% in the past three months, far outperforming the S&P 500 , which is up just 5.5%. Most of those gains occurred after Microsoft Corp. announced plans in June to buy LinkedIn for $26 billion.

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Oil futures ended with strong gains Thursday. September West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.10, or 2.7%, to close at $41.93 a barrel, building on a 3.3% rise scored Wednesday after weekly data showed a much larger-than-expected drop in gasoline inventories. Oil futures have rebounded after hitting a three-month low below $40 a barrel earlier in the week.

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Gold futures end moderately higher Thursday, following the Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 and unveil a batch of measures aimed at stimulating the country’s economy in the wake of the U.K. vote to exit the European Union. December gold rose $2.70, or 0.2%, to close at $1,367.40 an ounce. The BOE’s rate cut, and easing measures unfurled by the Bank of Japan earlier in the week, are being viewed as supportive to the long-term outlook for gold prices.

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Gold futures end moderately higher Thursday, following the Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 and unveil a batch of measures aimed at stimulating the country’s economy in the wake of the U.K. vote to exit the European Union. December gold rose $2.60, or 0.2%, to close at $1,367.30 an ounce. The BOE’s rate cut, and easing measures unfurled by the Bank of Japan earlier in the week, are being viewed as supportive to the long-term outlook for gold prices.

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Shares of First Hawaiian Inc., a bank holding company, opened at $24.20 Thursday, 5.2% above the company’s issue price in its market debut on the Nasdaq. First Hawaiian sold 12.1 million shares at $23 per share to raise about $485 million. The company itself will not receive any proceeds from the sale. The offering is being underwritten by Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Securities and J.P. Morgan.

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