Category: Stock Market News

eBay Inc. shares jumped Wednesday afternoon after the e-commerce company announced a slight earnings beat and additional stock repurchases. eBay reported net income of $437 million, or 38 cents a share, on revenue of $2.23 billion; after adjustments for stock-based compensation and other factors, the company claimed profit of 43 cents a share. Analysts on average expected eBay to report adjusted profit of 42 cents a share on revenue of $2.17 billion, according to FactSet. eBay also said it would extend a stock-repurchase plan, with the board approving an additional $2.5 billion in buybacks. Shares gained about 6% in late trading after closing with a 1.9% gain at $26.99.

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After a huge drop in profit the previous quarter, Qualcomm Inc. bounced back with gains according to a Wednesday earnings report, and shares gained more than 5% in late trading. The San Diego mobile-chip company reported earnings of $1.2 billion, or 97 cents a share, on sales of $6 billion; after adjustments for stock-based compensation and other factors, the company reported profit of $1.16 per share. Analysts on average expected adjusted earnings of 98 cents a share on sales of $5.6 billion, according to FactSet. Shares neared $59 in late trading after closing with a gain of 1.2% at $55.82.

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American Express Co. shares rose nearly 2% late Wednesday as the credit card company surpassed earnings expectations. American Express said it earned $2 billion, or $2.10 a share, in the second quarter, compared with $1.42 a share in the year-ago period. Revenue hit $8.23 billion, down slightly from $8.28 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected American Express to report adjusted earnings of $1.96 a share on sales of $8.28 billion. American Express said its bottom line included a $1.1 billion ($677 million after taxes) gain from the sale of its Costco co-brand card portfolio and a $232 million charge to cover its efforts to reduce costs. Shares had ended the regular trading session up 0.5%.

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​Shares of Intel Corp. slid in Wednesday’s extended session after the semiconductor giant’s quarterly earnings beat while revenue missed expectations slightly. Intel reported its second-quarter profit sank to $1.3 billion, or 27 cents a share, from $2.7 billion, or 55 cents a share, a year ago. On an adjusted basis, Intel would have earned 59 cents a share. Revenue edged up 3% to $13.5 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast the company to earn 54 cents a share on revenue of $13.56 billion. For the third quarter, Intel projected revenue of $14.9 billion, plus or minus $500 million, and gross margin of 60%, give or take a “couple of percentage points.” Intel shares fell 3% in after-hours trading.​

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U.S. stocks ended higher Wednesday, buoyed by a surge in tech stocks after a flurry of corporate earnings beat investors’ lowered expectations. The Dow industrials rose 36.16 points, or 0.2%, to 18,595.1, setting a closing record for the seventh day in a row. The blue-chip gauge was boosted by a 5.3% rise in Microsoft Corp. . The S&P 500 rose 9.24 points, or 0.4%, to close at 2,173.02, also an all-time closing high, led by a 1.4% gain in tech stocks. Utilities were leading the losses, down 0.5%. The Nasdaq gained 53.56 points, or 1.1%, to finish at 5,089.93, its highest close of the year.

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Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is joining Airbnb, the home rental company, to come up with an anti-discrimination policy for the platform, the company said Wednesday. In a blog post, Brian Chesky, the company’s chief executive, said the hire comes as Airbnb works to fight “bias and discrimination” on the platform, a concern that users had expressed to the company. “While we have a policy that prohibits discrimination, we want this policy to be stronger,” he wrote in a blog post. Laura Murphy, a former executive with the American Civil Liberties Union, is leading a review process on bias and discrimination that the company began in June.

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Gold futures settled lower Wednesday, at their lowest level in about three weeks, as some strength in the U.S. dollar and equities drew investors’ attention away from the precious metal. Gold for August delivery fell $13, or 1%, to settle at $1,319.30 an ounce. That was the lowest finish since June 28, according to FactSet. September silver, meanwhile, fell 39.4 cents, or 2%, to end at $19.613 an ounce–a level not seen since July 1.

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Kroger Co. said Wednesday that Axium Pharmacy Holdings will acquire Modern HC Holdings to create a combined specialty pharmacy that will operate as a wholly-owned Kroger subsidiary. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Kroger acquired Axium Pharmacy in November 2012. It is the fifth-largest pharmacy operator in the U.S., according to a statement, with 2,230 pharmacy locations and 195 locations of The Little Clinic, a healthcare provider Kroger acquired in 2010. The Axium merger with Modern HC will expand Kroger’s specialty pharmacy business into new western and southwestern U.S. territories and into new offerings, such as therapies for immune difficiency diseases. The new combined company will be headquartered in Lake Mary, Fla. and will employ 800 associates. Dom Meffe, the chief executive of Modern HC, will be the chief executive of the combined company. Axium Chief Executive Mark Montgomery will announce his plans at a later date. Kroger shares are up 0.9% in Wednesday trading, but down 12.7% for the year to date. The S&P 500 is up 6.3% for the year so far.

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Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings on Wednesday downgraded ratings on the Republic of Turkey, and said the attempted coup at the weekend has further eroded the country’s institutional checks and balances. “In addition, we expect a period of heightened unpredictability that could constrain capital inflows into Turkey’s externally leveraged economy,” the agency said in a statement. S&P lowered Turkey’s foreign currency rating to BB from BB-plus, pushing it further into speculative, or “junk” status. It said the outlook is negative, meaning it could lower the rating again in the medium term. “The negative outlook reflects our view that Turkey’s economic, fiscal, and debt metrics could deteriorate beyond what we expect, if political uncertainty contributed to further weakening in the investment environment, potentially intensifying balance-of-payment pressures,” said the statement. On Monday, Moody’s Investors Service placed Turkey on review for a possible downgrade as it assesses the fallout from the coup. The iShares MSCI Turkey ETF was down 2% Wednesday, while Turkcell , the only Turkish company to be listed on a U.S. exchange, was down 1%.

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Meat processor Bar-S Foods Company will recall 372,684 pounds of hot dogs and corn dogs that are potentially contaminated with listeria, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Wednesday. Though test results for the recalled products haven’t yet been received, recurring listeria issues at the company prompted the decision as a precautionary measure, according to a USDA release. The ready-to-eat products include chicken and pork hot dogs and corn dog products produced between July 10 and July 13 that were shipped nationwide. Of particular concern is customers who have the frozen products in their freezer, the release said. Eating listeria-contaminated food can cause the serious infection listeriosis.

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