Category: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks traded modestly lower Thursday as a recent rally, which has propelled equities toward record highs, eased. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61 points, or 0.3%, at 17,941, while the S&P 500 declined 9 points, or 0.4%, to 2,109. The Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 23 points, or 0.5%, to 4,951. Moves in stocks came as the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasurys touched their lowest level in four months, at 1.67%. The market was little-changed after a reading of employment, released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, showed that initial jobless claims in early June fell to 264,000. In stock movers, shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. helped lead the market lower as crude-oil prices retreated off 11-month highs set on Wednesday.

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Global PC shipments in 2016 is expected to decline more than previously expected, as market conditions have been weaker than expected, according to International Data Corp. Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. Shipments are forecast to decline 7.3% from last year, which is about 2% below earlier projections, IDC said. In the first quarter, shipments dropped 12.5% from a year ago, compared with IDC’s previous forecast of an 11.3% decline, given unfavorable currency movements, depressed commodity prices, political uncertainty and project delays. “The latest update reflects continuing pressure on PC shipments, but does not significantly change the factors driving the market,” said Loren Loverde, vice president, Worldwide Tracker Forecasting and PC research. “In addition, we have now had four consecutive quarters of double-digit volume declines. This type of prolonged slump is unprecedented, and lowers the bar for some improvement going forward.”

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Treasury prices soared Thursday, pushing yields to their lowest level since Feb. 11, amid a global sovereign-bond rally that also pushed European bond yields to record lows. The yield on the 10-year note , the Treasury market’s benchmark, lost 3.6 basis points to 1.673%, its lowest level since Feb. 11, according to Tradeweb. Meanwhile, the yield on the two-year Treasury was down 1.6 basis point at 0.767%, its lowest level since May 13 , and the 30-year yield lost 3.9 basis points to 2.476%. Bond yields fall when prices rise and vice versa.

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The Los Angeles Police Department has selected electric vehicles provided by German carmaker BMW for community outreach and other police business over California-based Tesla Motors Inc. , the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. BMW will lease 100 of its i3 all-electric plug-in vehicles to the LAPD, bringing the size of the police department’s fleet to 200. The LAPD has tested Telsa’s P85D, a variant of its Model S, over the past year, the paper reported. The BMW model is cheaper at about $42,000, or less than half the price of the Tesla model. In good news for Tesla, Police Chief Charlie Beck said the department will continue to work with BMW, Tesla and other carmakers to create a better electric vehicle. “We want to go to the next step,” he said, according to the Times. “They will absolutely be the patrol cars of the future.”

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TheStreet Inc. said Thursday it has named David Callaway, editor-in-chief of USA Today, as its chief executive, replacing Larry Kramer, who will resume the position of non-executive chairman. Callaway is a former editor-in-chief of MarketWatch, the publisher of this report. He was most recently head of USA Today, where he helped grow the digital news group to fifth-largest in the U.S., according to a press statement. At TheStreet, he will be tasked with growing the consumer and business-to-business divisions. TheStreet shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 19% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 3.7%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

TheStreet Inc. said Thursday it has named David Callaway, editor-in-chief of USA Today, as its chief executive, replacing Larry Kramer, who will resume the position of non-executive chairman. Callaway is a former editor-in-chief of MarketWatch, the publisher of this report. He was most recently head of USA Today, where he helped grow the digital news group to fifth-largest in the U.S., according to a press statement. At TheStreet, he will be tasked with growing the consumer and business-to-business divisions. TheStreet shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 19% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 3.7%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said Thursday it is reorganizing its management team as it continues to work to integrate Walgreens and Alliance Boots. The company said it has named Alex Gourlay, executive vice president of Walgreems Boots Alliance and President of Walgreens, and Ornella Barra, executive vice president of Walgreens Boots Alliance and president and chief executive of global wholesale and international retail, as co-chief operating officers. Gourlay will oversee Walgreens and Boots, while Barra will supervise global brands, human resources and other business services. Separately, the company said Simon Roberts, executive vice president of Walgreens Boots Alliance and president of Boots, will leave the company in July to pursue other opportunities. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 6.7% while the S&P 500 has gained 3.7%.

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Shares of SolarCity Corp. surged 3.2% in premarket trade Thursday, after the solar power company was upgraded at RW Baird, on the belief that regulatory worries are overdone. Analyst Ben Kallo, who raised his rating to outperform from neutral, said he also believes the recent multiple financing deals SolarCity announced suggests should alleviate any concerns over the company’s balance sheet and access to liquidity. Kallo suggests investors may have overreacted to concerns over regulatory issues, such as NV Energy’s recent decision to cut net metering benefits, because support for solar in most net-metering cases. “We believe negative sentiment is overdone on one of the leading U.S. rooftop installer, and think shares are attractive at current levels,” Kallo wrote in a note to clients. The stock has plunged 55% year to date through Wednesday, while SPDR Utilities Select Sector ETF has run up 16% and the S&P 500 had gained 3.7%.

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Tempur Sealy International Inc. on Thursday said its board agreed to increase the company’s share buyback program by $200 million. The mattress and bedding company has spent about $195 million to buy back 3.4 million shares since the buyback program was announced in early February, according to a news release. After the approved increase, Tempur Sealy has about $205 million remaining for future buybacks. Shares of Tempur Sealy are down nearly 11% in the year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 Index, which is up almost 4%.

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The yield on the Britain’s benchmark government bond hit a record low Thursday, underscoring a recent rally among European bonds. The yield on the 10-year gilt hit an all-time low of 1.222%, according to Tradeweb. Yields move in opposite direction to prices. Investors appeared to be seeking the relative safety of bonds before the June 23 Brexit referendum in the U.K.​, which will ask voters whether​ the country should leave the European Union. After the European Central Bank on Wednesday kicked off its program of corporate-bond purchases, Germany’s 10-year bund yield touched an all-time low of 0.03%. On Thursday, the bund yield was down 1 basis point at 0.043%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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