Category: Stock Market News

Brazilian stocks suffered a blow in Monday’s trade after the country’s lower house of congress voted to impeach embattled President Dilma Rousseff over the weekend. The Bovespa index lost 0.8% to 52,972.89, with only two stocks trading in positive territory. Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies on Sunday voted 367-137 in favor of impeaching the leftist Brazilian leader, whose popularity has plunged recently as the country has slipped into recession. The upper house will now decide in coming days whether Rousseff will stand trial for allegedly violating Brazil’s budget laws. This means she could be forced from office just months before the nation hosts the Olympic Games. “A quick resolution would certainly be preferable to a long, drawn out affair, but we note that a new government can do little to drag the economy out of the doldrums,” said analysts at BBH in a note. “We suspect all of the good news (and then some) has already been priced in by the markets. While Brazilian assets should continue to participate in a wider EM rally, the days of massive outperformance are probably over for now,” they added.

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U.S. stocks opened lower Monday, tracking tumbling oil prices after a weekend meeting of major oil producers in Doha, Qatar, failed to reach an agreement on a production freeze. Losses were somewhat contained thanks to better-than-expected earnings reports from companies such as Morgan Stanley and Hasbro . The S&P 500 was off by 5 points, or 0.2% at 2,075. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 31 points, or 0.2%, at 17,864. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was off by 23 points, or 0.5%, at 4,916 at the open.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks opened lower Monday, tracking tumbling oil prices after a weekend meeting of major oil producers in Doha, Qatar, failed to reach an agreement on a production freeze. Losses were somewhat contained thanks to better-than-expected earnings reports from companies such as Morgan Stanley and Hasbro . The S&P 500 was off by 5 points, or 0.2% at 2,075. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 31 points, or 0.2%, at 17,864. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was off by 23 points, or 0.5%, at 4,916 at the open.

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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Carnival Corp. said that it may have to push back the May 1 start of travel to Cuba on its Fathom brand of cruises if an agreement isn’t reached with Cuban authorities that will allow Cuban-born passengers to travel to and from the island nation by boat. “As we continue our discussions with Cuba, and in anticipation of Fathom travelers being on equal footing with those who travel by air, we are accepting bookings from all travelers, including Cuba-born individuals,” said Carnival Chief Executive Arnold Donald in a note to employees obtained by MarketWatch. “However, if Cuba’s decision is delayed beyond May 1, we will delay the start of our sailings.” Cuba-born travelers are allowed to enter and leave the country by air, but the island nature has not allowed Cuba-born people to travel to or from the country by boat for decades, Arnold continued. Fathom, the newest Carnival brand that adds cultural immersion to the cruise experience, is set to begin sailing the 704-passenger Adonia cruise ship to Cuba every other week on May 1, the first time in more than 50 years that a cruise ship has traveled from the U.S. to Cuba. Carnival is asking that travelers by ship “be on a level playing field with air charter travel to Cuba,” according to a press release. Carnival shares are up 1.6% in premarket trading and up 8.5% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 is nearly flat for the past year.

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Pandora Media Inc. said Monday it has just hit the $2 billion milestone in royalty payments to artists and songwriters. The new milestone comes nine months after the online music service said it reached $1.5 billion. “The rapid acceleration of royalty payments from internet radio is very promising news for the industry,” said Chief Executive Tim Westergren. The company said it has nearly 80 million users spending an average of about 23 hours streaming music on its service every month. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has plunged 36% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.8%.

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Shares of Chiasma Inc. lost more than half their value in premarket trade Monday, after the Food and Drug Administration said the new drug application (NDA) for its treatment of a rare ailment related to the pituitary gland was not ready for approval in its present form. The stock was recently down 55% at $4.61, or less than a third of its initial public offering price of $16; the company went public on July 16. The FDA said Chiasma would need to conduct another clinical trial, as its NDA didn’t provide enough evidence of efficacy to warrant approval. “We are surprised, disappointed and respectfully disagree with the FDA’s decision,” said Chiasma Chief Executive Mark Leuchtenberger. “The FDA has encouraged us to request an end of review meeting with the agency to discuss the path forward, and we will do so.”

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Cvent Inc. said Monday it has agreed to be acquired by private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners in a deal valued at about $1.65 billion. The company, which provides cloud-based software for event planners, said its shareholders will receive $36 in cash per share, equal to a premium of about 69% over Cvent’s closing price in April 15, and a 70% premium over Cvent’s average closing price over the last 30 trading days. Cvent will become a privately held company once the deal closes, which the company expects to happen in the third quarter of 2016. Morgan Stanley acted as financial adviser to Cvent, while Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corp. served as legal adviser. Vista’s legal advisor was Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Shares were halted in premarket trade, but are down 39% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.8%.

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Shares of oil and gas companies took a dive in premarket trade Monday, after a failed deal among Middle East oil producers to curb production sent crude oil prices sharply lower. The SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF dropped 2.2% ahead of the open, with all of its components seeing premarket activity trading lower. Among the more active components, shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. shed 1.7%, of Chevron Corp. slid 1.7%, of Kinder Morgan Inc. slumped 2.7%, of Chesapeake Energy Corp. tumbled 6.1% and of Transocean Ltd. lost 4.2%. The selloff in the sector comes two sessions after the energy ETF closed at a 4 1/2-month high. May crude oil futures plunged 4%, as Iran’s refusal to show up at the meeting over the weekend prompted Saudi Arabia to walk away.

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Morgan Stanley said Monday it had net income of $1.1 billion, or 55 cents a share, in the first quarter, down from $2.4 billion, or $1.18 a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue fell to $7.8 billion from $9.9 billion a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 46 cents and revenue of $7.9 billion. “The first quarter was characterized by challenging market conditions and muted client activity,” Chief Executive James Gorman said in a statement. “While we see some signs of market recovery, global uncertainties continue to weigh on investor activity.” Revenue from fixed income and commodities fell to $873 million from $1.9 billion a year ago. Investment revenue fell to $3 million from $112 million. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 19% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.8%.

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PepsiCo Inc. reported first-quarter earnings that fell to $931 million, or 64 cents a share, from $1.22 billion, or 81 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share was 89 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 81 cents. Revenue declined 3% to $11.86 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $11.86 billion, as weakness in Quaker Foods North America and Latin America sales offset strength in North America beverages and Frito-Lay North America. The beverage and snack giant affirmed its 2016 outlook for core revenue growth of 4% and EPS of $4.66. The FactSet 2016 EPS consensus of $4.70. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has climbed 3.9% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.8.%.

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