Category: Stock Market News

Under Armour Inc. affirmed Friday its 2016 revenue outlook, as the athletic gear maker attempted to dispel concerns about the impact of the bankruptcy of The Sports Authority, which is one of its customers, earlier this week. Under Armour said it still expects full-year revenue of $4.95 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $4.99 billion. Under Armour said it did not believe that the exposure to its receivables from The Sports Authority “is materially impacted by these developments,” the company said in a statement. The company plans to offset impact of the bankruptcy through continued sales to The Sports Authority and sales through other customers. Since The Sports Authority declared bankruptcy before the March 2 opening bell, Under Armour’s stock had declined 2.2% while the S&P 500 had gained 0.8%. The stock was still inactive ahead of Friday’s open.

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The dollar strengthened against its main rivals Friday after data from the Labor Department showed the U.S. economy created more jobs in February than economists had expected. The dollar jumped to 114.10 yen after the data, up from 113.81 yen shortly before. The euro fell to $1.0927, from $1.0970 before. The pound fell to $1.4129, from $1.4145. The U.S. economy added 242,000 jobs in February according to the data, exceeding expectations for a gain of 198,000. Last month’s initial reading of 151,000 new jobs was also revised higher to 172,000. But the report did include one notable blemish: Average hourly wages, a key measure of inflation, declined by 0.1%. Economists had expected wages to rise by 0.2%.

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Treasury yields climbed Friday to their highest level in a month after the Labor Department said that the U.S. generated 242,000 new jobs in February, beating economists’ expectations of 198,000 new jobs. Continued strength in the labor market could keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates further this year, after December ushered in the first hike in nearly a decade. Yet despite the big gain in new jobs, average hourly wages fell by 0.1%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, the Treasury market’s benchmark, gained 5.5 basis points to 1.885%, its highest level since Feb. 1, according to Tradeweb. The 2-year yield gained 3.3 basis points to 0.878%, its highest level since mid January. The 30-year yield rose 4.3 basis points to 2.701%. Treasury yields rise when prices fall. One basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. generated 242,000 new jobs in February, snapping back after a modest slowdown in hiring in the first month of 2016. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected an increase of 198,000 nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9%. Employment gains for January and December, meanwhile, were revised up by a combined 30,000, the Labor Department said Friday. The government said 172,000 new jobs were created in January instead of 151,000. December’s gain was raised to 271,000 from 262,000. Yet despite the big gain in new jobs, average hourly wages fell 3 cents, or 0.1%, to $25.35. Hourly pay rose a mild 2.2% from February 2015 to February 2016. And the amount of time people worked each week dropped 0.2 hours to 34.4 hours, the lowest level in two years. The labor-force participation rate moved up to 62.9%, the highest level since May, as more than half a million people joined the labor force.

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The Brazilian real jumped to a six-month high against the dollar Friday after Brazilian authorities said they had detained former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The dollar sunk to 3.68 real, compared with 3.80 real late Thursday in New York. Authorities say they have evidence that da Silva profited from a bid-rigging and bribery ring involving state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, The Wall Street Journal reported. No formal charges have been filed against da Silva.

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SunEdison Inc.’s stock shot up 15% in active premarket trade Friday, after the renewable energy company and TerraForm Power Inc. announced a settlement, in which the actions filed by shareholders of Latin American Power Holding against the companies will be dismissed without prejudice. The deal resolves all disputes regarding the termination of SunEdison’s acquisition of Latin America Power. As part of the deal, SunEdison will pay $28.5 million, while TerraForm has no payment obligation. TerraForm’s stock was still inactive in premarket trade. Shares of SunEdison had tumbled 70% year to date through Thursday, while TerraForm’s had dropped 25% and the S&P 500 had slipped 2.5%.

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Staples Inc. on Friday posted quarterly results that fell short of expectations set by Wall Street analysts. The office supplies retailer in the fourth quarter swung to a profit of $86 million, or 13 cents. A year ago, Staples lost $260 million, or 41 cents a share. Adjusted earnings for the most recent period were 26 cents a share. Sales fell 6.9% to $5.23 billion from $5.66 billion a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 28 cents a share, on sales of $5.4 billion. Staples, which is working on its merger with Office Depot, said quarterly same-store sales fell 2%. Sales at the Staples.com site rose 1%, the company said. “While our Q4 results came in at the lower end of our expectations, we continued to make good progress on many of our key initiatives, and we have a solid plan to get back to earnings growth in 2016,” said Staples Chief Executive Ron Sargent in a statement. Shares of Staples were inactive ahead of the opening bell Friday.

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Closeout retailer Big Lots Inc. on Friday reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $94.5 million, up from its year-ago result of $94.4 million. Adjusted income from continuing operations came in at $2 per share, above the $1.98 expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Quarterly revenue fell to $1.58 billion, down from $1.59 billion and below forecasts for $1.60 billion. Big Lots also announced a $250 million stock buyback program and an 11% increase in its quarterly cash dividend. Shares were inactive in premarket action.

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Line Corp. is hoping to achieve a dual-listing in New York and Tokyo before the summer, said an International Financing Review report on Friday citing unnamed sources familiar with the deal. Line runs a messaging app and is owned by South Korean Internet company Naver Corp. The initial public offering, which could raise between $2 billion and $3 billion, is likely to be a dual-listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and on either the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, IFR’s sources said.

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