Oracle shares slump as earnings beat, but cloud growth misses Street view

Oracle Corp. shares declined in the extended session Thursday after the enterprise software company topped broader Wall Street estimates but fell short of the mark on cloud revenue estimates. Oracle shares fell 4% to $48.20 after hours. The company reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $2.23 billion, or 52 cents a share, compared with $2.03 billion, or 48 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were 70 cents a share. Revenue rose to $9.62 billion from $9.04 billion in the year-ago period, or to $9.63 billion from $9.07 billion adjusted. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated earnings of 68 cents a share on revenue of $9.57 billion. Total cloud revenue rose 44% to $1.52 billion while software-as-a-service revenue grew 55% to $1.12 billion. Analysts had forecast total cloud revenue of $1.56 billion, and forecast SaaS revenue of $1.14 billion.

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Adobe shares rise after fourth-quarter earnings beat

Adobe Systems Inc. shares rose in the extended session Thursday after the software maker beat Wall Street sales and earnings expectations. Adobe stock rose 3.5% to $181.23 after hours. The company reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $501.6 million, or $1 a share, compared with $399.6 million, or 80 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were $1.26 a share. Revenue rose to $2.01 billion from $1.61 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated adjusted earnings of $1.16 a share on revenue of $1.95 billion. For the first fiscal quarter of 2018, analysts model adjusted earnings of $1.25 a share on revenue of $2.04 billion. Adobe stock has gained 71% this year, with the S&P 500 index rising 19%.

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Russell 2000 closes down 1.1% on tax uncertainty

The Russell 2000 index of small capitalization shares fell sharply on Thursday, seeing a steeper drop than the overall market. The index fell 1.1%, its biggest one-day percentage decline since Nov. 7. The decline accelerated after a report that Senator Marco Rubio would vote against the Republican tax bill unless it includes a larger expansion of the child tax credit, which added to the uncertainty over the bill’s prospects for passing. The Russell is seen as having a higher correlation with the prospects of tax reform, as small companies tend to pay higher rates than their larger, multinational peers. The S&P 500 closed down by 0.4% on Thursday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended off 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.3%. Thus far this year, the Russell is up 11%, compared with the 18.5% gain of the S&P, and less than half the Dow’s 24% advance.

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Health-care stock decline knocks Dow industrials lower

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading lower Thursday afternoon as health-care stocks pressured the main benchmarks. The Dow was down 54 points, or 0.2%, at 24,530, with shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, trading firmly in negative territory. The pair were among the worst performers of the Dow’s 30 components. The S&P 500 index was off 9 points, or 0.4%, at 2,653, as the health-care sector also weighed on the overall index. A popular health-care exchange-traded fund, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF , was down 1%. Bank stocks and materials contributed to the decline. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index was off 0.3% at 6,857.

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Amazon again selling Apple TV and Google Chromecast

Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday that it is again selling streaming devices made by Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. . Amazon stock is up nearly 1% to $1,173.68 in afternoon trading. Amazon ceased selling the devices two years ago but last week announced that it would be offering its streaming video service on Apple TV. Last week Alphabet-owned Google pulled YouTube from several of Amazon’s devices. “Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and Fire TV,” a Google spokeswoman said last week. The company did not immediately return a request for comment about Amazon’s decision. Amazon stock is up 56% this year, as the S&P 500 index has gained 19%.

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Mexico’s peso strengthens as central bank raises interest rates

The Mexican peso rose against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, after Mexico’s central bank, known as Banxico, lifted its overnight interest rate to 7.25% from 7% before, as expected. Mexico’s high interest rate make it an attractive destination for investors looking for emerging-market exposure, while also being tied to the U.S. economy as its main trading partner. The peso began to rally halfway through the U.S. trading day, in anticipation of the rate hike, paring its losses and finally rising against the buck. One dollar last bought 18.9922 pesos, down about 0.1% from 18.9926 pesos late Wednesday.

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Rubio a ‘no’ on tax bill without larger expansion of child tax credit: report

Sen. Marco Rubio has told Senate leaders he’ll vote against the Republican tax bill unless it includes a larger expansion of the child tax credit, according to the Washington Post. Rubio and fellow Republican Sen. Mike Lee have pushed a change to the credit that would allow millions more low-income families to take advantage of it.

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FCC votes to roll back Obama-era ‘net neutrality’ regulations

The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to roll back internet rules known as net neutrality. The commission’s three Republicans voted to end the rules, while its two Democrats voted against it. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai charges that the Obama-era regulations — designed to prevent internet service providers from favoring certain sites or services – are “heavy handed.” FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, a Democrat, said the move was a “consumer-harming, corporate-enabling, destroying-internet-freedom order.” Opponents of the reversal say it will allow providers to give preferential treatment to certain sites at a price. Legal challenges are expected.

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Texas Rep. Farenthold to retire after sex-harrasment allegations

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Congressman Blake Farenthold of Texas became the latest politician to leave office amid allegations of sexual harrassment. The four-term Republican representative on Thursday released a short video in which he apologized and announced his decision not to seek reelection. At least four U.S. lawmakers in both parties have either announced their resignations or retirements after being accused of inappropriate behavior.

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Texas Republican Blake Farenthold to retire from House amid sex-harassment allegations

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Congressman Blake Farenthold of Texas became the latest politician to leave office amid allegations of sexual harassment. The four-term Republican on Thursday released a short video in which he apologized and announced his decision not to seek re-election. At least four U.S. lawmakers from both parties have either announced their resignations or retirements after being accused recently of inappropriate behavior.

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