Category: Stock Market News

The U.K. government will delay putting forth a second reading of a bill for the U.K. to withdraw from the European Union as lawmakers have submitted a slew of amendments, reports said Wednesday. The EU Withdrawal Bill was expected to be debated this week, but it is likely not to be put in front of the House of Commons until mid-November, according to The Independent newspaper. . The opposition Labour Party’s shadow Brexit team has submitted more than 20 amendments to the bill, and these are seen as holding up its progress in becoming law. Conservative Party members who back EU membership have also offered amendments, some of which have enough Conservative signatures to potentially threaten Prime Minister Theresa May’s majority, The Guardian newspaper reported. It may be tricky to schedule the eight days of debate necessary before Christmas, as the government must also present its budget on Nov. 22, the Guardian added.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stock-market indexes scaled all-time highs after opening modestly higher on Wednesday, as investors focused on another round of key corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded above the psychologically important level of 23,000, after gaining 114 points, or 0.5%, to 23,111. The S&P 500 was 4 points, or 0.1%, higher at 2,563. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index advanced 9 points, or 0.1%, to 6,632. Shares of International Business Machine jumped 7.7% after estimate-beating third-quarter earnings results, adding about 50 points to Dow industrials.

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Ford Motor Co. disclosed Wednesday in a filing that a “field service action” it announced to correct a door latch issue on some F-150 and F-250 trucks is estimated to cost $267 million. The door latch issue is on certain model year 2015 through 2017 F-150 trucks and certain model year 2017 F-250 trucks. Ford said the cost, which will be incurred by its North America business unit, will be reflected in fourth-quarter results. The automaker affirmed its 2017 adjusted earnings-per-share guidance, which would exclude this non-recurring cost, of $1.65 to $1.85, which surrounds the FactSet consensus of $1.74. The stock, which tacked on 0.2% in premarket trade, has gained 1.2% year to date through Tuesday, while rival General Motors Co. shares have soared 29% and the S&P 500 has climbed 14%.

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Automatic Data Processing Inc. on Wednesday urged shareholders to re-elect its “highly qualified” board at its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for Nov. 7. The company released a video of Chief Executive Carols Rodriguez and Chairman John Jones outlining the company’s transformation and the execution of its strategy. The company said Bill Ackman’s hedge fund Pershing Square, which has built a 2% stake in the company and is seeking changes including up to 30% of board seats, has “no technology or human capital management experience, both of which are critical to the future of ADP. Mr. Ackman also has not articulated any specific plans for how he would achieve the massive margin increases he has targeted,” the company said in a statement. ADP shares have gained 10% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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General Electric Co. and Apple Inc. announced Wednesday a partnership aimed at bringing GE’s industrial Internet of Things (IoT) platform Predix to Apple’s iPhones and iPads. The companies will provide developers a new software development kit to make industrial IoT apps for Apple’s operating system iOS. As part of the partnership, GE will standardize on iPhone and iPad for mobile devices, and promote Mac as a choice for its global workforce, while Apple will promote Predix as the industrial IoT analytics platform of choice for its customers and developers. “Working together, GE and Apple are giving industrial companies access to powerful apps that help them tap into the predictive data and analytics of Predix right on their iPhone or iPad,” said GE Chief Executive John Flannery. GE’s stock edged up less than 0.1% in premarket trade, while Apple’s stock ticked up 0.2%. Year to date, GE’s stock has tumbled 26.6%, while Apple shares have run up 38.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 16.4%.

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Micron Technology Inc. said Wednesday it is planning to retire $2.25 billion of debt. The chip maker said it will redeem all $1.25 billion of its outstanding 7.5% notes due 2023, as well as $1 billion of 5.25% notes due 2023. The company will fund the transaction with the proceeds of a recent equity offering and cash on hand. Shares have gained 89% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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Apple Inc.’s stock edged up 0.2% in premarket trade Wednesday, putting them on track for a fourth-straight gain, after Mizuho analyst Abhey Lamba raised his stock price target to current levels, citing an improved outlook for average selling prices. Lamba boosted his target to $160, which is 0.3% below Tuesday’s closing price, from $150, while keeping his rating at neutral. He expects Apple to report fiscal fourth-quarter results on Nov. 2 that are in line with expectations, but he raised his fiscal 2018 earnings estimates to account for higher ASPs associated with iPhone X shipments, and the shift of shipments from Q1 2018 to Q2 2018. His 2018 EPS estimate was raised to $10.67 from $9.60, while his revenue estimate was lifted to $267.9 billion from $238.5 billion. In June, Lamba had downgraded Apple to neutral and cut his target to $150 from $160, citing concerns that enthusiasm around the upcoming product cycle was fully captured by the stock’s rally, with limited upside to estimates. Apple’s stock has run up 6.9% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 has gained 4.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 6.6%.

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Shares of International Business Machines Corp. shot up $7.66, or 5.2%, in premarket trade, putting them on track for the biggest percentage gain since July 2011, after the information technology company beat profit and sales expectations. The price gain would be the biggest since January 2013, and would add about 53 points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s price. Dow futures were up 73 points in recent trade.

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B. Riley analyst Eric Wold lowered earnings estimates for AMC Entertainment Holding Inc. , Regal Entertainment Group , Cinemark Holdings Inc. and Marcus Corp. as cinema chains have not fared well during the third quarter. Box office revenue in the third quarter was down more than 14% compared with the same period last year. That, coupled with concerns around Hollywood potentially shortening the amount of time films exclusively appear in theaters and industry disruption from MoviePass and digital players, has resulted in all four exhibitors losing share. Wold lowered third quarter AMC revenue estimates to $1.14 billion from $1.18 billion, Regal estimates to $710.70 million from $748.20 million, Cinemark estimates to $696.9 million from $731.80 million and Marcus Corp. revenue estimates for the quarter to $155.0 million from $156.70 million. Wold expects box office trends to turn positive in the fourth quarter and going forward. “With an impressive film slate on tap for the fourth quarter… we continue to project overall Q4 box office should increase by roughly double-digits and drive the full year to flattish overall revenues,” Wold wrote. ” In addition to our continued expectation for box office growth in 2018, we are projecting these trends to continue into 2019.” Shares of AMC have declined more than 59% in the year to date, Regal shares are down more than 22%, Marcus Corp. shares are down more than 13% and Cinemark shares have dropped close to 8%. By comparison, the S&P 500 index is up more than 14% in the year and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 16%.

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SuperValu Inc. reported a net loss of $25.0 million, or 65 cents per share, down from $31.0 million, or 81 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 46 cents, beating the 36-cents FactSet consensus. Sales totaled $3.8 billion, up from $2.8 billion last year and ahead of the $3.79 billion FactSet estimate. SuperValu Chief Executive Mark Gross highlighted the company’s wholesale business, which represented more than 70% of sales, in a statement. Wholesale sales were $2.7 billion for the quarter, up from $1.7 billion last year. Retail and corporate sales were nearly flat year-over-year. SuperValu also announced it has acquired Associated Grocers of Florida, a retailer-owned cooperative that distributes primarily in South Florida, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Asia, for about $180 million. For its last fiscal year ending July 29, Associated Grocers’ revenue totaled about $650 million, according to the acquisition announcement. SuperValu shares indicated higher in Wednesday premarket trading, but are down nearly 45% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 19.6% for the last 12 months.

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