Category: Stock Market News

MADRID (MarketWatch) — Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, in a highly anticipated address before the regional parliament in Barcelona, said he was “accepting the mandate” of the chaotic Oct. 1 referendum on Catalonia’s secession from Spain but would suspend the prospect of declaring independence in favor of dialogue with the central government in Madrid. In his nationally televised speech, Puigdemont said those who had pushed for independence were “neither criminals nor crazy people.” The people of Catalonia, or Catalunya in the local language, “have nothing against Spain or Spanish people,” Puigdemont said.

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The euro extended its rally on Tuesday, touching an intraday high of $1.1826, after Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont called for mediation with Madrid in a speech in Parliament. Puigdemont also said he assumed the mandate to form a republic for the Catalan people, who had voted in an independence referendum on Oct. 1. The Catalan leaders speech was seen as less disruptive to the integrity of the European Union and the common currency, which has been rattled by the regions calls for independence and the heavy-handed response by Spanish leaders recently, which closed down polling stations during the early October referendum for independence in Catalan.

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Gold prices climbed Tuesday to their highest settlement in two weeks, as a decline in the U.S. dollar lifted the precious metal’s appeal to foreign investors. Prices, however, remained below the key resistance level of $1,300, analysts said. It hasn’t settled above that mark since Sept. 26, according to FactSet data. December gold rose by $8.80, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,293.80 an ounce.

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Amazon.com Inc. is in talks with Phrame, a smart-license-plate maker, to allow orders to be delivered to the trunk of a customer’s car, according to a CNBC report. Phrame offers a product that will hold a car owner’s keys in a secure box around a license plate. Using a smartphone to open the box, users can gain access to the keys. Amazon tested in-truck delivery in Germany in 2015. Amazon is also developing a “smart doorbell device” to allow delivery drivers access to a customer’s home for package drop-off, CNBC says. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced late last month that it’s testing a system to deliver items directly into people’s homes. And Wal-Mart has recently purchased Parcel, a delivery service for the New York City area. Amazon shares are up more than 32% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 14% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 15.2% for the period.

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President Donald Trump said Tuesday he doesn’t believe a feud with Republican Sen. Bob Corker hurts chances of getting tax reform through Congress. “I don’t think so,” Trump replied when asked about his spat with the Tennessee lawmaker. Corker, who is seen as a key vote on a tax overhaul, said in an interview with the New York Times last weekend that Trump is risking “World War III” by threatening other countries. Trump mocked Corker on Twitter Tuesday morning, saying the Times set him up by recording their conversation. A Times reporter said Corker’s staff had made sure the interview was taped.

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Gap Inc. said Tuesday that it is launching a subscription box service for its BabyGap brand of items. Every three months, the company will deliver six items for $70. Parents have 21 days to try each piece, and they can keep what they like and send back what they don’t. The service offers free shipping and returns. Clothing is available in sizes 0 to 2T and will automatically update with each box. Size 3T will soon be added. Gap shares are up 27.5% for the year so far, outpacing the SPDR S&P Retail ETF , which is down 6.8%, and the S&P 500 index , which is up 13.7% for the period.

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Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. surged 4.5% in morning trade, enough to pace the gainers within the Dow Jones Industrial Average , after the discount retail giant announced a new stock buyback program and detailed its profit and sales outlook. The $3.62 price gain on the stock, which was on track to close at the highest level since February 2015, was adding about 25 points to the price of the Dow, which was up 35 points in midday trade. The next biggest positive influence was Chevron Corp.’s stock , which was up $1.43, or 1.2%, to add 10 points to the Dow. The biggest drag on the blue-chip barometer was UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s stock , which fell $1.79, or 0.9%, to shave 12 points off the Dow.

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The nation’s largest labor group has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate what it said was potential insider trading at student loan company Navient Corp. , according to a copy of a letter by the AFL-CIO obtained by Bloomberg News. The trades were allegedly made prior to the Labor Day holiday, just before the Education Department said it would not cooperate with a separate investigation of Navient undertaken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Trump administration has been at odds with the CFPB and its Democratic-appointed chairman.

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Shares of General Electric Co. rallied 1.5% in morning trade Tuesday, bouncing off a two-year low close in the previous session, although Morgan Stanley said it is expecting a “rare” miss of third-quarter profit expectations. GE hasn’t missed the FactSet consensus for earnings per share since the first quarter of 2015, but analyst Nigel Coe expects Q3 EPS of 48 cents, which is below the FactSet consensus of 50 cents. He believes the miss will result from weakness in GE’s power and aviation businesses. Coe said he also believes full-year guidance will come under pressure on a revised outlook for “flattish” results from power, second-half sales mix pressure at aviation and shortfalls at the oil and gas, renewables and transportation business segments. GE is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Oct. 20. Despite the recent earnings beats, the stock has fallen on the day the past seven quarterly reports were released. GE’s stock has tumbled 25% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 15%.

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Uncertainty from Brexit and Catalonia’s push for independence is a major risk to the outlook in Europe, Maurice Obstfeld, the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, said Tuesday. At a press conference discussing the agency’s latest global economic report card, Obstfeld urged British and EU negotiators to avoid a “cliff edge” Brexit. He said British Prime Minister Teresa May’s proposal of a two-year transition period could be a “good thing” as it would set out a clear end-point and a process to get there. “The clock is, as everybody knows, very short,” he said. Asked about the tension between Spain and Catalonia, Obstfeld said it was “indeed concerning.” “We can only hope the parties don’t act precipitously [and] negotiate. There is a lot of potential gain on both sides if they do so,” he said.

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