Category: Stock Market News

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said Friday that he remains undecided over whether to support an interest rate hike in December. “I am open minded about December but I am not there yet,” Kaplan said in an interview on CNBC. Kaplan said inflation remains below the Fed’s 2% target and the central bank “can afford to be patient about removing accommodation.” Kaplan, who is a voting member of the Fed’s interest-rate committee, said many of the job losses in September will turn out to be temporary. Stepping back, he said the labor market is still tightening but some slack remains.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stock-index futures were slightly lower on Friday, after the September payroll report showed 33,000 jobs were lost in the month, a reading heavily impacted by two major hurricanes. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 14 points, or less than 0.1%, to 22,725, while S&P 500 futures eased 2.40 points, or less than 0.1%, at 2,547.50. Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.75 point, or less than 0.1%, to 6,065. Futures were little impacted by the payroll report, which represented the first contraction in seven years. While the mean estimate of analysts polled by MarketWatch had forecast a month of positive additions, the range of forecasts was much broader than was typical given the difficulty of estimating the impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. workforce shrank by 33,000 jobs in September as employment was undercut by hurricanes Harvey and Irma. It was the first contraction in seven years. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 75,000 increase in nonfarm jobs, but estimates were all over the map because of uncertainty about the effects of the storms. The unemployment rate, which was not impacted by the storms, fell to 4.2% from 4.4%. That’s the lowest level since December 2000. Wages increased by 12 cents, or 0.5%, to an average of $26.55 an hour, the government said Friday. Hourly pay increased 2.9% from September 2016 to September 2017, up from 2.7%, but the gain was likely inflated by hurricane effects. The average workweek was unchanged at 34.4 hours. The government raised its estimate of new jobs created in August to 169,000 from 156,000. July’s gain was cut to 138,000 from 189,000.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares surged as much as 6% in premarket trade Friday after the company said that its antibiotic had positive results in a late-stage clinical trial. The antibiotic, omadacycline, is intended for Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSI) in patients with two chronic diseases or conditions. The phase 3 trial compared omadacycline to another antibiotic, linezolid, that’s taken twice a day over the course of 7 to 10 days in subsets of patients with chronic kidney disease; high body mass index; diabetes, and a history of intravenous drug use with or without hepatitis C infection. Omadacycline was consistently safe and effective, the company said, and the results suggest no dose adjustments are needed for it in patients with two chronic conditions, called comorbidity. In contrast with linezolid, Paratek said that its omadacycline can be taken once a day; it is also offered in oral and intravenous formulations. The antibiotic has the “potential to address the significant health challenge of antibiotic resistance, even in patients where their comorbid conditions can make it more challenging to treat their infections,” Paratek President Dr. Evan Loh said. Paratek shares have surged 8.9% over the last three months, compared with a 5.9% rise in the S&P 500 .

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

United Natural Foods Inc. said Friday that it has authorized a $200 million share repurchase program. United Natural Foods is a healthy food, vitamins and e-commerce company whose brands include Albert’s, Woodstock Farms, and Honest Green. The company had about 50.6 million shares of outstanding common stock as of September 14, 2017. The company will fund the program with cash on hand, cash from operations and borrowings from its credit facility. United Natural Foods shares are up 0.6% in premarket trading and down 15.1% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 14% for 2017 to date and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 15.2% for the period.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Apple Inc. edged lower premarket Friday, after another report of a problem with an iPhone 8 Plus. Chinese state media reported that a device delivered there had split open,9to5Mac reported, reigniting concerns about the battery. Earlier this week, a customer from Taiwan and another from Japane reportedly sent pictures to Apple showing their phones split open, which was thought to be caused by the battery swelling due to gases inside the device. “We are aware and are looking into it,” an Apple spokeswoman told MacRumors. Shares have gained 34% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 14% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 15%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. slid almost 3% premarket Friday, extending their late-session losses from Thursday after posting earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter. J.P. Morgan analysts said the report provided fodder for bulls and bears, “with progress on the e-commerce front but pricing, membership growth, and tough compares ahead all remaining battleground issues. ” The bear case rests on uncertain membership growth and heightened competition in the wake of Amazon.com Inc.’s takeover of Whole Foods. “Management tackled the membership growth concern head-on noting that excluding cannibalization from new openings, the average number of members in remaining locations grew by ~4% in 2017,” said the note. “However, bears will point to ‘comp’ membership income growth decelerating again this quarter after stripping out the 53rd week, fee hike, square footage growth, FX translation impact, and the living social deal.” Where the company did make progress was on e-commerce, unveiling two new delivery options and an early effort to leverage customer knowledge from its customer base, said the note. Shares have gained 4.4% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of streaming giant Netflix Inc. were slightly higher Friday, after Wedbush raised its price target on the stock to $88 from $82, but reiterated an underperform rating, saying it still expects the company to burn cash to fund content acquisition. Netflix has said it plans to spend $7 billion on content in 2018, after spending $6 billion this year. On Thursday, the company announced it would raise monthly subscription prices for standard and premium plans in the U.S. starting next month. “International profits may remain elusive due to competition for content and subs, and the price increase is likely to cause a
deceleration in domestic growth,” analysts led by Michael Pachter wrote in a note. “Negative free cash flow makes discounted cash flow valuation impossible.” Wedbush raised its revenue estimates to reflect the price change, and said it expects top-line growth to be absorbed by higher cost of revenue. Shares have gained 57% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the Norwegian committee that chooses the winner said Friday. The prize recognizes ICAN’s efforts in drawing attention to the “catastrophic human consequences” of the use of nuclear weapons and its work with governments and the United Nations to encourage treaties to ban them, the Nobel committee said in a statement. “We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time. Some states are modernizing their nuclear arsenals, and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons, as exemplified by North Korea,” they said.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

An earthquake measuring at least 6.0 magnitude has struck off the east coast of Japan, according to an U.S. Geological Survey alert sent out early Friday. The tremors were detected off the coast of Honshu at 7:59 a.m. UTC, or 4:59 p.m. local time, it said.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News