Category: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, with major indexes all ending at records as technology shares led the way higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 64 points, or 0.3%, to 22,267. The S&P 500 gained 4 points to 2,500, up 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 19 points, or 0.3%, to 6,448. All three hit intraday records and closed at all-time highs. For the week, the Dow rose 2.2%, the S&P rose 1.6%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.4%. Semiconductors were among the strongest of the day, with the sector up 1.8%. Among the notable movers, Nvidia Corp. rose 6.3% while Advanced Micro Devices was up 2.1%.

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

AGI HoldCo Inc., which does business as Aerosoles, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The women’s shoe company has already started closing stores, with plans to keep just four in New York and New Jersey, it said in a release. Customers can also continue to shop the brand online. The company has 80 stores, according to The Wall Street Journal, and had as many as 125 in 2012 and 2013. Aerosoles expects to complete the restructuring in four months. Aerosoles joins a long list of retailers including The Sports Authority and Gymboree that have filed for bankruptcy in recent months amid a shift to e-commerce. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 6.5% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 11.6% 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 Boeing Co. rallied $4.09, or 1.7%, in afternoon trade to a record high, enough to pace the gainers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average , after Canaccord Genuity raised the price target ahead of the aerospace giant’s investor gathering next week. The stock’s price gain was adding about 28 points to the Dow’s price, which was up 65 points, also at a record high. Canaccord analyst Ken Herbert raised his target to $235, which was still 5.7% below current levels, from $215, while keeping his rating at hold given concerns over valuation. At the annual investor meeting on Sept. 18 to Sept. 19, Herbert said he expects Boeing to provide some new information on the 787 cost and execution progress and substantial discussion on the state of the commercial market. “[Boeing] is clearly benefiting from both macro and company-specific tailwinds, but we believe the upside potential is largely reflected in the stock price,” Herbert wrote in a note to clients. The stock has run up 27.6% over the past three months, while the Dow has gained 4.3%.

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 Dow Jones Industrial Average was climbing on Friday, looking to cap a sharply weekly gain, with shares of Boeing Co., and 3M Co., doing the heaviest lifting for the benchmark. Shares of Boeing were up 1.8%, or $4.52, adding about 30 points to the price-weighted Dow , while 3M Co. , was up 0.9%, or $1.84, adding about 12 points to the average, while shares of Apple Inc., up $1.72, or 1.1%, were adding about the same amount. A $1 move in any one of the Dow’s 30 components equates to a 6.89-point swing in the equity gauge. The Dow’s move puts it on track to carve out a fresh all-time high, most recently at 22,260, up 0.3%. That would mark its 39th record close of 2017 and its 6th straight positive session. Overall, the market was showing modest gains, but sufficient to put the other major benchmarks in record territory. The S&P 500 index was up 0.1% at 2,497, while the Nasdaq Composite Index , up 0.3% at 6,446.

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

Two Ohio senators on Friday said a delay in the Trump administration’s probe into steel imports has allowed foreign competitors to dump steel into the U.S. market. “Further postponement of the Section 232 investigation will invite a growing deluge of steel imports into the U.S. and cause even greater damage to the U.S. steel sector,” said the letter from Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, to Commerce Sec. Wilbur Ross. U.S. Steel , Nucor , ArcelorMittal and AK Steel together employ more than 8,200 Ohio workers.

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

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday that it will build a new home office in its Bentonville, Ark. that will consolidate the 20 buildings that now make up the company’s campus. The new home office, which is expected to take five-to-seven years to complete, will include better parking, meal services, and fitness facilities along with other features, Chief Executive Doug McMillon said in a letter posted on the company’s website. Wal-Mart shares are up 16% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 11.6% 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

U.S. oil prices ended flat for Friday’s session, but gained roughly 5.1% for the week. They found support from stronger global demand expectations, an improvement in oil-producer compliance with output cuts, and a post-hurricane recovery in U.S. refining activity that’s likely to help draw down crude stockpiles. October West Texas Intermediate crude settled unchanged at $49.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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

Gold prices fell on Friday to their lowest finish so far this month, as record highs for the key U.S. stock market indexes lured investors away from the precious metal ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting next week. Prices tallied a loss of roughly 1.9% after posting gains in each of the last three weeks. December gold fell $4.10, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,325.20 an ounce. That was the lowest finish since Aug. 31, according to FactSet data.

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 Pier 1 Imports Inc. soared 13% in afternoon trade Friday, as this week’s breakout rally above a key technical level put them on track to kick off a new bull market. The home furnishings retailer’s stock has now run up 27% since closing on Aug. 17 at what was then an 11-month low of $4.01. Many chart watchers define a bull market as rally of at least 20% off a bear-market low. The stock had been steadily climbing since Aug. 17, but the rally accelerated on Sept. 12–it surged 8.0%–as it broke above the 50-day moving average (MA). Many view the 50-day MA as a dividing line between short-term uptrends and downtrends. After the first close above the 50-day MA since April, the stock pulled back slightly, but stayed above that line, to confirm that previous resistance had morphed into support. The company, which hasn’t released any news since Sept. 6, when it said fiscal second-quarter results would be released after the Sept. 27 close, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The stock was still down 6.8% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 1.0% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 2.7%.

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

Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil dropped by 7 to 749 this week. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, fell by 8 to 936, according to Baker Hughes. Oil prices showed little reaction, with October West Texas Intermediate crude down 20 cents, or 0.4%, from Thursday at $49.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, nearly unchanged from levels seen before the data.

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