Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Gap Inc. rallied in Thursday’s extended session after the retailer posted better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its 2017 earnings outlook. The company, whose brands include the namesake chain of stores, Banana Republic and Old Navy, reported its second-quarter earnings more than doubled to $271 million, or 68 cents a share, from $125 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, Gap would have earned 58 cents. Revenue slipped to $3.8 billion from $3.85 billion, in part due to negative impact from foreign exchange fluctuations. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 52 cents a share on revenue of $3.77 billion. Same-store sales grew 1% in the second quarter, improving from a decline of 2% in the same period last year. The company raised its 2017 adjusted earnings per share outlook to a range of $2.02 to $2.10 versus $1.95 to $2.05 projected in May. Gap shares jumped 11% after hours.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday closed with its first drop of at least 1%, snapping a streak that had run for more than 60 sessions. The Dow finished 274 points, or 1.2%, at 21,750, as the broader stock market faced its biggest selloff since last week’s North Korea-fueled jitters. The blue-chip gauge’s absence of down days of at least 1% was the longest since a 69-day streak ended Oct. 25, 1995, or about 22 years, according to WSJ Market Group Data. Thursday’s fall for the Dow came as the broader market appeared to be fretting about a number of bearish factors, including a record-setting market that has been viewed as too rich and due for a pullback, concerns about the health of the economy and the Federal Reserve’s comfort in normalizing interest rates amid levels of inflation that have run below their 2% target, considered indicative of a normally functioning economy. Heightened questions about President Donald Trump’s ability to pass a raft of pro-growth policies amid the business world’s fervent denouncement of his reaction to a white-supremacist rally also has helped to erode bullish sentiment. The S&P 500 index , meanwhile, ended down 1.5% at 2,430 and the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.9% at 6,221.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Ross Stores Inc. rose more than 11% late Thursday after the retailer reported second-quarter earnings and sales above Wall Street expectations and forecast sales and earnings growth for the second half of the year and for the full fiscal year. Ross said it earned $317 million, or 82 cents a share, in the quarter, compared to $282 million, or 71 cents a share, in the prior-year quarter. Sales rose 8% to $3.43 billion, from $3.18 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 76 cents a share on sales of $3.37 billion. Comparable-store sales were up 4% on top of 4% growth last year, the company said in a statement. An operating margin of 14.9% outperformed the company’s projections, “mainly due to a combination of higher merchandise margin and leverage on our above-plan sales gains,” Ross said. Ross forecast same-store sales gains between 1% and 2% in the third quarter, and third-quarter per-share earnings to be between 64 cents and 67 cents, up from 62 cents a share in the third quarter of 2016 and compared with analyst expectations of 67 cents. The company forecast fourth-quarter same-store sales growth of 1% to 2%, with per-share earnings between 88 cents and 92 cents. Based on the results for the first half of the year, the company guided for fiscal 2017 per-share earnings to rise 12% to 14% to between $3.16 and $3.23. The analysts surveyed by FactSet expect full-year EPS of $3.17 for Ross. Shares ended the regular trading session down 1.9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday was on pace to close with its first drop of at least 1%, snapping a streak that had run for more than 60 sessions. The Dow was trading down 243 points, or 1.1%, at 21,782, as the broader stock market faced its biggest selloff since last week’s North Korea-fueled jitters. The blue-chip gauge’s absence of down days of at least 1% was the longest since a 69-day streak ended Oct. 25, 1995, or about 22 years, according to WSJ Market Group Data. Thursday’s fall for the Dow came as the broader market appeared to be fretting about a number of bearish factors, including a record-setting market that has been viewed as too rich and due for a pullback, concerns about the health of the economy and the Federal Reserve’s comfort in normalizing interest rates amid levels of inflation that have run below their 2% target, considered indicative of a normally functioning economy. Heightened questions about President Donald Trump’s ability to pass a raft of pro-growth policies amid the business world’s fervent denouncement of his reaction to a white-supremacist rally also has helped to erode bullish sentiment. TheS&P 500 index , meanwhile, was down 1.4% at 2,433 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was shedding 1.7% at 6,237.

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From:: Stock Market News

A widely followed gauge of fear and volatility on Wall Street spiked in Thursday afternoon trade, underscoring a sudden pickup of worry amid handwringing over President Donald Trump, a reported terror attack in Spain and concerns about sluggish inflation. The CBOE Volatility Index was up about 25% at 14.71 in recent trade. The index, which tracks options bets on the S&P 500 index 30-days in the future typically moves inversely with stocks and is viewed as a gauge of the market’s wager on pullbacks in the market, because stocks tend to fall faster than they rise. Thursday’s climb in the so-called fear gauge, also known as the VIX, coincided with a 200-point tumble in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a sharp retreat in the S&P 500 index . Stock investors have been shaken by uncertainty around President Trump’s ability to get through his business-friendly legislative reforms after a trove of Wall Street leaders disbanded from key presidential advisory committees resulting in their disbanding on Wednesday in reaction to the president’s response to a weekend white-supremacist rally in Charlotesville, Va., that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer. The downdraft in the market also comes as a terror attack was being reported by local officials in Barcelona, where at least 13 people were reported dead as well as 50 injured. Concerns about the Fed’s acknowledgement that tepid inflation is raising concerns that the economy isn’t firing on all cylinders is adding to deflating sentiment. Earlier in the week, the market been enjoying a slight updraft after last week’s rough patch. In jeopardy is a four-session rally for the Dow industrials. More broadly, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down at 2.19%, with prices rising and yields falling, while haven gold was settled up 0.7% at $1,292.40 an ounce. Those assets tend to rise when investors adopt a more “risk off” posture, dumping assets perceived as risky in times of uncertainty. At last check, the Dow was down 218 points, or 1%, at 21,810, the S&P 500 was off 1.3% at 2,436, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.7% at 6,239. Concerns about equity valuations also have made stocks more vulnerable to pullbacks, market participants said.

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From:: Stock Market News

Oil prices finished higher Thursday, following losses over the past three trading sessions. Traders continued to digest data from the Energy Information Administration released Wednesday that revealed a rise in total U.S. crude production to their highest level in more than two years, but also a weekly drop in domestic supplies that was the largest in 11 months. September West Texas Intermediate crude rose 31 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $47.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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From:: Stock Market News

A widely followed gauge of fear and volatility on Wall Street spiked in Thursday afternoon trade, underscoring a sudden pickup of worry amid handwringing over President Donald Trump, a reported terror attack in Spain and concerns about sluggish inflation. The CBOE Volatility Index was up about 20% at 14.20 in recent trade. The index, which tracks options bets on the S&P 500 index 30-days in the future typically moves inversely with stocks and is viewed as a gauge of the market’s wager on pullbacks in the market, because stocks tend to fall faster than they rise. Thursday’s climb in the so-called fear gauge, also known as the VIX, coincided with a 200-point tumble in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a sharp retreat in the S&P 500 index . Stock investors have been shaken by uncertainty around President Trump’s ability to get through his business-friendly legislative reforms after a trove of Wall Street leaders disbanded from key presidential advisory committees resulting in their disbanding on Wednesday in reaction to the president’s response to a weekend white-supremacist rally in Charlotesville, Va., that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer. The downdraft in the market also comes as a terror attack was being reported in Barcelona, where at least 13 people were reported dead by local officials. Concerns about the Fed’s acknowledgement that tepid inflation is raising concerns that the economy isn’t firing on all cylinders is adding to deflating sentiment. Earlier in the week, the market been enjoying a slight updraft after last week’s rough patch. In jeopardy is a four-session rally for the Dow industrials. More broadly, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down at 2.20%, with prices rising and yields falling, while haven gold was trading up 0.8% at $1,292 an ounce. Those assets tend to rise when investors adopt a more “risk off” posture, dumping assets perceived as risky in times of uncertainty. At last check, the Dow was down 204 points, or 0.9%, at 21,822, the S&P 500 was off 1.1% at 2,440, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.5% at 6,250. Concerns about equity valuations also have made stocks more vulnerable to pullbacks, market participants said.

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From:: Stock Market News

The war of words between Automatic Data Processing Inc. and activist hedge fund manager Bill Ackman continued Thursday, as ADP weighed in on a presentation made by Ackman earlier in the day. The company said it “strongly disagrees” with Ackman’s assertions, which it said show a lack of understanding of the company and its strategy. Ackman said the value of ADP’s stock could more than double by 2021 “with “no changes in the credit rating, capital structure, dividend policy, or clients funds investment strategy.” Pershing said ADP’s “buy” instead of “build” strategy has led to weak product offerings, most notably in enterprise, and inefficient legacy back-end infrastructure. “ADP’s focus on ‘hitting the numbers’ has led to value-destructive decisions with negative long-term consequences,” Pershing wrote in the presentation. Ackman is seeking five board seats and is urging a change of CEO. “ADP is not resting on its laurels. Our board and management team are thoughtfully transforming our organization and culture to compete effectively and drive global growth in the evolving Human Capital Management market,” the company said. ADP shares fell 5%, but are up just 3.6% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 9%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

A widely followed gauge of fear and volatility on Wall Street spiked in Thursday afternoon trade, underscoring a sudden pickup of worry amid handwringing over President Donald Trump, a reported terror attack in Spain and concerns about sluggish inflation. The CBOE Volatility Index was up 23% at 14.46 in recent trade. The index, which tracks options bets on the S&P 500 index 30-days in the future typically moves inversely with stocks and is viewed as a gauge of the market’s wager on pullbacks in the market, because stocks tend to fall faster than they rise. Thursday’s climb in the so-called fear gauge, also known as the VIX, coincided with a 200-point tumble in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a sharp retreat in the S&P 500 index . Stock investors have been shaken by uncertainty around President Trump’s ability to get through his business-friendly legislative reforms after a trove of Wall Street leaders disbanded from key presidential advisory committees resulting in their disbanding on Wednesday in reaction to the president’s response to a weekend white-supremacist rally in Charlotesville, Va., that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer. The downdraft in the market also comes as a terror attack was being reported in Barcelona, where at least one person was reported dead by local police. Concerns about the Fed’s acknowledgement that tepid inflation is raising concerns that the economy isn’t firing on all cylinders is adding to deflating sentiment. Earlier in the week, the market been enjoying a slight updraft after last week’s rough patch. In jeopardy is a four-session rally for the Dow industrials. More broadly, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down at 2.20%, with prices rising and yields falling, while haven gold was trading up 0.8% at $1,292 an ounce. Those assets tend to rise when investors adopt a more “risk off” posture, dumping assets perceived as risky in times of uncertainty. At last check, the Dow was down 204 points, or 0.9%, at 21,822, the S&P 500 was off 1.1% at 2,440, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.5% at 6,250. Concerns about equity valuations also have made stocks more vulnerable to pullbacks, market participants 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.

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From:: Stock Market News

A widely followed gauge of fear and volatility on Wall Street spiked in Thursday afternoon trade, underscoring a sudden pickup of worry in the amid handwringing over President Donald Trump, a reported terror attack in Spain and concerns about sluggish inflation. The CBOE Volatility Index was up 25% at 15 in recent trade. The index, which tracks options bets on the S&P 500 index 30-days in the future typically moves inversely with stocks and is viewed as a gauge of the market’s wager on pullbacks in the market, because stocks tend to fall faster than they rise. Thursday’s climb in the so-called fear gauge, also known as the VIX, coincided with a 170-point tumble in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a sharp retreat in the S&P 500 index . Stock investors have been shaken by uncertainty around President Trump’s ability to get through his business-friendly legislative reforms after a trove of Wall Street leaders disbanded from key presidential advisory committees resulting in their disbanding on Wednesday in reaction to the president’s response to a weekend white-supremacist rally in Charlotesville, Va., that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer. The downdraft in the market also comes as a terror attack was being reported in Barcelona, where at least one person was reported dead by local police. Concerns about the Fed’s acknowledgement that tepid inflation is raising concerns that the economy isn’t firing on all cylinders is adding to deflating sentiment. Earlier in the week, the market been enjoying a slight updraft after last week’s rough patch. In jeopardy is a four-session rally for the Dow industrials. More broadly, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down at 2.20%, with prices rising and yields falling, while haven gold was trading up 0.7% at $1,291 an ounce. Those assets tend to rise when investors adopt a more “risk off” posture, dumping assets perceived as risky in times of uncertainty. At last check, the Dow was down 167 points, or 0.8%, at 21,858, the S&P 500 was off 0.9% at 2,446, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.2% at 6,267. Concerns about equity valuations also have made stocks more vulnerable to pullbacks, market participants 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.

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From:: Stock Market News