Category: Stock Market News

U.S. stock benchmarks opened modestly lower on Friday after a key measure of U.S. economic growth showed improvement, but also highlighted stubbornly low inflation. A second-quarter reading on gross domestic product rose 2.6%, below the 2.8% expected by economists polled by MarketWatch, showed that wages are accelerating more slowly than hoped, signaling the economy may still not be improving, but not running at full tilt. The Dow Jones Industrial Average –coming off its record close on Thursday–was trading flat, as corporate quarterly results from Dow components Exxon Mobil Corp. disappointed Wall Street, while Merck & Co. Inc. reported better-than-expected results. The S&P 500 index was off 0.2% at 2,469, weighed by a 1% drop in the consumer-discretionary sector. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index , which commenced a downdraft midday Thursday added to its losses, down 0.7% at 6,338. In more corporate news, Starbucks Corp. shares fell after the coffee giant posted earnings above expectations. For the week, the Dow was on pace for a 0.9% gain, while the S&P 500 index was on track for a 0.2% weekly fall. The Nasdaq was looking at a weekly slide of 0.6%, its worst week since the period ended June 30, according to FactSet data.

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Shares of Destination Maternity Corp. plummeted 38% toward a record low in early trade Friday, enough to be the biggest decliners on the Nasdaq exchange, after the maternity apparel seller said the deal to be acquired by France-based Orchestra-Premaman SA has been terminated. The company said the deal was terminated given the difficulties of satisfying regulators in France and the U.S., and given the uncertainty over whether regulatory requirements could be satisfied without unreasonable effort and expense. The companies had announced on Dec. 20, 2016 that Orchestra-Premaman would buy Destination Maternity for an implied price of $7.05 a share, which represented just a 0.4% premium to the Dec. 19 closing price. The stock had tumbled 58% since the merger announcement through Thursday, while the S&P 500 had climbed 9.4%.

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Shares of Ellie Mae plummeted 22% in premarket Friday, after the provider of software services for the mortgage finance industry reported second-quarter earnings that missed expectations and slashed its full-year outlook. The stock was on track to suffer the biggest one-day percentage decline since it went public in April 2011. The company reported late Thursday a net profit of $18.8 million, or 52 cents a share, up from $10.6 million, or 34 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 51 cents a share. Revenue rose to $104.1 million from $90.1 million. The FactSet consensus for EPS was 53 cents and for revenue was $110.7 million. The company cut its 2017 adjusted EPS outlook to $1.47 to $1.50 from $1.79 to $1.92 and its revenue outlook to $400 million from $405 million from $433 million from $440 million. “The mortgage market is in the process of transitioning from a refi centric one to a purchase driven one,” said Chief Executive Jonathan Corr. “Some of our customers experienced closed loan volume lower than we expected in the second quarter as they dealt with declining refi volume, while the tight housing inventory held back purchase volume.” The stock had run up 31% year to date through Thursday, while the SPDR Real Estate Select Sector ETF had gained 6.2% and the S&P 500 had climbed 11%.

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Merck & Co. Inc. said Friday that a network cyberattack in late June caused it to issue conservative 2017 guidance. The June 27 cyberattack disrupted the company’s global operations, including manufacturing, research and sales, and Merck said it has been working to restore operations. Merck said it “does not yet know the magnitude of the impact of the disruption,” but that guidance would have been higher if not for the cyberattack’s impact. Merck said it can continue to supply its top products, including cancer drug Keytruda and diabetes drug Januvia, but there will be temporary delays in some other products in certain markets. Merck, which reported second-quarter profit and revenue beats on Friday, also affirmed its 2017 adjusted EPS outlook of $3.76 to $3.88, with Chief Financial Officer Robert Davis saying that “the strength of the business has allowed us to absorb the potential impact from the cyber attack,” according to the FactSet earnings call transcript. Merck was one of several global companies hit by massive cyberattacks in late June. Merck shares lifted 0.4% in premarket trade Friday. Shares surged 2.2% over the last three months, compared with a 3.8% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Chevron Corp. said Friday it had net income of $1.5 billion, or 77 cents a share, in the second quarter, after a loss of $1.5 billion, or 78 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The earnings include impairments and other non-cash charges of $430 million, which were partly offset by asset sales of $160 million. Revenue rose to $33 billion from $28 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 86 cents and revenue of $33 billion. The company said its upstream operations had a loss of $102 million, narrower than the loss of $1.11 billion from the year-earlier period. “The improvement reflected lower impairment charges, higher crude oil and natural gas realizations, higher gains on asset sales, and lower operating expenses,” the company said. Net oil-equivalent production of 701,000 barrels per day was up 19,000 barrels per day from a year earlier. U.S. downstream operations had earnings of $634 million, up from $537 million. Shares were flat premarket, but have fallen 10% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The cost of employing the average U.S. worker rose 0.5% in the second quarter but showed little acceleration despite the tightest labor market in years. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a 0.6% gain in the employment cost index. Still, there’s little evidence of a broad upswing in the cost of labor. Over the past 12 months, employment costs have risen an unadjusted 2.4%, the government said. That’s just a touch higher than the 2.3% rate one year earlier. The ECI reflects how much companies, governments and nonprofit institutions pay their employees in wages and benefits. Wages – some 70% of employment costs – rose 0.5% in the second quarter. Benefits climbed 0.6%.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. grew at a 2.6% annual pace in second quarter, rebounding from soft patch at the start of the year. Consumer spending, the main engine of the economy, led the way with a 2.8% increase, according to Commerce Department data. Business investment in equipment rose 8.2%, while outlays on structures advanced 4.9%. In a bit of a surprise, the value of inventories fell slightly to mark the second decline in a row. Investment in new housing also sank 6.8%. Exports rose 4.1% and imports edged up 2.1%. Inflation as measured by the PCE price index increased at a 0.3% annual rate. First-quarter GDP was revised lower to 1.2%.

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Chocolate purveyor Godiva has named Annie Young-Scrivner chief executive officer, effective September 14. Young-Scrivner joined from Starbucks Corp. where she was global CMO, and president of Tazo Tea. She was also president of Teavana. Young-Scrivner has also served on the board of Macy’s Inc. since 2014. She succeeds Mohamed Elsarky, who has stepped down to focus on new projects, according to Godiva. The PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage Portfolio is down 3.3% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 10.6% for the period.

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Wells Fargo & Co. charged thousands of customers for car insurance they did not need, leading to delinquencies and repossessions, a New York Times investigation determined. The wrongful insurance charges, which covered collision damage, affected more than 800,000 people who had car loans from the bank. Many borrowers were unaware that an additional charge for the unnecessary insurance was being deducted from their accounts, resulting in overdrawn accounts, damaged credit scores, and bank fees for insufficient funds. The practice came to light as a result of a report Wells itself commissioned, and the bank’s head of consumer lending told the Times that the practice would be stopped. But a spokeswoman took issue with some of the numbers in the report. This is the latest in a string of consumer scandals for Wells, including a practice of creating millions of bank and credit card accounts for customers that were never requested. Wells’ stock has lost about 0.7% so far this year, while the S&P 500 has gained 10.6%.

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American Airlines Group Inc. shares surged 3% in premarket trade Friday, after the company beat profit estimates for the second quarter. The airline said it had net income of $803 million, or $1.63 a share, in the quarter, down from $950 million, or $1.68 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.92, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.85. Revenue rose to $11.1 billion from $10.4 billion, matching the FactSet consensus of $11.1. billion. Chief Executive Doug Parker said the company is “enthusiastic about our prospects for the second half of 2017, as well as 2018 and beyond.” The company said it had strong passenger yield in the U.S., Central American, South American and Caribbean regions. Cargo revenue rose 13% to $196 million, while total revenue per available seat mile rose 5.7% on a 1.4% rise in total available seat miles. Shares have gained 7% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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