Category: Stock Market News

Shares of CyberArk Software Ltd. fell more than 15% late Thursday after the company predicted smaller sales and profits in the second quarter. CyberArk said it expects total revenue in the range of $57 million to $57.5 million, compared with previous guidance $61 million to $62 million. The company forecast GAAP operating income in the range of $700,000 to $1.1 million, and non-GAAP operating income in the range of $8.5 million to $8.9 million, compared to a prior forecast of between $10.9 million and $11.7 million. CyberArk said it will provide full financial results and updated guidance on Aug. 8. CyberArk is “disappointed that our results for the second quarter will be below the guidance we provided in May,” CyberArk CEO Udi Mokady said in a statement. The primary reason for the revenue shortfall was the company’s performance in the Africa and Middle East region, “where certain deals that we anticipated would close did not close by the end of the quarter,” the company said. Shares ended the regular session up 1.1%.

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Shares of Advanced Micro Devices erased earlier gains to turn sharply lower in active trade Thursday, bucking the gains in the broader tech sector. What may be weighing on the chip maker, the price of cryptocurrency ethereum was plunging 10% from Thursday’s close, and has plummeted 35% so far this month. AMD’s graphics chips are the “gold standard” for mining ethereum, according to RBC Capital analyst Mitch Steves, and rocketing ethereum prices through mid June had propelled AMD shares sharply higher this year. On Thursday, with ethereum prices rising early in the session before sinking, AMD’s stock was up as much as 1.4% within the first few minutes after the open, then declined steadily to be down as much as 6.0% in afternoon trade, before paring some losses. It was recently down 4.6% at $13.64. Volume reached 100 million shares about 30 minutes before the close, enough to make the stock the most actively traded on the major U.S. exchanges. AMD’s stock has now climbed 20.3% year to date, while rival Nvidia Corp. shares has shot up 50.5%, the PHLX Semiconductor Index has rallied 20.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 9.3%.

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Shares of steel companies spiked in afternoon trading on Thursday, after President Donald Trump reportedly said he would consider quotas and tariffs on steel imports into the United States. AK Steel Holding Corp. spiked 7.6%, sharply extending a gain it had had prior to the report. United States Steel Corp. gained 4.6%, while Nucor Corp. was up 2.5%. The VanEck Vectors Steel ETF , which has a heavy weighting toward foreign steel companies, was 0.5% higher. Despite the gains on the day, both U.S. Steel and AK Steel are down sharply for 2017, dropping more than 25%. In the broader market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index were up 0.2%.

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Oil prices rose for a fourth-straight session on Thursday, settling at their highest level in nearly two weeks. Prices continued to get a boost after data Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration showed a second-straight weekly drop in U.S. crude supplies, despite recent reports showing a rise in global production. August WTI crude rose 59 cents, or 1.3%, to settle $46.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Occidental Petroleum Corp. said Thursday it will raise its quarterly dividend by a penny, or 1.3%, to 77 cents share. The oil and gas exploration company said the new dividend will be payable Oct. 16 to shareholders of record on Sept. 11. At current stock prices, the new annual dividend rate of $3.08 a share implies a dividend yield of 5.20%, compared with the SPDR Energy Select Sector’s yield of 2.59% and the S&P 500’s implied yield of 1.99%. “The dividend increase reflects our commitment to growing Occidental’s dividend annually for our shareholders, and our confidence in the company’s financial strength and future performance,” said Occidental Chairman Eugene Batchelder. The stock, which inched up 0.1% in afternoon trade, has dropped 17% year to date, while the energy ETF has lost 14% and the S&P 500 has gained 9.3%.

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The U.S. ran a budget deficit of $90 billion in June, the Treasury Department said Thursday. Outlays for Military active duty and retirement, Veterans’ benefits, Supplemental Security income, and Medicare payments accelerated into June, because July 1, 2017, the normal payment date, fell on a non-business day. For the fiscal year to date, the deficit is $523 billion, 31% wider, as outlays growth of 6% has outstripped revenue growth of 2%.

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Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan on Thursday, in an essay, said he wants to see more evidence of a recovery in inflation before committing to another rate hike. Kaplan, a Federal Open Market Committee member this year, said “at present, with a federal funds rate at a range of 100 to 125 basis points, I would like to see some greater evidence that we are making progress toward meeting our 2% inflation objective in the medium term.” He joins Fed. Gov. Lael Brainard in expressing reservation toward more rate hikes. (Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari opposed the June increase.) However, Kaplan does say the plan to reduce the balance sheet “will likely be appropriate” later this year.

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday that it will introduce “back-to-school helpers” to aid customers as they shop for back-to-school and back-to-college items. The retail giant has also added more than 400 items to its list of Online Grocery Pickup and Pickup Today services. And Wal-Mart is launching an online classroom supplies webpage that will allow customers to purchase items on teachers’ lists. The National Retail Federation expects 2017 back-to-school and back-to-college shopping to reach $83.6 billion. Wal-Mart shares are up 1.4% in Thursday trading, and up 8.5% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 9.4% for 2017 so far.

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Back-to-school and back-to-college spending is expected to reach $83.6 billion in 2017, the National Retail Federation said on Thursday, a more than 10% increase from $75.8 billion last year. The NRF expects back-to-school spending for families with children in elementary and high school to reach $29.5 billion, up 8% from $27.3 billion last year. Deloitte said Wednesday that it expects back-to-school spending to reach $27 billion. The NRF expects college spending to reach $54.1 billion, beating the 2012 record of $53.5 billion. Electronics sales is forecast to reach $12.8 billion, followed by clothing ($8.0 billion) and food items ($7.5 billion). The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 10% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 9.4% for the period.

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Venus Williams defeated Britain’s Johanna Konta in straight sets on Thursday to advance to her first Wimbledon final since 2009. The 37-year old tennis player won her semifinal match 6-4, 6-2. She’s slated to face Spanish star Garbine Muguruza in the women’s championship match to be played on Saturday at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. Williams boasts seven grand slam titles, including five Wimbledon titles and two U.S. Open championships.

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