Category: Stock Market News

U.S. stock-market indexes Wednesday traded higher, with equities attempting to rebounding from a technology-led downdraft in the previous session. A Senate delay of a closely watched vote on a bill to overhaul of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, until after July 4, has raised some questions about President Donald Trump’s ability to advance his pro-business and market-boosting agenda, headlined by tax cuts, deregulation and a boost to spending on infrastructure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.7% at 21,449, the S&P 500 index rose 0.8% at 2,437, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.8% at 6,196 in early trade, as the tech-laden benchmark tried to avoid three straight down days, and its first monthly drop since October. In the prior session, tech shares pitched sharply lower, with the biotech-oriented iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF suffering its largest daily drop since March 21, and the health-care focused Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF notching its steepest one-day drop since May 17, according to FactSet data. Technology stocks have been the centerpiece of what has been a mulitmonth rally in U.S. stocks. Also Tuesday, global investors digested comments from European Central Bank boss, Mario Draghi, whose remarks were interpreted as less hawkish than previously, pushing the euro to a 10-month high against the dollar and jolting yields on government paper up, including the 10-year Treasury note . On the corporate front, the market is anticipating the public listing of meal-kit maker Blue Apron Holdings Inc. .

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Oil prices seesawed Wednesday between modest gains and losses, after data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that domestic crude supplies rose by 100,000 barrels for the week ended June 23. That defied forecasts for a decline of 3.25 million barrels by analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts, but came in below the increase of 851,000 barrels reported by the American Petroleum Institute. Gasoline stockpiles fell by 900,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles also declined by 200,000 barrels last week, according to the EIA. August crude was up 11 cents, or 0.3%, to $44.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded at $44.28 before the supply data.

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Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. dropped 0.9% in active morning trade Wednesday, on track for a fourth-straight loss, amid growing concerns over competition for the chip maker’s cryptocurrency-specific graphics cards. Volume was 26.2 million shares, making the stock the most actively traded on the Nasdaq exchange. Analyst Christopher Rolland at Susquehanna Financial said he can confirm recent reports of two GPU offerings from Nvidia Corp. , to be released during the third quarter, that are targeted at the cryptocurrency market. “As these new products are more price competitive, they may pose a risk to AMD’s current offerings in the market,” Rolland wrote in a note to clients. “New cards may upset AMD’s alt-crypto coin dominance.” Nvidia’s stock rose 0.9% in morning trade. AMD share have rallied 17% year to date, while Nvidia’s stock has run up 39%, the PHLX Semiconductor Index has rallied 16% and the S&P 500 has gained 8.7%.

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Shares of payroll services company Paychex Inc. fell 3% Wednesday, after the company offered guidance for its next fiscal year that lagged estimates. Rochester, N.Y.-based Paychex said it had net income of $175.3 million, or 54 cents a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, up from $178.1 million, or 49 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $798.6 million from $753.9 million. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 53 cents and revenue of $798 million. The company said it now expects total revenue to rise about 5% in fiscal 2018 and for adjusted EPS to rise by 7% to 8%. Current FactSet consensus numbers are for EPS growth of 8.2% and revenue growth of 6%. BMO Capital Markets analyst Jeffrey Silber said the guidance implies slowing growth, and would likely weigh on the stock price. “Adjusted EBITDA margin of 42.7% was much better than the consensus 40.5%, but in line with our 42.7% estimate,” he wrote in a note. “The upside (we believe vs. consensus) was driven by leverage from both operating expense and SG&A expenses.” Shares have fallen 6% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.7%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stock-market indexes Wednesday opened higher, with equities attempting to rebounding from a technology-led downdraft in the previous session. A Senate delay of a closely watched vote on a bill to overhaul of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, until after July 4, has raised some questions about President Donald Trump’s ability to advance his pro-business and market-boosting agenda, headlined by tax cuts, deregulation and a boost to spending on infrastructure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% at 21,428, the S&P 500 index rose 0.6% at 2,432, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4% at 6,173 in early trade, as the tech-laden benchmark tried to avoid three straight down days, and its first monthly drop since October. In the prior session, tech shares pitched sharply lower, with the biotech-oriented iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF suffering its largest daily drop since March 21, and the health-care focused Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF notching its steepest one-day drop since May 17, according to FactSet data. Technology stocks have been the centerpiece of what has been a mulitmonth rally in U.S. stocks. Also Tuesday, global investors digested comments from European Central Bank boss, Mario Draghi, whose remarks were interpreted as less hawkish than previously, pushing the euro to a 10-month high against the dollar and jolting yields on government paper higher, including the 10-year Treasury note . On the corporate front, the market is anticipating the public listing of meal-kit maker Blue Apron Holdings Inc. .

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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Fred’s Inc. said Wednesday that it has adopted a short-term shareholder rights plan, also known as a “poison pill,” which will expire on Sept. 25. The general merchandise and pharmacy retailer said it has adopted the plan as a result of “increased trading volatility” in its shares, and in anticipation of activity related to its associated asset purchase agreement with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. , pending those companies’ merger. The plan is designed to reduce the likelihood that an entity would gain control of the company. “It was not adopted in response to any specific takeover bid or other proposal to acquire control of the company,” Fred’s said in a statement. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, had lost 4.3% on Tuesday after soaring 23% on Monday. It has plunged 35% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 8.7% and the S&P 500 has gained 8.1%.

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.

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Nuance Communications Inc. said part of its network was affected Tuesday by the malware incident that affected many other global companies. As soon as Nuance became aware of the incident, “it took measures to contain the incident and assess the extent of the impact on its network,” the provider of voice and language services said in a statement. “Nuance has engaged leading security experts to assist in responding to the incident.” Nuance’s stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, had slumped 2.7% on Tuesday, but was still up 22% year to date, while the S&P 500 had gained 8.1% so far this year. On Tuesday, cyberattacks, dubbed Petya, and which affected a number of multinational companies across Europe and the U.S., appeared to stem in part from a Ukrainian tax software product.

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Michael Bond, the creator of the popular children’s book character Paddington Bear, has died at the age of 91. According to media reports, Bond died in his home on Tuesday following a short illness. His first book, “A Bear Named Paddington,” was published in 1958 and since then more than 35 million copies from the series have been sold worldwide. The Paddington Bear character, a bear who moves to London from Peru, has been the inspiration for animated TV series and a successful 2015 feature film. The movie, “Paddington,” pulled in $268 million world wide and garnered a sequel set to come out early next year. Universal Music Group recently partnered with the owners of the Paddington Bear brand to control licensing across retail and consumer products in the U.S. and Canada. Bond had most recently published a Paddington book in April called “Paddington’s Finest Hour.”

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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Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it is conducting a field service action to correct a driveshaft issue in transit vans made in 2015 through 2017. The company did not specify how many vehicles may be affected. It said it expects the action to cost $142 million at its North America business unit. Any impact on the company’s guidance for pre-tax profit will be provided with earnings for the second quarter scheduled for release July 26. Shares were flat in premarket trade, but are down 9% in 2017 so far, while the S&P 500 has gained about 8%.

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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Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures rose 0.28% in premarket trade Wednesday, bouncing slightly following what some chart watchers would consider a breakdown of the short-term uptrend. The Nasdaq 100 closed Tuesday below its 50-day moving average, which many see as a dividing line between shorter-term uptrends and downtrends, for the first time since Dec. 6. That snapped a 138-session streak above the 50-day MA, the longest such streak since the 166-session stretch ending Sept. 26, 1995. A 0.23% rise in the Nasdaq 100 would put it around 5,687.50, which is still below its 50-day MA, which extends to 5,693.02. The Nasdaq 100 has lost 3.6% sinceit last closed at a record high on June 8. The S&P 500 has slipped 1.4% since its last record on June 19.

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