Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. tumbled 6% in morning trade Tuesday, on track for the biggest one-day selloff so far this year, after the fast-casual Mexican food chain disclosed a downbeat sales outlook for the year. The stock, which was headed for the lowest close since March 28, has now lost 13% since closing at a 14-month high on May 16. The company stated in a filing late Monday, which followed its investor gathering, that it expected 2017 same-store sales growth in the “high single digits” percentage range, below the current FactSet consensus of a 10.1% rise. Chipotle also said it expected second-quarter operating costs as a percentage of sales “to be at or slightly higher” than the first quarter, indicated margins will decline. The stock was still up 14% year to date, while the SPDR Consumer Discretionary Select Sector ETF has rallied 11% and the S&P 500 has gained 9.3%.

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White House press secretary Sean Spicer will now give an on-camera press briefing at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, the White House announced Tuesday. The decision came after reporters took to social media to complain that no press briefing, either on or off camera, was on the daily White House schedule. Spicer downplayed the decision, telling reporters that the daily guidance had just been updated, as it had been many times before. There have been a series of reports overnight, quoting White House officials, saying that Spicer has decided to move into a behind-the-scenes role advising President Donald Trump and that an announcement was imminent.

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A popular exchange-traded fund used to bet on the energy sector on Tuesday was looking at its worst daily decline in more than three months, according to FactSet data. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF was down 2% in recent trade, putting it on pace to log its steepest drop since March 8, when it plunged 2.6%. The slump in the energy-focused ETF was led by sharp drops in Transocean Ltd. , Hess Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. , which were down at least 4%. All of the index’s components were trading in the red, in early trade. The decline for the sector comes as crude-oil prices sink to a seven-month low and are flirting with a close in bear-market territory, defined as a fall of at least 20% from a recent peak. Crude’s slump was putting pressure on the S&P 500 index , with the energy sector the worst performer among the benchmark’s 11 sectors, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower, weighed by a 1.6% decline in shares of Chevron Corp. and a 1.3% fall in shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. .

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McDonald’s Corp. was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Cowen & Co. based on the company’s potential for U.S. same-store sales growth. The price target was raised to $180 from $142. Analysts conducted a proprietary study that found value perceptions compared with other fast-food restaurants started to improve in September 2016. At that time, McDonald’s began pushing a McPick 2 for $5 promotion, along with other discounts that were available exclusively through the smartphone app. McDonald’s Experience of the Future initiative, which includes digital upgrades, are another plus, with analysts expecting 130 basis-point contribution to U.S. same-store sales. “We believe mobile ordering better supplements the drive-thru business where 70%-plus of U.S. sales are transacted,” analysts wrote in a Tuesday note. “In our view McDonald’s differentiation lies in the operational enhancements of mobile ordering that includes curbside pick-up of orders in order to not disrupt the drive-thru.” McDonald’s shares are up 1.1% in Tuesday trading, and up 27.2% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 9.2% for the year-to-date.

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A popular exchange-traded fund used to bet on the energy sector on Tuesday was looking at its worst daily decline in about a month, according to FactSet data. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF was down 1.5% in recent trade, putting it on pace to log its steepest drop since May 25, when it fell 1.8%. The slump in the energy-focused ETF was led by sharp drops in TechnipFMC PLC , Schlumberger Ltd. and ONEOK Inc. , which were down at least 2.5%. All of the index’s components were trading in the red, in early trade. The decline for the sector comes as crude-oil prices sink to a seven-month low and are flirting with a close in bear-market territory, defined as a fall of at least 20% from a recent peak. Crude’s slump was putting pressure on the S&P 500 index , with the energy sector the worst performer among the benchmark’s 11 sectors, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading flat, but weighed by a 1.3% decline in shares of Chevron Corp. .

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The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday were unable to follow through on record closes notched in the previous session, with upside momentum clipped as oil prices fell. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 2,448.56, while the Dow industrials declined 19 points, or 0.1%, to 21,511 in early action. Both gauges closed at records on Monday as the previously beaten down tech sector rebounded, which also lifted the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which was down 0.2% at 6,227 on Tuesday morning. Oil futures slumped, with the U.S. benchmark down more than 2% to trade at a seven-month low around $43.30 a barrel. The Energy Select Sector SPDR exchange traded fund fell 1,4% in early action.

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3M Co. said Tuesday that it has waived the mandatory retirement age of 65 for Chief Executive Inge Thulin, who is 63. Thulin has been CEO of the consumer and industrial products company since Feb. 24, 2012. The company also said it appointed Michael Roman chief operating officer and Hak Cheol Shin as vice chairman, effective July 1. 3M’s stock has soared 142% since Thulin has been CEO through Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rallied 66%.

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Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said Tuesday that low interest rates do pose financial stability concerns that central bankers and the private sector must take seriously. In a speech in Amsterdam to a conference co-sponsored by the central banks of Sweden and the Netherlands, Rosengren said lower rates may be a more permanent feature on the economic landscape because they reflect broad population trends. As a result, financial firms, such as insurance companies, “will need to factor in the possibility of lower rates, particularly during economic downturns and flatter yield curves.” For their part, central bankers must understand that financial stability concerns “have implications for monetary policy responsiveness to negative shocks.” And supervisory policies also need to factor in greater macroeconomic risk, he added.

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U.S. crude-oil prices on Tuesday retreated in to bear-market territory, defined as a drop of at least 20% from a recent peak, as the the market continues to be dogged by oversupply concerns. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July was trading 2.5% lower at $43.34 a barrel. Measured from its Feb. 21 peak, when crude settled at $54.33 a barrel, WTI is down about 20%, representing a bear market if it holds to close at its current levels, according to FactSet data. The decline in crude comes even as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major oil producers have agreed to extend a production-limit pact into the first quarter of 2018, in order to stem the flow of oil, which has weighed mightily on crude futures. U.S. shale-oil drillers, who aren’t a part of the output agreement, have been cited as the main culprit, disrupting OPEC’s efforts to stabilize oil prices. In another bearish sign for U.S. crude, oil’s short-term trading average, its 50-day moving average, has been slipping below the long-term trading average, or 200-day MA. Chart technicians look at trading patterns to determine short- and long-term trends in an asset.

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. crude-oil prices on Tuesday were on the brink of crossing into bear-market territory, defined as a drop of at least 20% from a recent peak, as the the market continues to be dogged by oversupply concerns. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July was trading 1.8% lower at $43.62 a barrel. Measured from its Feb. 21 peak, when crude settled at $54.33 a barrel, WTI is down about 19.7%, just shy of retreating into a bear market, if it holds at its current levels, according to FactSet data. The decline in crude comes even as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major oil producers have agreed to extend a production-limit pact into the first quarter of 2018, in order to stem the flow of oil, which has weighed mightily on oil prices. U.S. shale-oil drillers, who are not a part of the output agreement, have been cited as the main culprit, disrupting OPEC’s efforts to stabilize oil prices. In another bearish sign for U.S. crude, oil’s short-term trading average, its 50-day moving average, has been slipping below the long-term trading average, or 200-day MA. Chart technicians look at trading patterns to determine short- and long-term trends in an asset.

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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