Category: Stock Market News

Homebuilder stocks dropped in premarket trade Friday, after data showing a surprise sharp decline in the construction of new homes in May. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF slipped 0.5%, but many individual homebuilder shares were hit a lot harder. Shares of Lennar Corp. lost 2.2%, D.R. Horton Inc. dropped 2.1%, Toll Brothers Inc. declined 1.5%, Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. shed 0.9% and PulteGroup Inc. gaive up 0.9%. Earlier, data showed that May housing starts fell 5.5% to an annual rate of 1.09 million, the lowest in eight months, while economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been expecting a 5.1% rise to 1.23 million. The homebuilder ETF has climbed 14% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.7%.

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McDonald’s Corp. and the International Olympic Committee have ended their partnership, the IOC announced in a release on Friday. The statement said the two organizations mutually agreed on the break, though the financial terms are confidential. “In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, we understand that McDonald’s is looking to focus on different business priorities,” the IOC said in a statement. McDonald’s will continue to sponsor the Winter Olympics in 2018, with marketing rights in PyeongChang, South Korea and operations including restaurants. The IOC says it has no plans to replace the retail food sponsorship. Other companies that have ended their partnerships with the Olympics include Budweiser, an Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A. brand , Citi , and Hilton , according to AdWeek. McDonald’s shares are down 0.6% in Friday premarket trading, but up 24.2% for the year to date. The S&P 500 index is up 8.7% for 2017 so far.

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Shares of Nike Inc. were knocked 1.3% lower in premarket trade Friday, after the athletic shoe and apparel giant was downgraded at J.P. Morgan, which cited concerns over decelerating North America sales. Analyst Matthew Boss cut his rating to neutral after being at overweight for at least the last 4 1/2 years, and trimmed his stock price target to $58–9.6% above Thursday’s closing price of $52.90–from $61. Boss said he believes North America sales will likely get worse before getting better, as the challenging retail environment has led to store closures and declining shelf space for Nike merchandise. In addition, Boss said the recent shift in customer preference from performance to lifestyle has reduced barriers to entry, which has increased competition in the athletic retail space. On Thursday, Nike announced its Consumer Direct Offense” initiative in which it plans to increase its direct-to-consumer efforts. The initiative will lead to a 2% reduction in workforce and cutting 25% of its styles. The stock has gained 4.1% year to date through Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has advanced 8.1%.

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W.P. Carey Inc. said Friday it raised its quarterly dividend by 0.5% to $1.00 a share from 99.5 cents a share. The new dividend will be payable July 14 to shareholders of record on June 30. Based on Thursday’s closing price for the real estate investment trust’s stock of $67.78, the new annual dividend rate of $4.00 would represent a dividend yield of 5.9%, compared with the SPDR Real Estate Select Sector ETF’s yield of 3.68% and the implied S&P 500’s yield of 1.99%, according to FactSet. W.P. Carey’s stock, which is still inactive in premarket trade, has rallied 15% year to date, while the real estate ETF has gained 5.6% and the S&P 500 has advanced 8.7%.

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The Russian central bank cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points on Friday and pledged potential additional easing this year even as it bumped up its economic view. The central bank trimmed the benchmark rate to 9.00% from 9.25%, its third rate cut this year. “The Board notes that inflation is close to the target, inflation expectations keep declining and economic activity is recovering,” its statement read. The bank also said there is room to cut rates again in the second half of 2017, though it will “assess inflation risks, the inflation dynamics and economic developments against the forecast.” The central bank increased its economic growth forecast to 1.3%-1.8% in 2017 from 1%-1.5% in an earlier forecast. The ruble firmed briefly to 57.59 versus the dollar compared with a level of 57.7 seen shortly before the rate decision.

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Shares of Celsion Corp. rocketed 42% in premarket trade Friday, after the cancer drug development company filed to withdraw plans for a stock offering. The company had originally filed on April 5 an S-1 statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the sale of shares, which was amended as recently as Wednesday for the sale of 2.45 million common shares and pre-funded and base warrants to buy over 4 million shares. In Friday’s filing, the company stated that it submitted the withdrawal “because it does not intend to pursue the contemplated offering at this time.” Earlier this week, the company said it had regained the minimum-bid compliance for the continued listing of its stock on the Nasdaq. That followed a 1-for-14 reverse stock split on May 30. The stock has plunged 52% year to date through Thursday, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has climbed 11% and the S&P 500 has gained 8.7%.

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European stocks pushed higher in early trade Friday, with auto stocks advancing following monthly sales figures from the industry. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6% to 388.35. All sectors were higher, led by the basic materials and oil and gas groups. Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.5% 12,755.77, with BMW AG rising 0.8% and Daimler AG moving up 0.5%. France’s CAC 40 tacked on 0.9% to 5,263.29, ahead of Sunday’s final round of voting in parliamentary elections. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% at 7,451. For the week, the Stoxx 600 was on course to fall by 0.5%.

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The business and financial dealings of Jared Kushner — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser — are now under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, the Washington Post reported late Thursday. Mueller is leading the probe into Russian election meddling and possible collusion between Trump’s campaign team and Russian officials. The Post said one subject of scrutiny is Kushner’s meeting with Russian development banker Sergey Gorkov in December, when Kushner’s family real estate business was seeking financing for a Manhattan office building. The Post said the finances of other Trump associates are also being looked into, including former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former foreign policy adviser Carter Page. On Wednesday, the Post reported that Mueller’s probe had expanded to investigate whether Trump may have obstructed justice.

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Vice President Mike Pence has hired outside legal counsel to help with congressional and the special counsel investigations into collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, The Washington Post reported, citing Pence’s office. Pence has retained former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Richard Cullen, who is chairman of McGuire Woods, the Post reported. President Trump has his own private lawyer, Marc Kasowitz.

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Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. shares fell in the extended session Thursday after the accounting firm disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it was the focus of a Department of Justice probe. Booz Allen Hamilton shares dropped 12% to $34.51 after hours. The company said the Justice Department is conducting a criminal and civil investigation into its “cost accounting and indirect cost charging practices with the U.S. government.” Booz Allen said that its internal probes had not uncovered any significant deficiencies or weaknesses and that it was cooperating with the investigation.

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