Category: Stock Market News

President Donald Trump on Monday tweeted about the stock market — only his second tweet on the topic since the stock market became more volatile. “Great news,” the president said at the news the Dow industrials sported the third-best one-day point gain ever, adding the hashtag MAGA, which stands for Make America Great Again. Prior to this missive, Trump had authored just one tweet since Jan. 26 about the stock market. Even with the rally on Monday, the Dow is down 9.1% from its Jan. 26 level.

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Shares of Red Hat Inc. rose more than 6% late Monday after the company reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings and sales above Wall Street expectations. Red Hat said it lost $13 million, or 7 cents a share, in the quarter, versus earnings of $66 million, or 36 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $167 million, or 91 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $110 million, or 61 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Sales rose 23% to $772 million. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report adjusted earnings of 81 cents a share on sales of $762 million.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index rallied to trade at session highs late Monday afternoon, with the benchmarks on track to post their sharpest one-day climb since Aug. 26, 2015, according to FactSet data. The Dow was up as many as 586 points at its peak, and was most recently trading up about 580 points, or 2.5%, at 24,110. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index was trading up 58 points, or 2.2%, at 2,646, also on track for the best daily rise since late August of 2015. A cooling of tensions around trade between the U.S. and China has given way to a powerful rally for U.S. stocks, which are coming off the worst weekly decline in more than two years. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index surged 2.6% to 7,173, putting the technology-heavy index on pace for its best one-session gain in about 2 1/2 years.

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Oil futures eased back Monday after posting their highest settlement in eight weeks on Friday. Concerns over the possibility of a trade war between the U.S. and China weighed on prices, as China marked the start of trading for its own crude futures contract. May West Texas Intermediate crude fell 33 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $65.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Short sellers in Tesla Inc. bonds have made “a tidy profit” this year, and have not covered to lock in their profit, which suggests that “they think the credit will continue to deteriorate,” analysts at IHS Markit said in a note Monday. The 5.3% coupon 2025 bonds hit a mid-close price of 92.5 cents on the dollar, the lowest after their August issuance. “Short sellers have not covered, and there is still a par value of $251m short in the 5.3% 2025 issue, equating to 13.2% of the total issue size,” the analysts said. “The limiting factor for short sellers has been the available supply of bonds, with the utilization of lendable supply currently at 99% ─ having not been less than 90% since October.” Short sellers could be looking for “more downside before they begin to cover,” the analysts said. Despite the lows, the bonds compare favorably to similar debt by other car makers. Tesla shares, meanwhile, have lost 4.5% so far this year, compared with losses of 1.7% for the S&P 500 index , but have held to their outperformance in the last 12 months, up 13% while the benchmark has gained 12%.

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Shares of Square Inc. are up 1.7% in Monday trading after Evercore ISI analyst David Togut raised his price target on the stock to $67 from $51. The $67 target is the new high among analysts tracked by FactSet. “We continue to believe new products like Square Register and retail POS will drive Square’s progression upmarket and expand its [total addressable market],” Togut wrote in a note to clients. “Based on our channel checks, traditional merchant acquirers are beginning to see Square more often.” Analysts at Mizuho and Deutsche Bank raised their Square price targets on Friday, while an analyst at Craig-Hallum Capital Group cut his rating on the stock to sell. Shares of Square are up 216% in the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 12%.

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Shares of publicly traded gun companies fell on Monday, in the first trading session after a massive worldwide rally protesting gun violence. The march was the latest example of strength by supporters of gun-control legislation, which, if passed, could depress the sales and earnings of the sector. The gun-control movement has picked up steam since last month’s high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 people dead; earlier this month, a number of companies, including Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods, broke ties with the National Rifle Association. Sturm Ruger & Co. fell 1.6% on the day while American Outdoor Brands Corp. , the parent of Smith & Wesson, fell 3.1%. Both are on track for their third straight daily decline. Also hurting the sector was Remington Outdoor Co., the firearms maker that sought bankruptcy protection Sunday, in the face of a heavy debt load, falling sales and lawsuits tied to 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.8% on Monday while the S&P 500 was up 1.6% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.8%. Thus far this year, Sturm is down 13% while American Outdoor has shed 26%. American Outdoor recently forecast weak sales for at least a year.

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Gold prices climbed on Monday for a fourth straight session to mark another settlement at their highest in just over five weeks. Weakness in the dollar provided support, despite a rebound in U.S. stocks, as investors eyed developments tied to trade tensions between the U.S. and China. April gold rose $5.10, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,355 an ounce–the highest finish since Feb. 16, according to FactSet data.

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Shares of Microsoft Corp. surged on Monday, jumping in its biggest one-day pop in years and helping to lead both the technology sector and the broader market higher. The stock , a Dow component, climbed 6.5% and was on track for its best day since Oct. 2015. Gains came after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Microsoft to $130, a level that implies upside of 40% from current levels. In addition, Microsoft announced an extension of its China partnership with Adobe Systems Inc. . Shares of Adobe were up 3.9%. Microsoft was the biggest percentage gainer in the S&P 500 on Monday, and the rise contributed to the 2.3% gain in the technology sector , which was the top-performing industry group of the day. Thus far this year, Microsoft is up 8.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.7% on Monday while the S&P 500 was up 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.6%.

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Smartsheet Inc. said it is launching an initial public offering, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday. The Bellevue, Wash.-based cloud-based business collaboration software said it hopes to raise up to $100 million but that amount is often used as a placeholder and revised in a later filing. Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Jefferies and RBC Capital Markets are listed as underwriters. Smartsheet reported fiscal 2018 revenue of $111.3 million with a loss of $49.1 million, compared to revenue of $67 million and a loss of $15.2 million in the year previous. The company plans to list under the ticker symbol “SMAR” on the New York Stock Exchange. The filing comes following the success of tech IPOs like Dropbox Inc. and Zscalar Inc. .

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