Category: Stock Market News

Guess Inc. shares sank 10.5% in late-Wednesday trading after the apparel and accessories company reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed expectations and offered weak guidance. Net income for the quarter was $6.6 million, or 8 cents per share, down from $47.8 million, or 57 cents per share last year. Adjusted EPS was 41 cents, missing the 44-cent FactSet consensus. Revenue was $679.3 million, up from $658.3 million last year, but below the $689.0 million FactSet consensus. Same-store sales in the U.S. and Canada decreased 7%. Guess sees a first-quarter loss per share in the range of 30 cents to 33 cents. The FactSet consensus is for a loss of 23 cents per share. First-quarter same-store sales in the Americas are expected to be down in the mid-to-high teens. Guess shares are down 43.7% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 18.3% for the same period.

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Shares of Williams Sonoma Inc. rose nearly 3% late Wednesday after the retailer reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings above expectations and said its board of directors authorized a dividend increase. Williams Sonoma said it earned $145 million, or $1.63 a share, in the quarter, compared with $141 million, or $1.55 a share, in the year-ago. Adjusted for one-time items, Williams Sonoma earned $1.55 a share. Sales fell to $1.582 billion, compared with $1.586 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of $1.51 a share on sales of $1.607 billion. Williams Sonoma holiday season was “one of the best” for the company, CEO Laura Alber said in a statement. The company said its board of directors authorized a 5% dividend increase to 39 cents a share. Shares of Williams Sonoma ended the regular session up 1.3%. In a separate statement, it said Sandra Stangl, president of Williams Sonoma’s Pottery Barn brands, will resign from the company March 31. The company named Marta Benson president of Pottery Barn and Jennifer Kellor as president of Pottery Barn Kids and PBTeen.

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Financials on Wednesday were the weakest performer among the S&P 500’s 11 sectors after the Federal Reserve, lifted interest rates by a quarter-point. The S&P 500 index’s financial sector, was off 0.1%, with other sectors posting firm gains, led by energy’s 2% rebound. A rate hike tends to be a positive for bank’s, because it increases how much they can charge for borrowers, compared with their own short-term borrowing costs. However, U.S. government bonds slipped, as investors bought Treasurys, pushing yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down to 2.50%, compared with 2.58% earlier in the session. Bond yields move inversely to prices and usually tick higher, as investor shed existing bonds in anticipation of higher yielding bonds in the future. Some market participants said the Fed wasn’t as hawkish, or aggressive, about its plans for future rate hikes as had been anticipated. The Fed’s dot plot or forecast of future rate increases is implying two more rate increases in 2017. matching its forecast for three in 2017. For 2018, the Fed is expected raise rates three times. Exchange-traded funds that track the financial sector also showed lackluster trade. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF was off 0.1%, tracking the S&P 500 financial sector, the SPDR S&P Bank ETF was off 0.3%, the iShares U.S. Financials ETF was up about 0.3%. Comparatively, the S&P 500 gained 1% at 2,388, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% at 20,971, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.9% to 5,910, near a closing record. Shares of big banks like Goldnman Sachs Group and Bank of America were showing losses, bucking the trend of the broader market.

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A suspicious package containing explosives was found Wednesday at the German finance ministry in Berlin, according to Reuters. The package was found in the mail-handling area of the building, but wasn’t opened. “The first investigation results show that the package contained a so-called explosives mixture, which is frequently used to produce pyrotechnics. It was designed to cause considerable injuries when the package was opened,” police said in a statement, according to the report.

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Shares of MSCI Inc. pulled back sharply Wednesday, after the indexes and analytics company dispelled reports that it received a buyout proposal. The stock gained 2% in midday trade, but had been up as much as 13% earlier in the session. “We do not normally comment on rumors in the market, but in response to recent media reports regarding third party interest in MSCI, we believe such reports are incorrect. We are not in discussions with any third party, and we have not received any offer or indication of interest,” the company said in a statement. The stock had rallied to record highs earlier in the session, after the U.K.’s Evening Standard reported that MSCI rejected S&P Global Inc.’s $120-a-share buyout bid because it was too low. The report said several parties appeared interested in a merger deal with MSCI. S&P Global’s stock slipped 1.5% in recent trade, but was down 2.5% at its intraday low. MSCI’s stock has rallied 42% over the past year, while the S&P 500 has gained 18%.

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The U.S. charged two Russian FSB officers and two others for computer hacking, economic espionage and other criminal offenses relating to the hacking of Yahoo. The Justice Department and the FBI said after getting unauthorized access to Yahoo’s systems to steal information from about at least 500 million accounts, the hackers used information to get at accounts of Russian journalists, U.S. and Russian government officials and private-sector employees of financial, transportation and other companies. One of the defendants also exploited his access to Yahoo’s network for his personal financial gain, by searching Yahoo user communications for credit card and gift card account numbers and also redirecting a subset of Yahoo search engine web traffic so he could make commissions.

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Shares of Ardagh Group S.A. were trading at $22.16 Wednesday morning, above the company’s $19 issue price, in the stock’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The Luxembourg-based food and beverage packing maker sold 16.2 million shares at $19 each to raise $307.8 million. The company had set a price range of $17 to $20 per share. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities and Goldman, Sachs & Co were the lead underwriters on the offering.

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported that domestic crude-oil supplies fell for the first time in 10 weeks. Supplies declined by 200,000 barrels for the week ended March 10. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a 531,000-barrel decline, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a climb of 3.5 million barrels. Gasoline supplies fell by 3.1 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped 4.2 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. April crude was up 78 cents, or 1.6%, to $48.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading at $48.70 before the supply data.

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Shares of MSCI Inc. rocketed 11% to a record high Wednesday, after reports that the market index compiler has received, and rejected, a buyout bid by S&P Global Inc. because it was too low. The U.K.’s Evening Standard reported Wednesday, citing City sources, that S&P Global approached MSCI with a buyout bid of $120 a share, which was 25% above Tuesday’s closing price of $96.33, and would imply a market capitalization of about $10.9 billion. But the company and its major shareholders are holding out for a $130-per-share bid, Evening Standard reported, which would value MSCI at about $11.8 billion. S&P Global’s stock shed 1.3% in morning trade. It is believed that there are several parties interested in buying MSCI, including exchange houses and private-equity firms, the report said. MSCI’s stock has run up 55% over the past 12 months, while S&P Global shares have rallied 40% and the S&P 500 has climbed 18%.

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Time Inc. announced on Wednesday it has named company veteran Clifton Leaf as the next editor-in-chief of Fortune. Leaf has been the deputy editor at the financial news publication since 2014, previously serving as a guest editor for the New York Times op-ed page and Sunday Review. Leaf also served as executive editor for the Wall Street Journal’s SmartMoney magazine. “Cliff Leaf has proven himself to be the perfect person to lead Fortune’s editorial efforts, in print, digital and live events,” said former Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alan Murray in a statement. Murray was named chief content officer of Time Inc. in 2016. Time Inc.’s board has been exploring the potential for a sale of the company, with Meredith Corp. being one of the leading contenders. Shares of Time Inc. have gained 31% in the trailing 12-month period, while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 18% during the same period.

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