Category: Stock Market News

United Parcel Service Inc. said Thursday it is planning to deploy 50 plug-in electric delivery trucks that will provide almost 400% fuel efficiency improvement. The company said it is working with Workhorse Group Inc. to design the trucks with zero tailpipe emissions. The news sent Workhorse shares up 17% premarket. “Electric vehicle technology is rapidly improving with battery, charging and smart grid advances that allow us to specify our delivery vehicles to eliminate emissions, noise and dependence on diesel and gasoline,” said Carlton Rose, president of global fleet maintenance and engineering for UPS. The trucks will be tested in urban areas, including Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles and UPS is aiming to deploy a larger fleet in 2019. UPS shares gained about 1% in early trade, and are down 0.2% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks rose at the open on Thursday after investors shook off the hawkishly interpreted minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent gathering. The S&P 500 advanced 9 points, or 0.4%, to 2,711. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 112 points, or 0.5%, to 24,910. The Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 38 points,or 0.5%, to 7,257. After the release of the minutes from the January Federal Open Market committee meeting, investors sold bonds and stocks without discrimination on fears that senior central bankers were penciling in a steeper rate hike trajectory, lifting yields on U.S. government paper. Bond prices fall when yields rise. Ebullient comments on the economic and inflation outlook from the minutes also added evidence to the hawkish take of the meeting.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on Thursday tried to tamp down the growing expectations of economists that the U.S. central bank will engineer four quarter-point rate hikes this year. “The idea that we have to go 100 basis points in 2018, that seems like a lot to me,” Bullard said in an interview on CNBC. Everything would have to go just right, with upside surprises, to justify that pace of tightening, he said. Bullard, a dovish regional Fed president, is not a voting member of the Fed’s interest-rate committee this year. Bullard said the bond market “is doing our work for us” by moving rates up. “I don’t think we have to chase the 10-year up,” he said. Four rate hikes this year will turn Fed policy “restrictive,” with inflation still below the 2% target. “Why are you doing that?” he asked.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Financial services tech company Fiserv Inc. said Thursday its board has approved a 2-for-1 stock split. The split will take place on March 5, when shareholders will receive an additional share for every outstanding share held. The additional shares will be payable on March 19. Fiserv shares were slightly higher premarket, but have gained 23% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The euro eased back on Thursday after minutes from the European Central Bank’s January meeting showed officials thought inflation still is too low to tighten policy. The shared currency fell to $1.2282 after trading around $1.2293 ahead of the report. The minutes showed the policy makers thought it was “premature” to change its forward guidance at its January meeting as inflation remained too far from the ECB’s target of just below 2%. However, the account also showed that the ECB could revisit its forward guidance on quantitative easing “early this year”.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Gilead Sciences Inc.’s unit Kite has entered an agreement with Sangamo Therapeutics Inc. to collaborate in developing engineered cell therapies to treat cancer. Under the terms of the deal, Kite will use Sangamo’s zine finger nuclease technology platform to develop the next-generation therapies for autologous and allogeneic use in treating different cancers. “Allogeneic cell therapies from healthy donor cells or from renewable stem cells would provide a potential treatment option that can be accessed directly within the oncology infusion center, thus reducing the time to infusion for patients,” the companies said in a statement. Sangamo will receive $150 million in upfront payments and be entitled to up to $3.01 billion in potential payments. Shares jumped 8% premarket and have gained 500% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%. Gilead shares were slightly higher premarket, and have gained 17% in the last 12 months.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Wayfair Inc. shares sank nearly 7.5% in Thursday premarket trading after the online home retailer reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss. Net loss totaled $72.8 million, or 83 cents per share, compared with a loss of $44.0 million, or 51 cents per share, for the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter was $1.44 billion, up from $984.6 million last year. The FactSet consensus was for a loss of 53 cents and sales of $1.36 billion. Active customers increased 33.2% year-over-year to 11 million. And average order value was $229 for the quarter, up from $203 the year before. Wayfair shares are up 40.2% for the last three months and up 132% for the last year. The S&P 500 index is up 14.3% for the past 12 months.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Chesapeake Energy Corp. shares surged 7% in premarket trade Thursday, after the company topped earnings estimates for the fourth quarter. Chesapeake said it had net income of $309 million, or 33 cents a share, in the quarter, after a loss of $740 million, or 83 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 30 cents, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 24 cents. Revenue rose to $1.258 billion from $678 million, and were also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.251 billion. Chief Executive Doug Lawler said the company made significant progress in reducing debt in 2017, increasing cash flow and boosting margins. “We further demonstrated the depth of our portfolio by closing on approximately $1.3 billion in asset and property sales and signed additional asset sales for approximately $575 million that we expect to close by the end of the 2018 second quarter,” he said. Shares are down 56% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

An unidentified assailant threw an explosive device that was most likely a grenade into the U.S. embassy compound in Montenegro early Thursday, then killed himself with another explosive device, said the Balkan nation’s government in posts on Twitter. The attacker was a man, and there were no other injuries or deaths, according to multiple published reports. The U.S. embassy was working with local police to identify the attacker, and all visa services at the embassy were cancelled for Thursday, American officials said on Twitter.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The U.S. women’s ice hockey team won its first Winter Olympics gold medal in 20 years on Thursday, beating the Canada squad. The U.S. won a shootout 3-2 on the sixth round, with Jocelyn Lameroux scoring the winner. The final went to sudden-death overtime after the teams tied 2-2 in regulation time, but neither team succeeded in scoring a golden goal to end the match in the extra 20 minutes. The battle for gold in PyeongChang was a repeat of the final at the last Sochi Winter Olympics, when Canada took the title. Until the 2018 final, the Canadian women’s team had won four straight golds and 24 straight matches at the Olympic Games.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News