Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
New home sales plummeted in July from the month and year before. However, despite the falling sales pace, home prices still increased. Housing supply, however, showed improvement as it continued its upward course. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Exchange-traded funds that track home-building stocks fell on Wednesday, after data showed that new-home sales fell 9.4% in July, a steeper fall than had been expected. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF lost 0.9%, while the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF was down 0.5%. The SPDR fund remains up more than 10% in 2017, although it has dropped 3.5% over the past month. Sales of newly constructed homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That represented a seven-month low, and it was under the 608,000 pace that had been forecast. The sector was also pressured by Lowe’s Companies Inc. , which fell 5.7% in the wake of lower-than-expected results. Home Depot fell 1.5%.
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From:: Stock Market News
The largest exchange-traded fund to track the Mexican equity market was modestly lower on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump suggested he would scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement, something that has historically been a boon to Mexico’s economy. “I think we’ll end up probably terminating Nafta at some point,” he said in a speech where he also said he was prepared to shut the U.S. government down in order to secure funding for a proposed border wall with Mexico, something that has little support in Congress. The iShares MSCI Mexico Capped ETF fell 0.6% to $57.06, having previously dropped as $56.82 in early trading. The fund is coming off a three-day streak of gains, and it has risen in seven of the past nine trading sessions. The Mexico ETF is one of the strongest single-country funds thus far this year, up nearly 30%. Separately, the iShares MSCI Canada ETF rose 0.2% on the day, while both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were off 0.3%.
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From:: Stock Market News
U.S. equity indexes opened lower Wednesday on renewed worries about U.S. trade relations and domestic policy, in jeopardy of reversing the previous session’s healthy gains. The S&P 500 index traded 0.3% lower at 2,444, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.4% down at 21,821. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.3% to 6,274 after ending producing the sharpest rise of the three major equity benchmarks in the previous session. Late Tuesday, President Donald Trump at a rally in Phoenix said he was willing to risk a government shutdown to ensure funding for the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. In corporate news, Lowe’s Cos. slipped 4.9% following weaker-than-expected earnings for the home-improvement company. Shares of Dow-component Home Depot Inc. , a rival to Lowe’s, also fell and was the worst performer among blue-chips in early trade. Separately, London-traded shares of advertising giant WPP PLC tumbled 10.4% as it cut its growth outlook. Salesforce.com Inc. dipped 0.8%, even after reporting better-than-expected earnings late Tuesday.
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From:: Stock Market News
U.S. equity indexes opened lower Wednesday on renewed worries about U.S. trade relations and domestic policy, in jeopardy of reversing the previous session’s healthy gains. The S&P 500 index traded 0.3% lower at 2,444, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.4% down at 21,821. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.3% to 6,274 after ending producing the sharpest rise of the three major equity benchmarks in the previous session. Late Tuesday, President Donald Trump at a rally in Phoenix said he was willing to risk a government shutdown to ensure funding for the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. In corporate news, Lowe’s Cos. slipped 4.9% following weaker-than-expected earnings for the home-improvement company. Shares of Dow-component Home Depot Inc. , a rival to Lowe’s, also fell and was the worst performer among blue-chips in early trade. Separately, London-traded shares of advertising giant WPP PLC tumbled 10.4% as it cut its growth outlook. Salesforce.com Inc. dipped 0.8%, even after reporting better-than-expected earnings late Tuesday.
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From:: Stock Market News
Stryker Corp. said early Wednesday that it has issued a voluntary recall for specific lots of Oral Care products and that it placed a temporary ship hold on cloth-based products, which make up about half of the company’s revenue, until they are tested. The Food and Drug Administration previously warned the company about these two issues in a July letter. The company now expects full year adjusted earnings to be at the lower end of its previously stated range of $6.45 to $6.55 and third quarter adjusted earnings to be at the lower end of a previously stated $1.50 to $1.55 range. The stock dropped 2.3% in premarket trade Wednesday. The voluntary recall involves certain lots of Oral Care products sold through Stryker’s Sage Products business unit that were manufactured by a third-party supplier and distributed between July 2015 and August 2017. Stryker said there was a possibility of cross-contamination due to equipment that manufactured Oral Care products being shared with non-pharmaceutical products. Stryker said there have been some reports of minor irritation and allergic reaction but that the company has not been told of any serious safety issues. The company has stopped doing business with the third-party supplier, is now manufacturing Oral Care products in house and expects to continue shipping the products in September. Stryker is also placing a temporary ship hold on cloth-based products and expects to begin shipping again in September. The FDA said in its July letter that it had concerns about microbiological testing methods for all products containing solutions sold by Sage, including the recalled Oral Care products and solutions in cloth-based products; the regulator said they should be tested using a different method that takes a longer time to do, which accounts for Stryker’s temporary ship hold. Stryker shares have surged 21.5% year-to-date to $145.51, compared with a 9.5% rise in the S&P 500 .
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From:: Stock Market News
American Eagle Outfitters Inc. shares soared 11.4% in Wednesday premarket trading after the clothing retailer reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat estimates. The company’s net income was $21.2 million, or 12 cents per share, down from $41.6 million, or 23 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 19 cents, beating the 16-cent FactSet consensus. Revenue totaled $844.6 million for the quarter, up from $822.6 million and exceeding the $824.0 million FactSet consensus. Same-store sales rose 2%, ahead of the FactSet estimate for a 0.4% decline. American Eagle sees third-quarter same-store sales in the range of flat to up low single digits and EPS of 36 cents to 38 cents. The FactSet consensus is for a same-store sales increase of 0.8% and EPS of 38 cents. American Eagle shares are down 26.1% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 9.5% for the period.
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From:: Stock Market News
Express Inc. shares soared 11% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company topped second-quarter earnings estimates. The apparel retailer said it had a net loss of $11.8 million, or 15 cents a share, in the second quarter, after net income of $10.1 million, or 13 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 1 cent, better than the FactSet consensus for a loss of 1 cent. Sales fell to $478.5 million from $504.8 million, but were ahead of the FactSet consensus of $474 million. Same-store sales fell 4%, but were better than the FactSet consensus for a decline of 5.2%. “Comparable sales and earnings were at the top end of our guidance, as our key initiatives gained further traction,” Chief Executive David Kornberg said in a statement. The company’s e-commerce sales rose 28%, while store comps delivered sequential improvement, he said. The company is now expecting third-quarter same-store sales to be down in the low single digits and for EPS to range from 6 cents to 10 cents. The FactSet consensus is for third-quarter same-store sales to fall 1.8% and for EPS of 11 cents. Shares are down 49% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 9.5%.
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From:: Stock Market News
Mortgage applications recorded another slow week, following a quiet report the previous week. Most notably, the refinance share of mortgage activity continued to edge higher, getting close to nearly 50% of all applications. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng stock exchange was closed for trade on Wednesday, when a deadly typhoon bringing wind gusts of 130 miles an hour slammed into the area. At least three people were killed in Macau. Typhoon Hato, the first category 10 storm to hit the island state since 2012, forced schools, government offices and businesses to shut down, while also leaving more than 400 flights cancelled out of the Hong Kong airport. The category 10 warning for typhoons has only been used 14 other times since 1946, according to media reports. Typhoon Hato came within 60 kilometers (37 miles) of Hong Kong-close enough to be considered a direct hit under the city’s storm warning system-before heading westward into mainland China, where it gradually weakened.
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From:: Stock Market News