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The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday was on pace to close with its first drop of at least 1%, snapping a streak that had run for more than 60 sessions. The Dow was trading down 243 points, or 1.1%, at 21,782, as the broader stock market faced its biggest selloff since last week’s North Korea-fueled jitters. The blue-chip gauge’s absence of down days of at least 1% was the longest since a 69-day streak ended Oct. 25, 1995, or about 22 years, according to WSJ Market Group Data. Thursday’s fall for the Dow came as the broader market appeared to be fretting about a number of bearish factors, including a record-setting market that has been viewed as too rich and due for a pullback, concerns about the health of the economy and the Federal Reserve’s comfort in normalizing interest rates amid levels of inflation that have run below their 2% target, considered indicative of a normally functioning economy. Heightened questions about President Donald Trump’s ability to pass a raft of pro-growth policies amid the business world’s fervent denouncement of his reaction to a white-supremacist rally also has helped to erode bullish sentiment. TheS&P 500 index , meanwhile, was down 1.4% at 2,433 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was shedding 1.7% at 6,237.

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From:: Stock Market News

A widely followed gauge of fear and volatility on Wall Street spiked in Thursday afternoon trade, underscoring a sudden pickup of worry amid handwringing over President Donald Trump, a reported terror attack in Spain and concerns about sluggish inflation. The CBOE Volatility Index was up about 25% at 14.71 in recent trade. The index, which tracks options bets on the S&P 500 index 30-days in the future typically moves inversely with stocks and is viewed as a gauge of the market’s wager on pullbacks in the market, because stocks tend to fall faster than they rise. Thursday’s climb in the so-called fear gauge, also known as the VIX, coincided with a 200-point tumble in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a sharp retreat in the S&P 500 index . Stock investors have been shaken by uncertainty around President Trump’s ability to get through his business-friendly legislative reforms after a trove of Wall Street leaders disbanded from key presidential advisory committees resulting in their disbanding on Wednesday in reaction to the president’s response to a weekend white-supremacist rally in Charlotesville, Va., that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer. The downdraft in the market also comes as a terror attack was being reported by local officials in Barcelona, where at least 13 people were reported dead as well as 50 injured. Concerns about the Fed’s acknowledgement that tepid inflation is raising concerns that the economy isn’t firing on all cylinders is adding to deflating sentiment. Earlier in the week, the market been enjoying a slight updraft after last week’s rough patch. In jeopardy is a four-session rally for the Dow industrials. More broadly, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down at 2.19%, with prices rising and yields falling, while haven gold was settled up 0.7% at $1,292.40 an ounce. Those assets tend to rise when investors adopt a more “risk off” posture, dumping assets perceived as risky in times of uncertainty. At last check, the Dow was down 218 points, or 1%, at 21,810, the S&P 500 was off 1.3% at 2,436, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.7% at 6,239. Concerns about equity valuations also have made stocks more vulnerable to pullbacks, market participants said.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Oil prices finished higher Thursday, following losses over the past three trading sessions. Traders continued to digest data from the Energy Information Administration released Wednesday that revealed a rise in total U.S. crude production to their highest level in more than two years, but also a weekly drop in domestic supplies that was the largest in 11 months. September West Texas Intermediate crude rose 31 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $47.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

A widely followed gauge of fear and volatility on Wall Street spiked in Thursday afternoon trade, underscoring a sudden pickup of worry amid handwringing over President Donald Trump, a reported terror attack in Spain and concerns about sluggish inflation. The CBOE Volatility Index was up about 20% at 14.20 in recent trade. The index, which tracks options bets on the S&P 500 index 30-days in the future typically moves inversely with stocks and is viewed as a gauge of the market’s wager on pullbacks in the market, because stocks tend to fall faster than they rise. Thursday’s climb in the so-called fear gauge, also known as the VIX, coincided with a 200-point tumble in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a sharp retreat in the S&P 500 index . Stock investors have been shaken by uncertainty around President Trump’s ability to get through his business-friendly legislative reforms after a trove of Wall Street leaders disbanded from key presidential advisory committees resulting in their disbanding on Wednesday in reaction to the president’s response to a weekend white-supremacist rally in Charlotesville, Va., that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer. The downdraft in the market also comes as a terror attack was being reported in Barcelona, where at least 13 people were reported dead by local officials. Concerns about the Fed’s acknowledgement that tepid inflation is raising concerns that the economy isn’t firing on all cylinders is adding to deflating sentiment. Earlier in the week, the market been enjoying a slight updraft after last week’s rough patch. In jeopardy is a four-session rally for the Dow industrials. More broadly, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down at 2.20%, with prices rising and yields falling, while haven gold was trading up 0.8% at $1,292 an ounce. Those assets tend to rise when investors adopt a more “risk off” posture, dumping assets perceived as risky in times of uncertainty. At last check, the Dow was down 204 points, or 0.9%, at 21,822, the S&P 500 was off 1.1% at 2,440, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.5% at 6,250. Concerns about equity valuations also have made stocks more vulnerable to pullbacks, market participants said.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

The war of words between Automatic Data Processing Inc. and activist hedge fund manager Bill Ackman continued Thursday, as ADP weighed in on a presentation made by Ackman earlier in the day. The company said it “strongly disagrees” with Ackman’s assertions, which it said show a lack of understanding of the company and its strategy. Ackman said the value of ADP’s stock could more than double by 2021 “with “no changes in the credit rating, capital structure, dividend policy, or clients funds investment strategy.” Pershing said ADP’s “buy” instead of “build” strategy has led to weak product offerings, most notably in enterprise, and inefficient legacy back-end infrastructure. “ADP’s focus on ‘hitting the numbers’ has led to value-destructive decisions with negative long-term consequences,” Pershing wrote in the presentation. Ackman is seeking five board seats and is urging a change of CEO. “ADP is not resting on its laurels. Our board and management team are thoughtfully transforming our organization and culture to compete effectively and drive global growth in the evolving Human Capital Management market,” the company said. ADP shares fell 5%, but are up just 3.6% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 9%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

A widely followed gauge of fear and volatility on Wall Street spiked in Thursday afternoon trade, underscoring a sudden pickup of worry amid handwringing over President Donald Trump, a reported terror attack in Spain and concerns about sluggish inflation. The CBOE Volatility Index was up 23% at 14.46 in recent trade. The index, which tracks options bets on the S&P 500 index 30-days in the future typically moves inversely with stocks and is viewed as a gauge of the market’s wager on pullbacks in the market, because stocks tend to fall faster than they rise. Thursday’s climb in the so-called fear gauge, also known as the VIX, coincided with a 200-point tumble in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a sharp retreat in the S&P 500 index . Stock investors have been shaken by uncertainty around President Trump’s ability to get through his business-friendly legislative reforms after a trove of Wall Street leaders disbanded from key presidential advisory committees resulting in their disbanding on Wednesday in reaction to the president’s response to a weekend white-supremacist rally in Charlotesville, Va., that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer. The downdraft in the market also comes as a terror attack was being reported in Barcelona, where at least one person was reported dead by local police. Concerns about the Fed’s acknowledgement that tepid inflation is raising concerns that the economy isn’t firing on all cylinders is adding to deflating sentiment. Earlier in the week, the market been enjoying a slight updraft after last week’s rough patch. In jeopardy is a four-session rally for the Dow industrials. More broadly, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down at 2.20%, with prices rising and yields falling, while haven gold was trading up 0.8% at $1,292 an ounce. Those assets tend to rise when investors adopt a more “risk off” posture, dumping assets perceived as risky in times of uncertainty. At last check, the Dow was down 204 points, or 0.9%, at 21,822, the S&P 500 was off 1.1% at 2,440, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.5% at 6,250. Concerns about equity valuations also have made stocks more vulnerable to pullbacks, market participants said.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

A widely followed gauge of fear and volatility on Wall Street spiked in Thursday afternoon trade, underscoring a sudden pickup of worry in the amid handwringing over President Donald Trump, a reported terror attack in Spain and concerns about sluggish inflation. The CBOE Volatility Index was up 25% at 15 in recent trade. The index, which tracks options bets on the S&P 500 index 30-days in the future typically moves inversely with stocks and is viewed as a gauge of the market’s wager on pullbacks in the market, because stocks tend to fall faster than they rise. Thursday’s climb in the so-called fear gauge, also known as the VIX, coincided with a 170-point tumble in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a sharp retreat in the S&P 500 index . Stock investors have been shaken by uncertainty around President Trump’s ability to get through his business-friendly legislative reforms after a trove of Wall Street leaders disbanded from key presidential advisory committees resulting in their disbanding on Wednesday in reaction to the president’s response to a weekend white-supremacist rally in Charlotesville, Va., that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer. The downdraft in the market also comes as a terror attack was being reported in Barcelona, where at least one person was reported dead by local police. Concerns about the Fed’s acknowledgement that tepid inflation is raising concerns that the economy isn’t firing on all cylinders is adding to deflating sentiment. Earlier in the week, the market been enjoying a slight updraft after last week’s rough patch. In jeopardy is a four-session rally for the Dow industrials. More broadly, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down at 2.20%, with prices rising and yields falling, while haven gold was trading up 0.7% at $1,291 an ounce. Those assets tend to rise when investors adopt a more “risk off” posture, dumping assets perceived as risky in times of uncertainty. At last check, the Dow was down 167 points, or 0.8%, at 21,858, the S&P 500 was off 0.9% at 2,446, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.2% at 6,267. Concerns about equity valuations also have made stocks more vulnerable to pullbacks, market participants said.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of chocolate maker Hershey Co. jumped 3% Thursday, after Bernstein upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform and said a 37% decline in cocoa costs since last summer should boost margins. Cocoa costs account for 10% to 15% of Hershey’s cost of goods sold, according to Bernstein’s estimates, and the commodity is expected to continue to decline in price in the next few years. “Easing cocoa prices could be a major tailwind as we move out into 2018, more than offsetting the relatively mild inflation in dairy prices,” wrote analysts led by Alexia Howard. “The last time cocoa prices declined in 2011, the company saw its gross margin improve from 42.4% in 2011 to 46% by 2013.” Bernstein expects the U.S. chocolate market to keep growing modestly, buoyed by a millennial preference for snacking, innovation and higher marketing spend in response to Mondelez’s entry to the market. Finally, food labels that were to be introduced in 2018 that would specify what percent of a daily allowance of sugar is in chocolate has been postponed, said the note. Hershey shares have gained 5.4% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained about 10%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News