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Shares of Snapchat parent Snap Inc. shot up 3.9% in midday trade Friday, putting it on course for back-to-back gains for the first time in five weeks. The disappearing-messaging app company’s stock has now run up 13% since it hit a record intraday low of $11.90 on Thursday, when it was down as much as 5.9% before bouncing sharply to close up 2.2%. It was still down 1.8% since its closed at $13.67 on July 31, which was when the post-IPO lockup period expired. Prior to Thursday’s gain, the stock had fallen in 17 of the previous 20 sessions. The last time the stock rose for more than just one day was the three-session win streak ending June 29. It was still 21% below the $17 IPO price. Snap is scheduled to report second-quarter results after the Aug. 10 close. The stock has tumbled 41% over the past three months, while rival Instagram parent Facebook Inc. shares have rallied 12% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.6%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. rose as much as 10% on Friday from Thursday’s close, despite the company reporting softer-than-expected revenue and a slightly wider loss in the second quarter than Wall Street was expecting. Investors seemed to shrug off the earnings miss, after AMC issued a profit warning earlier in the week and shares tanked as much as 27%. They focused on the company’s $100 million buyback announcement and the cinema chain’s plans to stabilize the business in the face of volatile box office returns. AMC Chief Executive Adam Aron said, “I also plan individually to buy AMC stock on the open market with personal monies within the next 60 days.” In the company’s quarterly report Aron laid out plans for confronting the challenges ahead, including streamlining operating costs and seeking revenue enhancement opportunities. AMC management is also looking to reduce capital expenditures by $100 million in the latter half of 2017 and an additional $100 million in 2018, while identifying roughly $400 million in non-strategic assets that could be monetized over the next two years. AMC is doubling down on its investment in concessions and premium recliner seating, and is positive on the industry’s future and the company’s position in it. “We remain optimistic about our ability to deliver meaningful value to our shareholders,” Aron said in a statement. “Consumer demand to go to the movies was robust as 2017 started out in the first quarter. And just ahead of us is a strong fourth quarter film slate, that creates the opportunity to lessen the angst surrounding box office weakness industry-wide in the second and third quarters of 2017.” Shares of AMC have lost more than 52% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 index has gained nearly 11%.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stock benchmarks opened higher Friday, putting the Dow on track to book its eight record close in a row as a healthy report on U.S. employment helped to lift buying sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% at 22,081, the S&P 500 index climbed 0.2% at 2,476, while the Nasdaq Composite Index traded flat but in positive territory at 6,344. Gains for U.S. equities come after a report from the Labor Department showed that the U.S. created 209,000 new jobs in July, beating Wall Street forecasts. Separately, the unemployment rate moved to 4.3% from 4.4%, retouching a 16-year low, while average-hourly wages matched expectations, rising 0.3%. The healthy report jolted Treasury yields modestly higher, with the 10-year benchmark Treasury note rising to 2.26%, compared with 2.23% late Thursday in New York. Bond prices and yields move inversely. The jobs data are seen as helping to support the Federal Reserve’s efforts to normalize interest rates, which have hovered near historic lows. Bank shares, which benefit from higher rates, were leading early gains on the day, with the popular bank-centered, exchange-traded Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF rising 0.7% in early trade, led by gains in widely held bank stock, Bank of America Corp. , advancing 1.7% on the session. In other corporate news, GoPro Inc. shares surged 15% after after the wearable video-camera maker’s quarterly results and outlook out late Thursday beat Wall Street estimates.

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From:: Stock Market News

AT&T Inc. said on Friday it has named GroupM North America Chief Executive Brian Lesser as head of a new advertising and analytics company. GroupM is one of the largest media investment management organizations, applying data and technology to maximize ad value. AT&T didn’t give much detail about the new business in its release, but Lesser will be charged with using AT&T’s customer data and growing content assets to build an advertising and analytics business. AT&T is still waiting for its proposed $85.4 billion acquisition of media company Time Warner Inc. to clear regulatory review. The two companies have pointed to the advertising potential as an important part of the merger. “Once we complete our acquisition of Time Warner, we believe there is an opportunity to build an automated advertising platform that can do for premium video and TV advertising what the search and social media companies have done for digital advertising,” said AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson in a statement. Shares of AT&T are down 10% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 10%

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From:: Stock Market News