Category: Uncategorized

Nordstrom Inc. family members are in talks with private equity partners including KKR & Co., Apollo Global Management and Leonard Green & Partners to take the luxury department store private, according to a Reuters report. The Nordstrom family has agreed to offer preferential terms to these potential partners, Reuters wrote. Nordstrom has also approached sovereign wealth funds, public pension funds and others in an effort to raise about $1 billion. Nordstrom operates 354 stores, including 221 Nordstrom Rack off-price locations, and 122 full-line stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada. Nordstrom shares are up 3% in late Thursday trading and up nearly 3% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 10.2% for 2017 to date, and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 6.3% for the period.

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 Dow Jones Transportation Average plunged Thursday toward its worst day in 13 months, with all 20 components contributing to losses. The index dropped 327 points, or 3.5%, the biggest point and percentage declines since it tumbled 351 points, or 4.6%, on June 24, 2016. The biggest decliner on Thursday was transport management company Landstar System Inc.’s stock which shed 7.9% after reporting a second-quarter profit that were in line with analyst expectations, but came as recent share strength suggested “heightened” investor expectations, according to KeyBanc Capital analyst Todd Fowler. Provider of marine transport products Kirby Corp. reported late Wednesday earnings that matched the FactSet consensus but revenue that missed, sending the stock down 5.6%. And United Parcel Service Inc. shares slid 4.3% after the company beat profit and sales expectations, but provided a somewhat downbeat earnings outlook. The Dow transports’ selloff come in contrast to the rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average , which tacked on 19 points.

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

Oil prices climbed for a fourth session Thursday to notch another settlement at a two-month high. Four-consecutive weeks of declines in U.S. crude supplies and pledged cutbacks in exports from some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have helped support prices, setting them up for a gain of roughly 7% for the week. September WTI crude rose 29 cents, or 0.6%, to settle $49.04 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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Despite the sharp intraday selloff in the major indexes from record highs Thursday, which has sent the CBOE Volatility Index up 12% in afternoon trade, the Arms Index, which many use to measure buying or selling intensity, suggests investors remain relatively calm. On down days, the Arms tends to rise above 1.000, as the ratio of down volume to up volume rises relative to the ratio of declining stocks to rising stocks. But the NYSE Arms has slipped to 0.867 and the Nasdaq Arms has declined to 0.883, a sign that buyers on the dip have been slightly more aggressive than sellers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were all up in record territory around noon ET before taking an afternoon dive. After paring some of the weakness, the Dow as up 30 points, the S&P 500 was down 0.3% and the Nasdaq was down 0.8% in recent trade.

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

A popular way to bet on the the biotech sector was trading sharply lower on Thursday and on track to register its worst one-day in a month. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF was down 1.8%, led by an about 11% decline in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Corp. and Novavax Inc. , with its shares off 6.4% on the session. The drop for the biotech group came amid a broad and sudden selloff in the overall technology sector that put the Nasdaq Composite Index on pace to log it sharpest daily fall since June 9, when the tech sector underwent a similar retreat, fueled on concerns about valuations among some of the group’s biggest companies, including Apple Inc. , Amazon.com Inc., and Facebook Inc., which reported better-than-expected earnings late Wednesday. More broadly, the overall market was under pressure but off its worst levels of the day. The S&P 500 index was down 0.3% at 2,469, the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.8%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading modestly higher, fueled by gains in Verizon Communications Inc. , which saw its shares up nearly 8%, more than offsetting a 2.3% decline in Apple’s stock.

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 Trump administration and top lawmakers working on a tax overhaul said Thursday their goal is to reduce tax rates “as much as possible” and create a system that encourages U.S. companies to bring back profits “trapped overseas.” In a short joint statement, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, House Speaker Paul Ryan and other officials also said they had decided to set aside the so-called border adjustment tax. They said they expect legislation to move through relevant congressional committees “this fall.”

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 Nasdaq on Thursday afternoon turned sharply lower. The Nasdaq Composite Index was most recently down 89 points, or 1.6%, as the index was jolted suddenly lower. The abrupt retreat for the tech-centric gauge came as the other main equity benchmarks pared earlier gains. All three equity gauges notched all-time intraday trading highs, with the S&P 500 index down 0.7% at 2,461 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading flat at 21,708, buoyed by gains in Verizon Communication , with Dow component and tech-giant Apple Inc. , off 2.8%, and cutting about 30 points from the blue-chip gauge. Technology shares were seeing the heaviest selling pressure, with the popular tech-focused exchange-traded fund, the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF , down 1.1% in recent trade.

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 largest exchange-traded fund to track the technology sector fell on Thursday, erasing an earlier gain and leading the broader market lower. The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF fell 1.1% in afternoon trading, dropping to $57.10. Earlier, it had risen as high as $58.20, largely on the back of positive results out of Facebook Inc. . While the social media giant was still positive on the day, up 2.3% to $169, it was well off its highs of the session, having previously gained as high as $175.49, a level that represented a record. Among the most notable names, Apple Inc. sank 2.9% while Google parent Alphabet was off 2.3%. Microsoft Corp. shed 1.4% on the day. Separately, Netflix Inc. , a consumer discretionary stock that often moves on trends in the internet sector, fell 4.4%. Amazon.com , another internet name classified in the consumer discretionary sector, fell 0.5%. The online retailer is scheduled to report its quarterly results after the market closes. While the tech sector is one of the strongest-performing of the year, investors have become increasingly concerned about the group’s valuations, leading to multiple sessions this year when it abruptly turned lower. The weakness in tech spread to the broader market, with the S&P 500 down 0.6% while the Nasdaq , which is heavily weighted towards technology stocks, lost 1.5%.

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