What’s new

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. created 292,000 new jobs in December, as hiring sped up toward the end of the year. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a gain of 215,000 nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate remained at 5%, largely because almost a half-million people joined the labor force. Employment gains for November and October, meanwhile, were revised up by a combined 50,000, the Labor Department said Friday. The government said 252,000 new jobs were created in November instead of 211,000. October’s gain was raised to 307,000 from 298,000, marking the biggest increase of 2015. In a surprise, average hourly wages paid to American workers fell a penny to $25.24. Still, hourly pay has risen 2.5% in the past 12 months, matching a six-and-a-half-year high. The amount of time people worked each week was unchanged at 34.5 hours. The labor-force participation rate rose a tick to 62.6%.

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

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. shares tumbled 9.6% premarket Friday, after the company said same-store sales are up 4% in the fourth quarter to date, below the FactSet consensus of 4.9%. The company said it still expects fourth-quarter per-share earnings to come in at 40 cents to 42 cents, up from 36 cents a year ago. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of 42 cents. “Despite a very challenging macro-environment, we had a solid holiday season, driven by positive results in both our brands,” Chief Executive Jay Schottenstein said in a statement. Online sales were particularly strong, he said. Shares are up 14% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has lost 6%.

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

Dollar Tree Inc. said Howard Levine, chief executive of Family Dollar, is stepping down after completing his role in the integration of the two companies. Dollar Tree closed its acquisition of Family Dollar last July, taking over more than 8,200 of its stores across 46 states. Levine had stayed on to assist with the integration. Dollar Tree CEO Bob Sasser will remain in charge. Shares were slightly lower premarket Friday, but are up 10% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has lost 6%.

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

Ford Motor Co. said its China sales set a record of more than 1.1 million vehicles sold in 2015, up 3% from the year earlier. December also set a record of 124,768 vehicles sold, up 27% from the year earlier. Changan Ford Automobile, the company’s passenger car joint venture, also set annual and December sales records. It sold 836,425 vehicles in the year, a 7% increase over 2014, and 96,960 vehicles in December, up 49% from the year earlier. Ford shares were up 0.8% in premarket trade, but are down 18% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has fallen 6%.

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

Shares in Cirrus Logic Inc. dropped 3% in premarket action Friday after the chip company reduced its revenue outlook for its quarter ended Dec. 26. The Apple Inc. supplier cited softer-than-expected demand for “certain portable audio products.” The weakness “escalated over the last few weeks of December and is expected to continue to significantly impact our revenue in the March quarter,” said Cirrus CEO Jason Rhode in a news release late Thursday. He said the company still expects its results for the 2016 fiscal year will “reflect meaningful year-over-year revenue growth” and anticipates “strong growth” for the 2017 fiscal year “based on several anticipated new product introductions.” Earlier in the week, Apple suppliers were rocked by news of cuts in iPhone 6s production.

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

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco confirmed on Friday it’s considering listing the company on the capital markets through an initial public offering. In a statement on its website, the company said it has been “studying various options to allow broad public participation in its equity through the listing in the capital markets of an appropriate percentage of the company’s shares and/or the listing of a bundle [of] its downstream subsidiaries.” Saudi Aramco, which is the world’s largest oil producer, is believed to be the world’s most valuable company and its market value could exceed that of Apple Inc.’s . The Economist reported late Thursday an IPO could be in the offing as the country tries to balance its budget amid steep losses in oil prices.

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. stock futures jumped sharply early Friday, after a punishing and volatile week that has wiped around 5% off the S&P 500 index so far. Dow industrials futures jumped 166 points, or 0.9%, to 16,579, while S&P 500 futures rose 20 points, or 1%, to 1,953.50 in early trading. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 52.75 points, or 1.2%, to 4,341.50. The gains came as China stocks rose Friday, taking a breather from an meltdown that has kicked off the trading year. Overnight in China, authorities removed a controversial new circuit breaker system, blamed for triggering a stampede out of China stocks. Stocks in China were suspended both Monday and Thursday after falling by the 7% limit imposed by that circuit breaker. Wall Street has been taking hard hits this week, heavily influenced by worries over China and slides in commodity prices. U.S. stocks will be looking to important nonfarm payrolls data for December on Friday. Oil prices were also on the rebound early Friday, with February crude up 66 cents, or 2%, to $33.93 a barrel in electronic trading.

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