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Darden Restaurants Inc. shares rose 1.3% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the operator of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant chains beat profit and sales estimates for its first fiscal quarter. Darden said it had net income of $86.4 million, or 68 cents a share, in the quarter, down sharply from $503.2 million, or $3.81 a share, in the year-earlier period, when the numbers were impacted by a gain on the sale of discontinued operations. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 63 cents, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 58 cents. Sales rose 5.7% to $1.69 billion, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.68 billion. The company said it is raising its outlook for adjusted EPS for fiscal 2016 to $3.15 to $3.30 versus a prior $3.05 to $3.20. Its same-restaurant sales growth outlook is unchanged at 2.0% to 2.5%. Shares have gained about 20% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has fallen 5%.

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The scandal over Volkswagen AG’s alleged rigging of emission tests is now spreading to Asia. The South Korean government said on Tuesday it will investigate three of the German car maker’s diesel models to see if the company also cheated on pollution standards there, media reports said. The cars subject to the probe include VW Jetta, Golf cars and Audi A3s. If issues are found, South Korea will expand the investigation to all German diesel cars. Separately on Tuesday, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin called for a probe of the auto industry in Europe, not just limited to German cars. Volkswagen shares tanked 19% on Monday and lost 5.6% on Tuesday. Other car makers in Europe were also mired in red, with shares of France’s Peugeot SA down 6.5% and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV off 4.2% in Milan.

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J.M. Smucker Co. shares slipped in the extended session Monday after the company said a large inside stakeholder was selling shares in a secondary offering. Smuckers shares declined 1.7% to $115.01. The company said Blue Holdings I LP will sell about 8.3 million shares, and that Smuckers will not receive proceeds. The stake represents some of the shares Blue Holdings got in Smucker’s acquisition of Big Heart Pet Brands earlier in the year.

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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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The House Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations is going to hold a hearing on the Volkswagen diesel engines that resulted in emissions levels exceeding state and federal limits throughout the United States. The committee said the hearing will be held “in the coming weeks.”

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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Thor Industries Inc. shares declined in the extended session Monday after the recreational vehicles maker missed Wall Street revenue estimates and pointed to some uncertainties going into the new fiscal year. Thor shares fell 3.6% to $52.61. The company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $1.31 a share on revenue of $1.06 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected fourth-quarter earnings of $1.30 a share on revenue of $1.16 billion. Going into the new fiscal year, the company said volatility in financial and commodity markets, as well as the weakness in Canadian markets, could have a negative impact on demand.

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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Performance Food Group Co. late Monday set the price range of its initial public offering at $22 to $25 a share. The food distributor intends to sell 12.8 million shares, with certain shareholders selling 1.7 million shares for which the company will not get proceeds. Performance Food plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PFGC.”

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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Shares of Red Hat Inc. rose in Monday’s extended session after the open-source software provider posted stronger-than-expected results. Red Hat said its second-quarter earnings rose to $51.4 million, or 28 cents a share, from $46.8 million, or 25 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company would have earned 47 cents a share, ahead of the 44 cents a share forecast by analysts in a FactSet survey. Revenue grew 13% to $504.1 million. Red Hat forecast third-quarter revenue of $519 million to $523 million and adjusted earnings per share of 47 cents. Analysts projected average revenue of $513 million and adjusted EPS of 46 cents. Red Hat shares gained 0.3% in after-hours 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.

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From:: Stock Market News