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HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Chinese stocks soared Friday morning, following a previous 5.8% rally, as the markets seemed to have stabilized amid the government’s recent drastic measures to stem the rout. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 5.9%. The rally came after China’s police department pledged to investigate into “malicious short-selling” jointly with the securities regulator, with a state media report saying Friday that the police have already carrying out an investigation on a dozen of companies and individuals suspected of having shorted blue-chip stocks on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the securities regulator has also reportedly requested all the listed companies to submit by Friday specific plans on how support their stock prices, including but not limited to share buybacks, stock incentive plans, etc. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index advanced 2.1%, adding to a 3.7% gain on Thursday. The mainland-China-tracking Hang Seng Index also cracked 3.9% higher. Chinese securities firms extended their rally, as China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd. surged 12.3%, Shenwan Hongyuan H.K. Ltd. spiked 12.2%, and Haitong Securities Co., Ltd. leapt 9.1%. Among other top outperformers, property developer China Vanke Co., Ltd. jumped 8.7%, China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd. gained 5.2%, and China Citic Bank Corporation Ltd. advanced 4.5%. Index heavyweights China Mobile Ltd. and China Construction Bank Corporation both rose 2.7%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Zillow Group Inc. shares fell in the extended session Thursday after the real-estate website said its financial chief was leaving the company. Zillow shares declined 4.4% to $81.49 on moderate volume. Zillow said Chief Financial Officer Chad Cohen was resigning effective August 7 and that it was conducting a search for a new CFO.

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From:: Stock Market News

Worldwide shipments of personal computers totaled 68.4 million units in the second quarter of 2015, a 9.5% decline from a year ago, technology sector research company Gartner, Inc. said Thursday. That was the steepest PC shipment decline since the third quarter of 2013, Gartner said. International Data Corp., another research company that reported quarterly PC sales on Thursday, said worldwide PC shipments dropped 12% in the quarter, about 1% below IDC quarterly estimates. Both companies said slow PC shipments were expected after stronger-than-expected sales a year ago related to the end of support for Windows XP and inventory reduction ahead of the release of Windows 10. A stronger dollar also played a role as it pushed PC prices higher in many markets. Gartner said it expects PC shipments to decline 4.4% in 2015, Gartner said. Lenovo Group Ltd. remained the top PC seller in the quarter, followed by Hewlett-Packard Co.

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From:: Stock Market News

By Rachel Jefferson

Wealthy baby boomers are choosing to rent rather than own their own home. Homeownership is at its lowest rate in the past 25 years, according to a recent CNBC report, whereas the rate of renting a home is the highest in the past 30 years. This is a result of the younger generation, who has faced the recession, being incapable of saving for a down payment on a home. It is also due to the high-income, middle-aged market choosing to rent (they contribute to 43 percent of rent growth), over owning a home as they get older.

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From:: Property Management

Big-data software firm Splunk Inc. made a move to improve its cybersecurity offering Thursday, announcing the acquisition of Caspida for about $190 million. Caspida uses machine learning to automatically detect threats within a network and work to remove them. “With this acquisition, our customers can now also better detect advanced threats — the breaches that are becoming more complex and severe with each passing day,” Splunk security executive Haiyan Song said in a prepared statement. Splunk paid $127 million in cash and $63 million in stock, and expects the deal to add to its top line next year. Splunk shares were unchanged in after-hours 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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Worldwide shipments of personal computers totaled 68.4 million units in the second quarter of 2015, a 9.5% decline from a year ago, technology sector research company Gartner, Inc. said Thursday. That was the steepest PC shipment decline since the third quarter of 2013. PC shipments are projected to decline 4.4% in 2015, Gartner said. PC price increases became more apparent in some reasons due to the stronger dollar, and the market last year grew “unusually” due to the end of Windows XP support. “After the XP impact was phased out, there have not been any major growth drivers to stimulate a PC refresh,” and the Windows 10 launch, scheduled for the third quarter, has created “self-regulated inventory control.” Lenovo Group Ltd. remained the top PC seller in the quarter, with a market share of nearly 20%, followed by Hewlett-Packard Co.

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

Barracuda Networks shares plummeted in after-hours trading Thursday despite earnings coming in better than expectations. The storage company earned 9 cents per share on an adjusted basis with revenues of $78 million, according to a Thursday afternoon report; analysts on average expected earnings of 8 cents a share on sales of $77.2 million. After closing with a 1.1% gain at $39.12, Barracuda shares declined more than 15% in late trading, falling near $33 a share.

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From:: Stock Market News

When properly executed, open houses can be one of the best marketing tactics in real estate, not only for listings, but also for agents’ personal branding. However, their usefulness is often a polarizing topic; some find power and practicality in open houses, while others are doubtful of their value. RISMedia wants to know: Are open […] …read more

From:: Real Estate News

An early morning rally on Wall Street lost steam toward the end of the session with the main indexes closing only modestly higher on Thursday. The S&P 500 closed 4.61 points, or 1.7%, higher at 2,046. The Dow Jones Industrial Average relinquished most of a 260-point gain, ending 33.20 points, or 0.2%, higher at 17,548.62. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day with a gain of 12.64 points, or 0.3% at 4,922.40.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Greek government plans to submit its bailout proposals to international creditors within hours, news reports said Thursday. The Greek government will ask the country’s parliament for approval Friday to negotiate on “prior actions” that could form the basis of a cash-for-reforms deal with creditors, Reuters reported, citing a government official.

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