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Kensington Palace announced Tuesday that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry in May 2018. Queen Elizabeth has given the green light for the event to take place at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. And the Royal Family will pay for the wedding. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their first appearance after announcing the engagement on Monday.

See also: Meghan Markle will likely stop working after marrying Prince Harry – why single-income families are a luxury in 2017

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Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. sank 3.6% in morning trade Tuesday, after Mizuho warned that the cryptocurrency market could be “much less meaningful” to chip companies next year. Shares of Nvidia Corp. , which has also benefited from demand for cryptocurrency miners, shed 1.0%. Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh said that following meetings with cryptocurrency experts, he believes the use of graphics processing units (GPUs) to mine cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum, could decline significantly in the first half of 2018 as computing complexity increases. “We believe 1H18 could see Ethereum move from current Proof of Work (PoW) protocol, which requires GPU mining, to Proof of Stake protocol, which does not need GPUs or mining,” through a software upgrade, Rakesh wrote in a note to clients. Rakesh estimates that AMD’s exposure to cryptomining is about 10% of revenue and Nvidia’s exposure is 6%. AMD’s stock has shed 8.9% over the past three months, while Nvidia shares have run up 28.5%, the PHLX Semiconductor Index has rallied 22.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.8%.

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Quick-service burger restaurants and gourmet coffee chains pushed restaurant traffic into positive territory in the third quarter, according to The NPD Group. Up 1%, this is the first time restaurant traffic has been positive after six consecutive quarters of flat or negative numbers. Marketing initiatives at burger and coffee restaurants, including delivery and value-priced menu items. Deal-related traffic for these two categories was up 7% during the quarter, “the strongest seen in quite some time,” NPD wrote. The fast-casual category, which includes Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and Panera Bread, was up 8% year-over-year. Full-service restaurants, which includes casual dining and family dining, recorded a decline in visits. And retail foodservice, led by food and drug stores, posted the only traffic decline of any quick-service sub-category. Consumer spending at restaurants and other foodservice businesses increased 2% from last year, due primarily to higher menu prices. The PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage Portfolio is up 2.8% for the last three months, but down 2.7% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 16.5% for the year to date.

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 Apple Inc. inched up less than 0.1% in morning trade Tuesday, after Raymond James said there were signs of “reasonably good” demand for Apple products during the holiday season. Analyst Tavis McCourt said that while delivery times for the iPhone X suggest one-to-three week delays in most of the developed world, he believes Apple will reach a supply-demand balance after the holidays. “Search volume trends are consistent with decent [year-over-year] global demand for the new iPhone lineup,” McCourt wrote in a note to clients. “Essentially, this is still consistent with a strong December quarter, and better than normal seasonality in March.” Separately, data analytics firm Adobe Systems Inc. said Tuesday that Apple AirPods were among the top sellers on Cyber Monday, and McCourt said demand for the Apple Watch remains “robust.” The stock was trading 1.2% below its Nov. 8 record close of $176.24. It has rallied 7.9% over the past three months, while the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF has rallied 11.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 8.5%.

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.

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New York Fed President William Dudley on Tuesday called for the public reporting of Treasury market transactions. Broker-dealers this year have started reporting such data directly to regulators. “I believe transaction data reporting to the public based on careful study will ensure that the Treasury market does not fall behind other markets, will promote a robust and level playing field, and will help safeguard the liquidity characteristics that make the Treasury market the benchmark for risk-free trading around the world,” Dudley said at the third annual conference on U.S. Treasury market structure.

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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Amazon.com Inc. said it had a record holiday shopping weekend with the Echo Dot the top-selling Amazon product around the world. It was also the best-selling device at Whole Foods Market, Amazon’s recent grocery acquisition. The Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote was also a best-selling device. The Kindle Paperwhite had its best holiday shopping weekend as the Kindle device celebrated its 10th anniversary. And the Echo Spot, which is Alexa-enabled and has a video screen, is sold out for the holiday season, though customers can pre-order it for delivery in the new year. The most read cookbooks on Kindle on Thanksgiving included “Thug Kitchen” and “Weight Watchers Instant Pot Cookbook.” And “The Big Sick” was the most streamed title on Prime Video on Thanksgiving. Amazon shares are up 60% for the year so far, outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 16.4% 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.

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Stocks opened with small gains Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow notching another round of record highs, as investors awaited a Senate confirmation hearing for Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve official tapped by President Donald Trump to replace Janet Yellen as head of the central bank when her term ends in February. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, while the Dow industrials advanced 55 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%.

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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Sonoco Products Co. said Tuesday Chief Executive Jack Sanders will retire in April 2018, after four years in the role and 30 years with the company. The packaging company named Chief Operating Officer Robert Tiede as CEO-elect, and will join the company’s board after Sanders retires. Tiede joined Sonoco in 2004. “The board sincerely thanks Jack for three decades of service and looks forward to working with Rob to further build Sonoco into a leading diversified packaging solutions company,” said Chairman Harris DeLoach, Jr. The stock edged up 0.3% in morning trade. It has lost 1% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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 Christopher & Banks Corp. soared 21% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the women’s apparel retailer said it was exploring the sale and leaseback of its corporate facility in Minnesota. The company said it has engaged a “leading commercial real estate company” to solicit interest for a deal, which it believes would unlock additional capital and improve its liquidity position. The company estimates the value of the building to be in the low-to-mid-teen million dollar range. Separately, the company said it swung to a fiscal third-quarter net loss of $1.6 million, or 5 cents a share, from a profit of $3.5 million, or 9 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue fell 7.7% to $98.5 million from $106.7 million, as the number of stores operated declined 6% to 473. Same-store sales decreased 5.0%, after rising 4.5% a year ago, while e-commerce sales increased 8.5% after rising 16.3% last year. The stock had plunged 59% year to date through Monday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 5.6% and the S&P 500 had gained 16%.

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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Nike Inc. was downgraded to hold from buy at HBSC based on what analysts call a “blurred visibility” in the U.S. market. HSBC maintained it $62 price target. Nike shares fell 1.1% in Tuesday premarket trading. Analysts say 60% of Nike sales happen in “undifferentiated” wholesale channels, though that should decline to 20% in five years. Sales in “better Nike experiences” like its direct-to-consumer channels, will rise from 40% to 80%. “That is very good for brand equity and full-price sales, but there could be hiccups along the way,” wrote analysts led by Erwan Rambourg. Still, analysts think Nike has the potential to produce high-single digit sales growth and mid-teens earnings in the medium term. Nike shares are up 17.3% for the year so far outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 16.2% 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.

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From:: Stock Market News