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Microsoft Corp. hit record share prices in Friday trading, pushing its market cap past $650 billion just a week after the company pushed past $600 billion for the first time since the dot-com boom. The stock hit an intraday record of $86.25 after Microsoft announced a big earnings beat Thursday afternoon, a 9.5% gain that was Microsoft’s biggest intraday move in more than two years. FactSet tracked 19 analysts raising their price target on Microsoft after the earnings, with one rating change from hold to buy and one downgrade from buy to hold. Microsoft was battling Intel Corp. , which also spiked after a strong earnings report, for the best-performing component of the Dow Jones industrial average , which was also gaining on the day.

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Gold prices settled higher Friday, buoyed by uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s pick for Federal Reserve chief, but strength in the dollar fueled a weekly decline for the yellow metal. December gold tacked on $2.20, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,271.80 an ounce. It lost about 0.7% for the week, which was its sixth weekly loss in seven.

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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Expedia Inc. shares plunged as much as 20% in Friday trading after the online-travel company posted disappointing quarterly results, trimming billions off of the company’s market capitalization. The stock fell as low as $118 and were headed for the biggest one-day percentage drop in more than four years. The drop, which came after at least 18 analysts dropped their price target on the stock Friday morning, cost Expedia almost $4 billion in market value at its nadir in morning trading. Expedia stood out from other tech companies that were spiking Friday morning after earnings results, sending the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite index higher.

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 General Electric Co. tumbled 3.1% in afternoon trade Friday, as they headed toward their lowest close since Dec. 28, 2012. The stock has now plunged 13.4% this week, which would be the biggest weekly loss since it plummeted 17.0% the week ending March 6, 2009, at its Great Recession bottom. The selloff comes after GE surprised investors last Friday by reporting earnings that missed estimates for the first time in 2 1/2 years. On that day, the stock had sold off sharply at the open, then bounced to close with the first post-earnings gain in eight quarters. New CEO John Flannery said he will outline his plan to turn the company around, which is expected to include asset sales and a likely dividend cut, at the investor gathering scheduled for Nov. 13. The stock has shed 34.6% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 18.5%.

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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The Nasdaq Composite Index was on pace to book its best single-session point gains in more than 2 years on Friday as tech shares soared. The Nasdaq Composite Index was surging 134 points, or 2%, toward a fresh all-time high closing at 6,684, which would mark the best point and percentage gain since a 191.05-point, or 4.2%, climb for the technology-heavy index on Aug. 27, 2015, according to FactSet data. The Nasdaq is marching toward its best gain in 26 months on the back of a series of hotter-than-expected earnings from some of the biggest companies in technology, including Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. , which were both trading at record highs after posting quarterly results that surpassed analysts’ estimates. Meanwhile, a popular way to invest on the tech sector, the exchange-traded Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF , also was on pace to book its best daily climb since Aug. 26, 2015. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 index was up 0.8% at 2,579.92, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading up 30 points, or 0.1%, at 23,432, as shares of Chevron Corp. and Merck & Co. Inc. capped the blue-chip benchmark’s gains.

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

The Nasdaq Composite Index was on pace to book its best single-session rise since the day before President Donald Trump was elected back in November. The Nasdaq Composite Index was surging 104 points, or 1.6%, toward a fresh all-time high closing at 6,664.04, which would mark the best point and percentage gain since a 119.80-point, or 2.4%, climb for the technology-heavy index on Nov. 7, 2016, according to FactSet data. The Nasdaq is marching toward its best gain in nearly a year on the back of a series of hotter-than-expected earnings from some of the biggest companies in technology, including Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. , which were both trading at record highs after posting quarterly results that surpassed analysts’ estimates. Meanwhile, a popular way to invest on the tech sector, the exchange-traded Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF , was on pace to book its best daily climb since March 1, 2016. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 index was up 0.7% at 2,576, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading up 25 points, or 0.1%, at 23,422, as shares of Chevron Corp. and Merck & Co. Inc. capped the blue-chip benchmark’s gains.

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

The Nasdaq Composite Index was on pace to book its best single-session rise since the day before President Donald Trump was elected back in November. The Nasdaq Composite Index was surging 96 points, or 1.5%, toward a fresh all-time high closing at 6,651, which would mark the best point and percentage gain since a 119.80-point, or 2.4%, climb for the technology-heavy index on Nov. 7, 2016, according to FactSet data. The Nasdaq is marching toward its best gain in nearly a year on the back of a series of hotter-than-expected earnings from some of the biggest companies in technology, including Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. , which were both trading at record highs after posting quarterly results that surpassed analysts’ estimates. Meanwhile, a popular way to invest on the tech sector, the exchange-traded Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF was on pace to book its best daily climb since March 1, 2016. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 index was up 0.5% at 2,572, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading flat at 23,407, as shares of Chevron Corp. and Merck & Co. Inc. weighed on the blue-chip benchmark.

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