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Earnings reports are giving a nearly 60-point boost to the Dow Jones Industrial Average , as the rallies in the shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Johnson & Johnson are offsetting the selloff in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock to keep the blue-chip barometer in positive territory. The Dow was up 15 points in morning trade, while 19 of 30 components lost ground. That’s because UnitedHealth stock was up $9.67, the second-biggest price gain in the insurer’s public history, and J&J shares were up $2.54, which combined added about 84 points to the Dow’s price. Meanwhile, the other Dow component that reported results before the open was Goldman, and the stock tumbled $3.67, which shaved about 25 points off the Dow’s price.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks were little changed at the open on Tuesday, as investors continued to look through the latest corporate earnings to determine whether the near-record level of major indexes were justified by economic fundamentals. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17 points, or 0.1%, to 22,915. The S&P 500 lost 2.5 points to 2,554, a decline of 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 8 points, or 0.1%, to 6,113. Bank stocks were in particular focus after Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc both reported better-than-expected results. Shares of Morgan rose 1.9% while Goldman climbed 0.6%. Separately, Johnson & Johnson rose 1.5% after its results topped forecasts, while UnitedHealth Group Inc. was up 2.3% after its own profits came in ahead of consensus expectations.

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CSX Corp.’s stock fell 1.6% in premarket trade, after the railroad and trucking company reported third-quarter sales that were just shy of expectations, but indicated that several markets continue to be impacted by specific headwinds. Net income rose to $459 million, or 51 cents a share, from $455 million, or 48 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share of 51 cents matched the FactSet consensus. Revenue increased 1% to $2.74 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $2.78 billion. The company said it expects 2017 adjusted EPS to rise 20% to 25% from 2016’s $1.81, while the FactSet EPS consensus of $2.22 implies growth of 22.7%. On the post-earnings conference call with analysts, Chief Executive H. Hunter Harrison several markets continue to be impacted by specific headwinds, “most notably the anticipated decline in North America light vehicle production, the evaporation of unit train shipments of crude oil and the secular challenges of domestic utility call,” according to a transcript provided by FactSet. The stock has lost 3.3% over the past three months through Monday, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average has gained 1.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 6.1%.

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Rep. Tom Marino has withdrawn his name from consideration as President Donald Trump’s head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Trump said in a tweet Tuesday morning. The Pennsylvania Republican’s decision to pull out followed reporting from the Washington Post and CBS that he championed legislation that hamstrung the government’s efforts to fight opioid abuse. “Tom is a fine man and a great Congressman!” Trump said.

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From:: Stock Market News

MongoDB said Tuesday in a filing that its initial public offering is now expected to price between $20 to $22 a share, up from an expected range of $18 to $20 a share. The database software company could raise as much as $202.4 million from the offering, as it still plans to offer 8.0 million shares to the public, and have granted the underwriters options to buy an additional 1.2 million shares to cover overallotments. The company said Tuesday that its stock has been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “MDB.” The company is looking to go public at a time when the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF has rallied 6.8% over the past three months and the S&P 500 has gained 4.0%.

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From:: Stock Market News

WW Grainger Inc. shares climbed 3.9% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products posted better-than-expected third-quarter profit. The company said it had net income of $162 million, or $2.79 a share, down from $186 million, or $3.05 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $2.90, wall ahead of the FactSet consensus of $2.56. Sales rose 3% to $2.6 billion, matching the FactSet consensus. “Our U.S. business had strong volume in the quarter driven by our strategic pricing initiatives and an improving demand environment,” Chief Executive DG Macpherson said in a statement. “We saw a solid response from digital marketing activities that began in mid-August, particularly from our mid-sized customers.” The company said it is sticking with the midpoint of full-year EPS guidance, despite challenges in Canada and the U.S. specialty business sales, he said. The company is expecting full-year sales growth of 1.5% to 2.5% and EPS of $10.40 to $10.90, compared with previous guidance of sales growth of 1% to 4% and EPS of $10 to $11.30. Shares have fallen 21% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The cost of imported goods jumped 0.7% in September in the biggest gain in more than a year, led by fuel prices and industrial supplies. Excluding fuel, import prices rose a smaller 0.3%. Over the past 12 months the import price index has risen 2.7%, up from 2.1% in the prior month, the government said Tuesday. That’s still well below a recent high of 4.7% in February. Export prices rose 0.8% last month.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was set to open up slightly higher on Tuesday, inching closer to a key level at 23,000, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. delivering the lion’s share of that upswing. Shares of the investment banking powerhouse were set to provide the Dow a 20-point jolt after it reported third-quarter results early Tuesday that beat market expectations. Goldman reported third-quarter net revenue of $8.3 billion, or $5.02 a share, up from $8.2 billion and $4.88, in the year-ago quarter. The company still produced a weak performance in its bread-and-butter business of fixed-income trading, but that weakness was in line with its rivals. Goldman is one of the more influential components of the price-weighted Dow by dint of its more than $200 share price. In premarket trade, Goldman shares traded $2.89 or 1.2%. That equates to a roughly 20-point gain for the Dow because a $1 move in any one of the gauge’s 30 components translates to a swing of 6.89. Dow futures were up 21 points, or 0.1%, at 22,920. Elsewhere, the market looked to open little changed, with the S&P 500 index futures trading flat, while futures for the Nasdaq-100 were trading near breakeven levels. All three benchmarks, the Nasdaq Composite , the Dow, and the S&P 500 closed at records.

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From:: Stock Market News

Impax Laboratories Inc. and privately-held Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC announced Tuesday an agreement to merge in a all-stock deal, forming a new publicly traded company named Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc. Impax shareholders will own 25% of the new company’s shares and Amneal Holdings member will own 75%. The companies said the new company will have the fifth largest generics business in the U.S. Impax’s market capitalization was $1.48 billion at Monday’s stock closing price. In connection with the deal, Amneal Holdings member have entered into private-placement agreements with TPG and Fidelity management & Research Co. to sell 46.8 million unregistered common shares at $18.25 a share. The companies expects annual synergies of $200 million within three years after the deal closes, which is expected in the first half of 2018. Separately, Impax affirmed its 2017 financial guidance. Impax’s stock, which is currently halted for news, had run up 51% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF had gained 9.3% and the S&P 500 had advanced 14%.

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

Shares of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. jumped more than 1 percent in pre-market trading after the bank reported third-quarter results that handily beat market expectations. Goldman said it had third-quarter net revenue of $8.3 billion, or per-share earnings of $5.02, up from $8.2 billion and $4.88, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast revenues of $7.5 billion and EPS of $4.17. Investment banking revenue was 17% higher than in the third quarter of 2016, the bank said. But revenues from trading of fixed income, currencies and commodities sank 26% for the year. For the year to date, the stock has gained only 1.2%, compared to a 16% increase for the Dow Jones Industrial Average , and 15.8% for rival Morgan Stanley .

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