Tag: stock market

Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. soared in Wednesday’s extended session after the yoga apparel company posted better-than-expected earnings and announced a new buyback plan. Lululemon reported its third-quarter earnings rose to $68.3 million, or 50 cents a share, from $53.2 million, or 38 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding certain items, Lululemon would have earned 47 cents a share. Revenue grew 13% to $544.4 million and total comparable sales, which include both store and direct-to-consumer sales, rose 7%. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast the yoga-wear maker to earn 43 cents a share on revenue of $541 million. In the fourth quarter, the company expects earnings per share of 96 cents to $1.01 and revenue in a range of $765 million to $785 million. Wall Street is expecting EPS of $1 and revenue of $788 million. The company’s board also approved a new share repurchase program of up to $100 million. Lululemon shares surged 10% after hours.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Oil futures fell Wednesday to settle below $50 a barrel for the first time in a week. Data revealed that U.S. crude supplies fell for the week ended Dec. 2, but some analysts attributed the change to the declines usually seen at year end as companies attempt to cut their taxes on onshore crude stockpiles. Supplies of gasoline and distillates also climbed more than expected. January West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.16, or 2.3%, to settle at $49.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since Nov. 30, according to FactSet data.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Gold futures settled higher Wednesday after two consecutive sessions of declines. A retreat in the U.S. dollar helped buoy demand for the dollar-denominated metal ahead of next week’s U.S. Federal Reserve decision on interest rates. Analysts also kept an eye on the potential demand impact of the Shariah Gold Standard. The Standard, which offers guidance in gold investing that adheres to religious laws governing members of Islam, was announced earlier this week. February gold rose $7.40, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,177.50 an ounce.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Transportation Average on Wednesday traded its best intraday level in more than two years, when it last reached a record high. The Dow transports touched an intraday level of 9,260.77, and were last up 1.3% at just under 9,260. Back in late November 2014, the Dow transports hit an intraday record of 9,310.22, according to FactSet data. For its part, the Dow Jones Industrial Average also touched an intraday record of Wednesday, and was last up 0.5% at 19,342.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that domestic crude supplies fell, but inventories of gasoline and distillates climbed more than expected. Crude stockpiles fell by 2.4 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 2. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a decline of 2.2 million barrels, according to sources, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expected a fall of 1.7 million barrels. Gasoline supplies climbed by 3.4 million barrels and distillate stockpiles rose 2.5 million barrels, according to the EIA. The S&P Global Platts survey forecast much smaller increases of 900,000 barrels for gasoline and 100,000 barrels for distillates. January crude was down $1, or 2%, to $49.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from $50.41 right before the data.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The Canadian dollar strengthened while Canadian bond yields ticked lower on Wednesday after The Bank of Canada left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5%. In a brief policy statement, the central bank said the Canadian economy is growing in line with expectations, though exports — highlighted by the central bank as a key driver of growth — have continued to disappoint. The central bank said that growth was robust in the third quarter, following a weak first half, though it expects the pace of growth to moderate in 2017. One U.S. dollar bought C$1.3268 in recent trade, down 0.1% from C$1.3284 late Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year Canadian government bond fell 3.5 basis points to 1.596%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of 3M Co. gained 0.3% in morning trade Wednesday, after RBC Capital said it was no longer bearish on the industrial conglomerate, saying any weakness on concerns over President-elect Donald Trump’s policies is overdone. Analyst Deane Dray upgraded 3M to sector perform, after being at underperform for the last eight months. He raised his stock price target to $171, which is now just 0.8% below current levels, from $155. Dray said that with its global revenue mix and health care exposures, the maker of Scotch tape and Post-it notes could still be hurt by new Trump initiatives, but the improved macro environment and recent underperformance by the stock “should limit relative downside” from current levels. Only about 40% of 3M’s revenue is from the U.S., according to FactSet. The stock has now gained 0.8% since the election, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has run up 5.1%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of 3M Co. gained 0.3% in morning trade Wednesday, after RBC Capital said it was no longer bearish on the industrial conglomerate, saying any weakness on concerns over President-elect Donald Trump’s policies is overdone. Analyst Deane Dray upgraded 3M to sector perform, after being at underperform for the last eight months. He raised his stock price target to $171, which is now just 0.8% below current levels, from $155. Dray said that with its global revenue mix and health care exposures, the maker of Scotch tape and Post-it notes could still be hurt by new Trump initiatives, but the improved macro environment and recent underperformance by the stock “should limit relative downside” from current levels. Only about 40% of 3M’s revenue is from the U.S., according to FactSet. The stock has now gained 0.8% since the election, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has run up 5.1%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies slumped 1.3% in morning trade Wednesday, after the advertising company confirmed that it has been contacted by regulators regarding video production practices. The company’s statement follows a report in The Wall Street Journal that the U.S. Justice Department was investigating whether ad agencies engaged in bid rigging by steering business to their in-house units over independent companies. In Wednesday’s statement, Interpublic said one of its standalone domestic agencies was contacted by the DOJ’s antitrust division for documents regarding video production practices. The company said it was cooperating with the investigation. “The policies in our company’s Code of Conduct require that we do business in a manner that is fully consistent with the best interests of our clients–in the case of production, that means requiring triple bids on all projects above a minimal dollar threshold,” the company said in its statement. The stock has lost 1.4% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.2%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will step down at 7 p.m. local time (1 p.m. Eastern Time), the 41-year-old politician said in a post to Twitter Wednesday. Renzi said Sunday he would leave his post following a referendum defeat. But he stayed on to oversee the passage of Italy’s 2017 budget, which was approved by the Italian senate not long before Renzi’s Twitter post. The country isn’t due to hold a parliamentary election before 2018, but consensus is growing among party leaders to hold it a year earlier, Reuters reported earlier Wednesday.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News