Tag: stock market

The financial sector suffered broad, sharp losses Tuesday, as the drop in longer-term Treasury yields put pressure on bank stocks. The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF dropped 1.5% to a two-month low, while the SPDR S&P Bank ETF shed 2.2%. Among the sector’s more-active stocks, Bank of America Corp. slid 2.6%, and has now tumbled 8.2% amid a four-session losing streak. Shares of Citgroup Inc. lost 3.2%, of Wells Fargo & Co. fell 2.6%, of Regions Financial Corp. gave up 2.8% and of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. declined 1.9%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury yield was set to close at the lowest level since December 2012, to extend a global drop in rates that included the benchmark German rate turning negative for the first time in history. Lower long-term interest rates narrows the spread between what banks earn by funding longer-term loans with shorter-term liabilities. The biggest decliner was Synchrony Financial’s stock , which plunged 14% to a four-month low after the consumer financial services company warned of higher charge-off rates. Elsewhere, American Express Co. shares dropped 4.1%, and was the biggest percentage decline among components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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 Vonage Holdings Corp. shot up 12% to a three-month high in active afternoon trade Tuesday, after Citigroup turned bullish on the cloud-connected communications services company, citing an attractive valuation. With an hour left in the regular session, volume was 7.6 million shares, or nearly triple the full-day average. Analyst Michael Rollins raised his rating to buy, after being at hold for at least the last two years. He bumped up his stock price target to $8, which is 51% above current levels, from $4.75. “We now see a favorable risk-reward scenario with an opportunity to improve business revenue growth, harvest consumer cash flow and generate favorable [free cash flow] yield at over 10% on our 2017 estimate,” Rollins wrote in a note to clients. The stock has now run up 36% over the past month, but was still down 7.1% 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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Gold futures settled higher on Tuesday at a more than five-week high. Investors had struggled to find direction ahead of Wednesday’s U.S. Federal Reserve decision on interest rates and a U.K. decision next week on whether to exit from the European Union. Gold for August delivery rose $1.20, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,288.10 an ounce, the highest settlement since May 6.

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 British pound dropped after a poll released Tuesday showed rising support for the U.K. to leave the European Union. Market research firm TNS said 47% of likely voters it surveyed back a so-called Brexit from the bloc, compared with 40% who wish to remain. The pound briefly fell below $1.41 in London afternoon trade. The TNS poll gauged the opinions of 2,497 adults in the U.K. TNS said 13% of respondents were undecided or said they wouldn’t vote. On Monday, separate polls from the Sunday Times/YouGov and ICM/Guardian newspaper showed more voters are in favor of Britain ditching the EU.

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 Synchrony Financial plunged $2.52, or 8.3%, in morning trade Tuesday, putting it on track to suffer the biggest one-day price and percentage declines since it went public nearly two years ago, after the consumer financial services company disclosed expectations of higher charge-off rates. The stock was the leading decliner among components of the S&P 500 on Tuesday. The company, which was part of General Electric Co. before being spun off in July 2014, said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it now expects an increase of 20 basis points to 30 basis points in net charge-off rates over the next 12 months, which should lead to higher reserve builds starting this quarter. The stock’s previous biggest decline was when it fell $1.46, or 5.1%, on Feb. 2, 2016. It has now shed 8.2% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.7%.

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

U.S. stocks opened lower Tuesday, putting the main indexes on track to post a fourth straight day of losses as the Federal Reserve kicks of its two-day policy meeting and as worries about the global market continue to spook investors. Flight to the perceived safety of sovereign bonds on worries that the U.K. might destabilize the European trading bloc by potentially voting to exit the European Union, helped to push the German 10-year benchmark bond yield into negative territory for the first time. Markets have been on edge over the so-called Brexit referendum. The Dow Jones Industrial Average 24 points, or 0.2%, to 17,705, while the S&P 500 index slipped 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2,076. The Nasdaq Composite Index was little-changed at 4,854. The main indexes are trying to avoid falling for four consecutive sessions.

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

Chiasma Inc. said it would cut about one-third of its workforce, effective immediately, as part of restructuring aimed at focusing the company’s resources on the development of its treatment for acromegaly, Mycapssa. The company expects to record one-time charges of $1.4 million to $1.6 million in the second quarter for severance and related costs. Recent regulatory filings showed that Chiasma had 65 employees, according to FactSet. The restructuring follows Chiasma’s participation in a meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding its new drug application for Mycapssa. The company had received a complete response letter in April, in which the FDA said the NDA had failed to provide enough evidence of efficacy to warrant approval. The stock, which slumped 2.9% in premarket trade, has plunged 86% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.7%.

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

Xerox Corp. has appointed Ashok Vemuri as chief executive officer of the business process outsourcing company that will trade publicly following its spin-off from Xerox Corp. later this year. In January, the company announced that it would split in two, with one business –the one Vemuri will oversee– targeting business services such as HR, customer service and accounting. The core Xerox will continue to focus on things like printing services. Vemuri will join Xerox on July 1, and serve as CEO of Xerox Business Services and as executive vice president of Xerox Corp. until the split is complete. Vemuri previously served as CEO of IGATE Corp., as well as a senior executive at Infosys. Shares of Xerox were inactive in premarket trade.

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 Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. plummeted 66% in premarket trade Tuesday, toward an all-time low, after the biotechnology company announced a restructuring that would reduce its workforce by 21% in the wake of disappointing drug-study results. While a Phase 2 study of its treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma met its primary endpoint of overall response rate, the company said it hoped it would provide a larger clinical benefit. RBC Capital analyst Michael Yee said the response rate of 46% was below the 54% response rate of a rival treatment from Gilead Sciences Inc. , which suffers from lackluster sales. Infinity said its restructuring will include closing down its discovery research organization, leading to a loss of 46 jobs. In addition, the company said it was holding discussions with AbbVie Inc. to explore the next steps for the companies’ collaboration. Infinity’s stock, which went public in July 2000 at an IPO price of $18, was trading around $1.55 ahead of the open; the previous all-time intraday low of $3.74 was hit in October 2008.

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 Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. plummeted 66% in premarket trade Tuesday, toward an all-time low, after the biotechnology company announced a restructuring that would reduce its workforce by 21% in the wake of disappointing drug-study results. While a Phase 2 study of its treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma met its primary endpoint of overall response rate, the company said it hoped it would provide a larger clinical benefit. RBC Capital analyst Michael Yee said the response rate of 46% was below the 54% response rate of a rival treatment from Gilead Sciences Inc. , which suffers from lackluster sales. Infinity said its restructuring will include closing down its discovery research organization, leading to a loss of 46 jobs. In addition, the company said it was holding discussions with AbbVie Inc. to explore the next steps for the companies’ collaboration. Infinity’s stock, which went public in July 2000 at an IPO price of $18, was trading around $1.55 ahead of the open; the previous all-time intraday low of $3.74 was hit in October 2008.

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