Tag: stock market

Financial stocks were getting hit hard in premarket trade Wednesday, after weaker-than-expected private-sector jobs data sent Treasury yields sharply lower. The SPDR Financial ETF fell 1% ahead of the open. Among the sector tracker’s more heavily-weighted components, shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. shed 1.3%, of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. gave up 1.3%, of Bank of America Corp. slid 1.6%, of Citigroup Inc. dropped 1.3% and of Wells Fargo & Co. lost 1.1%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note declined 0.023 percentage points to 1.777%. Private-sector employment gains slowed to 156,000 jobs in April from 194,000 in March, according to Automatic Data Processing Inc. Economists had expected an increase of 193,000 in April.

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Under Armour Inc.’s stock dropped 3.9% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the athletic gear company announced another round of executive departures, but some analysts said investors shouldn’t be too concerned. The company said late Tuesday that Chief Merchandising Officer Henry Stafford was leaving after 1 1/2 years in the role, and 6 six years at the company. Robin Thurston, currently the chief digital officer, will be leaving the company in July after 2 1/2 years with the company. This comes after the company lost Brad Dickerson, both its chief operating officer and chief financial officer, in February. Analyst Pamela Quintiliano at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey said investors shouldn’t view the latest departures as reflective of deeper fundamental issues, as they appear to be more about “personal life decisions.” She said her recent checks into the sales channel indicated that given long lead times, “we don’t expect hiccups on Mr. Stafford’s departure.” The stock has gained 2.6% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has tacked on 1%.

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Under Armour Inc.’s stock dropped 3.9% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the athletic gear company announced another round of executive departures, but some analysts said investors shouldn’t be too concerned. The company said late Tuesday that Chief Merchandising Officer Henry Stafford was leaving after 1 1/2 years in the role, and 6 six years at the company. Robin Thurston, currently the chief digital officer, will be leaving the company in July after 2 1/2 years with the company. This comes after the company lost Brad Dickerson, both its chief operating officer and chief financial officer, in February. Analyst Pamela Quintiliano at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey said investors shouldn’t view the latest departures as reflective of deeper fundamental issues, as they appear to be more about “personal life decisions.” She said her recent checks into the sales channel indicated that given long lead times, “we don’t expect hiccups on Mr. Stafford’s departure.” The stock has gained 2.6% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has tacked on 1%.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Freddie Mac in the first quarter reported a loss but did not need to get an infusion from the Treasury Department. Sister mortgage buyer Fannie Mae is less likely to run into these concerns, according to Ed Groshans, an analyst at Height Securities. In a note to clients, he says Fannie Mae’s first-quarter losses on the fair value of its derivatives could reach $4.1 billion, which could result in a “close to breakeven quarter.” He says derivative losses at Fannie Mae would need to exceed $5 billion to put it at risk of needing to drawing capital. Both Fannie and Freddie are held under government conservatorship. Fannie Mae results are due Thursday.

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The dollar weakened against the euro, yen and pound Wednesday after a report on private-sector employment came in well below expectations. The ADP employment number for April came in at 156,000, well short of the 200,000 jobs expected. The euro rose to $1.1516 in recent trade, compared with $1.1505 shortly before the data. The dollar slid to 106.40 yen, from 106.64 beforehand. The pound edged higher to $1.4540 after the data, up slightly from $1.4520 beforehand, but remained lower on the day.

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Hain Celestial Group Inc. said Wednesday it had third-quarter net income of $49.0 million, or 47 cents per share, up from $33.4 million, or 32 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were 49 cents per share, meeting the FactSet consensus. Revenue for the quarter totaled $749.9 million, up from $662,7 million the year before. The FactSet consensus was $735 million. The organic food company has named James Meiers to the newly-created position of chief operations officer, responsible for finding cost savings across the company’s global operations. Hain Celestial has already conducted a strategic review and identified $100 million in global cost savings, which it expects to achieve between fiscal years 2017 and 2019. The company will also establish five strategic platforms within Hain Celestial U.S. in fiscal 2017: Fresh Living, Better-for-You Baby, Better-for-You Snacking, Better-for-You Pantry and Pure Personal Care. A venture unit called Cultivate Ventures will invest in the company’s smaller brands as well as products and technologies focused on health and wellness. And the company will sell certain brands with sales of $30 million that “no longer fit with its core strategy for future growth,” Hain Celestial said in the earnings release. The company updated its full-year sales guidance to between $2.95 billion and $2.97 billion, from between $2.90 and $3.04 billion. And it updated its EPS guidance to between $2.00 and $2.04 from between $1.95 and $2.10. Hain Celestial shares are unchanged in premarket trading, but down 32.7% for the past year. The S&P 500 is down 2.4% for the last 12 months.

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Time Warner Inc. shares gained nearly 6% in premarket trade after the company posted improved profit and revenue for the first quarter that came in above Wall Street’s expectations. The media and entertainment company said on Wednesday net income rose to $1.21 billion, or $1.51 per share, compared with $970 million, or $1.15 per share during the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings were $1.49 per share, above the FactSet consensus of $1.29 per share. Revenue for the quarter rose to $7.31 billion, compared with $7.13 billion and above the $7.29 billion FactSet consensus. The media and entertainment company said that was thanks to growth at Turner and HBO, but was offset by a 3% decline at its Warner Bros. film studio. Warner Bros.’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” has grossed roughly $863.12 worldwide so far, but faced strong first-quarter comparisons in last year’s “American Sniper” and “The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies.” Revenue at HBO saw an 8% increase due to a 5% bump in subscription revenue, while revenue at Turner rose 7% thanks to a 11% bump in subscription revenue and a 5% increase in advertising revenue. Shares of Time Warner are up more than 13% in the year to date, outperforming the S&P 500 Index, which is up almost 1%.

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Kate Spade & Co. said Wednesday it had first-quarter net income of $11.6 million, or 9 cents per share, after a loss of $55.2 million, or 43 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were 1 cent per share, below the FactSet consensus of 5 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter was $274.4 million, up from $255.3 million last year, exceeding the FactSet consensus of $268 million. The clothing and accessories company reaffirmed its full-year 2016 revenue guidance between $1.39 billion and $1.41 billion, and its earnings per share guidance between 70 cents and 80 cents. Kate Spade shares are unchanged in premarket trading, but up 41.4% for the year so far. The S&P 500 is up 1% for the year to date.

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Priceline Group Inc.’s stock tumbled 12% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the online travel services company reported first-quarter results that beat expectations, but provided a second-quarter profit outlook that was well below analyst projections. For the latest quarter, earnings rose to $374.4 million, or $7.47 a share, from $333.3 million, or $6.36 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $10.54, above the FactSet consensus of $9.64. Revenue grew to $2.15 billion from $1.84 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $2.12 billion, as better-than-expected agency and advertising and other revenue offset a miss in merchant revenue. Bookings increased 21% to $16.7 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $16.3 billion. For the second quarter, the company expects EPS of $11.60 to $12.50, well below the FactSet consensus of $14.96. “The group is looking forward to continued investments in product, service and branding that will drive long-term growth for our leading brands,” Interim Chief Executive Jeffery Boyd said. The stock has climbed 6.3% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 1%.

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The People’s Bank of China on Wednesday set the yuan’s daily reference rate at 6.4943 to the dollar, weakening the currency by about 0.6%, according to multiple published reports. The cut by China’s central bank was the biggest downward move since it devalued the currency in August and rattled markets worldwide, an AFP report said.

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