Tag: stock market

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Industrial production fell 0.4% in December, the third straight monthly decline, according to data released by the Federal Reserve on Friday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 0.2% fall in production. November’s decline in output was revised to a 0.9% drop from the prior estimate of a fall of 0.6%. December’s decline was led by cutbacks in utilities and mining. Manufacturing output fell 0.1% for the second straight month in December as auto production fell 1.7%. Excluding autos, manufacturing inched up 0.1%. For the fourth quarter, total production fell 3.4%, the largest decline since the recession in 2009. Capacity utilization fell to 76.5% in December from a downwardly revised 76.9% in November, slower than the 76.8% expected.

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From:: Stock Market News

Walt Disney Co. shares dropped 4% in premarket trade after analysts at Barclays downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight. Analyst Kannan Venkateshwar wrote in the note that while Star Wars will offer some tailwinds long term, “the likelihood of valuation compression combined with potential risk to earnings next year both on account of ESPN is likely to result in Disney underperforming the sector.” Whereas Disney has historically traded at a premium compared with the rest of the media sector thanks, in large part, to unwavering demand for ESPN. Venkateshwar, like other media analysts, thinks ESPN is most exposed in today’s fragmenting media environment. “ESPN accounts for a disproportionate share of Disney’s cash flow and the gap between [operating cash flow], 7%, and EBIT growth, 17%, over the last two years likely already points to this pressure from subscriber losses. In November, Disney revealed that ESPN has been losing subscribers by the millions. While investors are often enthusiastic about Disney’s film studio due to its Marvel, Lucas Films and Pixar properties, Venkateshwar notes that over the past eight years, Disney’s studio and merchandising revenue has seen little growth, especially when adjusted for “Frozen.” Disney shares rose 11.5% over the course of last year, but have fallen 5.7% so far in 2016.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — New York Fed President William Dudley on Friday said he still expected sufficient economic strength to push the unemployment rate down further and for the economy to be slightly above the long-term trend this year. Dudley did acknowledge that data since the December rate hike has “been on the softer side.” The key official, who gets a vote at every meeting, explained his vote in support of a rate hike, saying it needed to be done now in a gradual way to prevent sharp tightening later. Dudley, who didn’t in prepared remarks get into the debate over whether there is likely to be four rate hikes this year, also played down the difference in rate projections between the Fed’s summary of economic projections and the path implied by the federal funds futures market, noting the market incorporates all views, including outliers, and the Fed path is a median projection. “The difference between means and modes is the main factor for the gap between the federal funds futures market and the SEP path,” he said.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Business conditions in the New York region worsened severely in January, the New York Fed said Friday. The Empire State manufacturing index sank to negative 19.4 in January from a revised negative 6.2 in December. This is the lowest level for the index, a key early reading on manufacturing, since April 2009, near the end of the last recession. The index was below the MarketWatch-compiled economist forecast for a negative 4.5 reading. Orders and shipments plummeted in January. The six-month outlook was also very weak, dropping to 9.5 in January from 35.7 in December. This is the lowest level since early 2009.

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Bears are getting an early start Friday, as 26 of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average are trading in the premarket, and they are all down. The biggest loser is Intel Corp.’s stock , which shed 5.9% after reporting disappointing fourth-quarter results late Thursday. The most active is Apple Inc.’s stock , which is down 2% on volume of about 105,000 shares. Among other more-active components, shares of Walt Disney Co. slid 2.7%, of Exxon Mobil Corp. fell 2.7%, of Microsoft Corp. dropped 2.3% and of General Electric Co. gave up 1.6%. Dow futures were last down around 268 points.

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Merck & Co. said Friday it will $800 million to settle a class action lawsuit, related to the drug maker’s illegal promotion of its former painkiller Vioxx. Investors who bought Merck securities between May 21, 1999 and Oct. 29, 2004 were seeking damages for certain statements Merck made regarding Vioxx. Under the settlement agreement, in which Merck does not admit any liability or wrongdoing, Merck will also pay an additional amount to pay for attorney’s fees and expenses. The company will record a $680 million charge in the fourth quarter. In November 2011, Merck agreed to pay $950 million and plead guilty to criminal misdemeanor charge to resolve government allegations that Merck illegally promoted Vioxx and was deceptive about the drug’s safety. The stock, which slumped 1.5% in premarket trade, has gained 2.1% over the past three months through Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 4.5%.

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U.S. and Brent crude prices moved below $30 a barrel in European trading hours on Friday, as the commodity came under renewed selling pressure. More than reversing a 2.4% gain from Thursday, February crude dropped $1.42, or 4.6%, to $29.76 a barrel. Brent crude for the same month dropped 94 cents, or 3%, to $29.94 a barrel. Losses for crude came as China stocks slipped into one definition of a bear-market — a 20% drop from a recent high. The pressure was also on U.S. stock futures, which pointed to a difficult open for Wall Street.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. and Brent crude prices threatened to again push below the $30-a-barrel levels on Friday, as the commodity came under renewed selling pressure. More than reversing a 2.4% gain from Thursday, February crude dropped $1.09, or 3.5%, to $30.12 a barrel. Brent crude for the same month dropped 70 cents, or 2.3%, to $30.18 a barrel. Losses for crude came as China stocks slipped into one definition of a bear-market — a 20% drop from a recent high. The pressure was also on U.S. stock futures, which pointed to a difficult open for Wall Street.

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Stock futures plunged in early trading on Friday, weighed by losses for China stocks fell and renewed pressure on oil. The losses for futures came in a volatile week and after Thursday’s rally for Wall Street stocks tied to higher oil prices. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 135 points, or 0.8%, to 16,143, while S&P 500 futures dropped 15.85 points, or 0.8%, to 1,898.75. Nasdaq 100 futures tumbled 42.25 points, or 1%, to 4,215.50. February crude oil dropped 0.8%, or 2.5%, to 30.43 a barrel, all but reversing Thurday’s gains. In China, the Shanghai Composite tumbled 3.4% to 2,905.13.

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Analog Devices Inc. shares declined in the extended session Thursday after the maker of integrated circuits cut its revenue outlook. Shares of Analog Devices, which had been briefly halted, fell 3.9% to $48.54 after hours. The company said it expects fiscal first-quarter revenue of $745 million to $765 million, compared with its previous forecast of $805 million to $855 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated revenue of $829.9 million. The company said the cut was due to weaker-than-forecast demand in its portable consumer business unit that is expected to continue into the fiscal second quarter.

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