Tag: stock market

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. expanded at a 2.6% annual pace in fourth quarter, extending one of the best stretches of growth during the current eight-and-a-half-year-old upturn. GDP fell short of MarketWatch’s 3% forecast, however, owing to lower inventory production and a bigger trade deficit. Consumer spending, the main engine of the economy, rose a strong 3.8%, the biggest increase in almost two years. Investment in new housing increased 11.6%, business spending on equipment surged 11.4% and outlays on structures edged up 1.4%, according to Commerce Department data. Yet the value of inventories declined by $29.3 billion. Trade was an even bigger drag on GDP. Imports jumped 13.9%, doubling the 6.9% rise in exports. Inflation as measured by the PCE price index increased at a 2.8% annual rate, the highest pace since 2011. Core PCE rose at a slower 1.9% clip, however.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday looked set to open modestly higher as President Donald Trump delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that invited companies to do business in America and indicated the the world’s No. 1 economy wanted to do “fair and reciprocal” trade deals. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 54 points, or 0.2%, at 26,430, S&P 500 futures were up 0.3% at 2,850, while futures for the Nasdaq-100 were showing a gain of 0.5% at 6,966.25. Trump said “America first does not mean America alone” and promoted a wave of pro-business policies that he said has allowed the stock market to “smash record after record.” The Dow , the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index have mostly risen to all-time highs in January on the back of better-than-expected quarterly reports and in anticipation that Wall Street friendly legislations will boost economic growth and the market.

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AbbVie Inc. shares rose nearly 3% in pre-market trade after the company reported fourth-quarter profit and revenue beats and released upbeat 2018 guidance. Earnings for the latest quarter declined to $52 million, or 3 cents per share, from $1.39 billion, or 85 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $1.48, compared with the FactSet consensus of $1.45. Revenue rose to $7.74 billion from $6.80 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $7.51 billion. Sales of Humira, Imbruvica, Lupron, Creon, Synagis, Kaletra, Sevoflurane and Duodopa came in above FactSet expectations, while sales of Synthroid and AndroGel missed expectations. AbbVie expects 2018 EPS of $6.45 to $6.55, compared with the FactSet consensus of $5.83, and raised adjusted EPS from between $6.37 and $6.57 to between $7.33 and $7.43, compared with the FactSet consensus of $5.56. The company said its 2017 results reflect provisional amounts related to U.S. corporate tax reform, but that estimates might be adjusted this year. AbbVie also touted plans to increase U.S. investments, including a proposal to invest about $2.5 billion in U.S. capital projects, possible expansion of its U.S. facilities, a one-time charitable donation of about $350 million to U.S. non-profits in 2018, added pension funding of about $750 million and greater compensation for non-executive employees. AbbVie shares have surged 20.9% over the last three months, compared with a 10.9% rise in the S&P 500 and a 12.8% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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Colgate-Palmolive Co. shares fell 3.1% in Friday premarket trading after the consumer products company said growth in 2018 would be challenged. Net income totaled $323.0 million, or 37 cents per share, down from $606.0 million, or 68 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 75 cents. Revenue of $3.89 billion was higher than the $3.72 billion reported last year. Adjusted EPS was in line with the FactSet consensus, but the revenue consensus was $3.93 billion. With uncertainty in the global markets and growth challenged, Colgate’s Chief Executive Ian Cook said the company will remain focused on “brand building and increased productivity.” Colgate expects a mid-single digit sales increase in 2018. The FactSet consensus is $16.12 billion, up 4.3% from $15.45 billion this year. Colgate shares are up 13.3% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 23.6% for the period.

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Airplane parts maker Rockwell Collins Inc. said Friday it had net income of $280 million, or $1.69 a share, in the fourth quarter, up from $145 million, or $1.10 a share, in the year-earlier period. The number includes a one-time tax benefit of 37 cents a share, Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.59, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.55. Sales rose 69% to $2.011 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.993 billion. The company, which is being taken over by United Technologies Corp. in a $23 billion deal, said earnings were boosted by a strong performance at its commercial systems and government systems businesses. it will not hold an earnings conference call because of the United Tech deal. Shares were not yet active premarket.

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Honeywell International Inc. reported Friday a fourth-quarter net loss of $2.41 billion, or $3.18 a share, compared with a profit of $1.03 billion, or $1.34 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as a one-time charge related to tax-reform legislation, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.85, above the FactSet consensus of $1.84. The industrial conglomerate said revenue rose to $10.84 billion from $9.99 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $10.76 billion, as better than expected sales in its aerospace, performance materials and technologies and safety and productivity solutions businesses offset a slight miss in home and building technologies sales. The stock inched up 0.1% in premarket trade. For 2018, the company raised its EPS guidance by 20 cents to $7.75 from $8.00 to reflect a lower expected tax rate as a results of tax-reform legislation. The stock has rallied 37.2% over the past 12 months through Thursday, while both the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF has and the S&P 500 have gained 23.6%.

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President Donald Trump expects the U.S. economy to continue powering ahead in coming years, saying economic growth is likely to be higher than what most economists currently expect. In an interview aired Friday with CNBC from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump was asked about forecasts that the U.S. economy would expand around 3% in the long term, and answered that “I think it’ll be much higher than that.” He said his efforts to tackle excessive regulations would help boost the economy, saying he has “cut more regulations than any president in history” and that it’s “just as big as the tax cuts.” Gross domestic product data for the U.S. economy in the fourth quarter are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday. Economists pulled by MarketWatch expect a reading of 3% growth, down from 3.2% in the third quarter.

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There is no difference between President Donald Trump’s position on the strength of the U.S. dollar and that of his Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, a senior administration official told reporters on the sidelines of the Davos forum Friday. “I don’t think there’s any daylight between the President and Secretary Mnuchin,” the official said, according to a Reuters report. Trump, in comments to CNBC on Thursday, said “the dollar is going to get stronger and stronger and ultimately I want to see a strong dollar.” His remarks briefly helped an ailing buck. Earlier this week, Mnuchin said he was not concerned about where the dollar was in the short term and that a weaker dollar was helpful to the U.S. trade position. Those remarks sparked a market reaction that drove the leading dollar index down some 2% to fresh three-year lows. The dollar index was lower again on Friday, setting it on track for a 1.9% weekly slide. That would be its biggest loss in one week since May last year, according to FactSet data.

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The U.S. Olympic Committee on Thursday ordered the board of directors of USA Gymnastics to resign by next week or it will decertify the organization. Effectively, that would remove USA Gymnastics’ status as the sport’s governing body. The move comes after former U.S. gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar was convicted of molesting more than 150 girls and young women over a decades-long span. USA Gymnastics and the USOC have been criticized for not doing more to protect the young athletes from sexual abuse. In a letter, the USOC said USA Gymnastics needs “a categorically fresh start at the board level,” and that “reform must start with an entirely new board.” The 21-member board was ordered to resign by Jan. 31, and the USOC outlined a list of demands that the organization must take to keep its accreditation. On Wednesday, Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman called for an independent investigation of the USOC.

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More than 30 people were killed Friday when a fire tore through a hospital for the elderly in South Korea. The causes of the mid-morning blaze at Sejong Hospital in Miryang, a city near the country’s southeastern coast, were unknown, the Associated Press reported, though the BBC reported the fire may have started near the emergency room. South Korea’s National Fire Agency reported at least 31 dead and 84 injured, with 14 of those people in critical condition. In December, 29 people were killed in a fire at a sports center in the town of Jecheon.

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