Tag: stock market

U.S. stock-market indexes opened slightly higher on Friday and were on track to book modest weekly gains. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were trading above previous record closing levels, as investors shrugged off fears of a potential government shutdown. The S&P 500 rose 6 points, or 0.2%, to 2,804. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index advanced by 19 points, or 0.3%, to 7,315. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24 points, or 0.1%, to 26,028. All three indexes were set for weekly gains of less than 1%. Among the worst performers on Wall Street, shares of IBM sank in the wake of fourth-quarter results.

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A new Morgan Stanley survey found strong early interest in Facebook Watch, the company’s newly launched video platform. Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak wrote Friday that 40% of Facebook Inc. use Facebook Watch weekly, while 24% of them use it daily. “We are encouraged (and admittedly surprised) by this early Watch traction as it speaks to Facebook’s ability to drive adoption of new products,” Nowak wrote. “We view Watch (and video) as the next key long-term driver of Facebook engagement and monetization.” Three-quarters of survey respondents who use Facebook Watch said they view videos shorter than 20 minutes every week through the platform, while half reported weekly viewings of videos that were longer than 20 minutes. Nowak wrote that these patterns are similar to what the firm has observed among viewers of Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube service. YouTube remains the leader for video consumption, he added. Facebook shares are up 41% over the past 12 months, while Alphabet shares have gained 38% and the S&P 500 is up 24%.

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Amazon.com Inc. has raised the cost of its monthly Prime membership fee to $12.99 from $10.99, a nearly 20% rise. The $99 cost of the full-year Prime membership has not changed. In October, Amazon launched a Prime Student offer at $5.49 per month, which is now $6.49. Prime Video membership will stay at $8.99. Amazon said more than four million people started Prime trials or started paid memberships in one week during the holiday season. Amazon shares are up 1% in Friday trading and up 60% for the past 12 months. The S&P 500 index is up 23.6% for the period.

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.

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Shares of International Business Machines Corp. sank 3.1% in premarket trade Friday, in the wake of fourth-quarter results, which would cut the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s gain by more than half. IBM’s stock price decline of $5.22 would shave about 36 points off the Dow, while Dow futures were up about 22 points. The stock’s pullback comes after it had run up 10% so far in 2018 to close Thursday at a nine-month high. A stock selloff after earnings isn’t much of a surprise, as it is on track to suffer the 12th one-day, post-earnings decline in the past 14 quarters. Meanwhile, IBM has beat earnings-per-share expectations for 13-straight quarters.

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.

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Apple Inc. shares were little changed in premarket trading Friday after analysts at Mizuho predicted that the company would beat average selling price estimates for the latest quarter when it reports results Feb. 1. “IPhone ASP expectations seem very low,” wrote Mizuho’s Abhey Lamba, who predicts an average selling price of between $780 and $790 for the device, above consensus estimates for $752. His prediction for 80 million to 81 million iPhone units sold during the December quarter also implies upside to consensus figures. “We continue to see healthy upgrade activity within the installed base which, along with better services contribution, should help the company perform,” Lamba wrote. He raised his price target on Apple shares to $175 from $160 but kept his neutral rating on the stock. Apple shares are up 50% over the past 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 32%.

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.

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Chip pricing trends remain strong, according to Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh, and he thinks that could bode well for Advanced Micro Devices Inc. , Nvidia Corp. , Micron Technology Inc. and Western Digital Corp. in the first half of the year. Sold-state drive (SSD) pricing looks “robust,” Rakesh wrote, and “should be a tailwind for Micron and WDC.” Meanwhile, regarding graphics processing unit (GPU) pricing, Rakesh thinks the trends continue to suggest “tight inventory and availability.” Accordingly, he sees upside potential for Nvidia’s and AMD’s GPU segments for the December and March quarters. “We believe it is key to understand that pricing reflects more of a stronger GPU demand and tight GPU inventory than a pricing tailwind,” he added. Nvidia shares are up 113% over the last 12 months, while AMD’s stock is up 28%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has risen 49% in that time, compared with a 24% gain for the S&P 500 .

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.

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Shares of Square Inc. rose 3.8% in premarket trading Friday after analysts at Instinet raised their target price to $64, by far the highest among Wall Street analysts tracked by FactSet. The analysts, led by Dan Dolev, believe that an inflection in GPV growth will help Square keep transaction yield stable even as large sellers become a more important part of the business. They also see Square’s margins expanding as the company’s Square Capital lending business expands and as the company generates continued momentum for its software offerings. Dolev’s price target suggests more than 50% upside from current levels, though he wrote that “analogous to Amazon or Google in their early days, little of this upside is evident using conventional valuation methodologies.” Square shares are up 173% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 Index is up 24% in that time.

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.

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Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. tacked on 0.7% in premarket trade Friday, after Raymond James finally backed off from its bearish stance on the Mexican food quick-service restaurant chain, saying it no longer sees material downside risk to 2018 estimates. Analyst Brian Vaccaro raised his rating to market perform, after being at underperform for the past 15 months. Vaccaro said his view of a more stable earnings outlook comes after Chipotle confirmed earlier this week menu price increases impacting nearly half its restaurants, and given stabilizing industry demand trends. “While not out of the woods given 4Q traffic likely remained negative and [quarter-to-date] trends were likely negatively impacted by another norovirus incident in late December (Los Angeles), we view the stock as fairly valued on firmer 2018 estimates and see a more neutral risk/reward from current levels,” Vaccaro wrote in a note to clients. The stock has gained 3.8% over the past three months through Thursday, but has lost 17.5% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 23.6% the past year.

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.

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Shares of Nike Inc. rallied 1.1% in premarket trade Friday, after the athletic gear company was upgraded at Wedbush, which cited increasing confidence that an inflection in margin and a return to growth in North America will materialize in fiscal 2019, which begins in June of this year. Analyst Christopher Svezia raised his rating to outperform from neutral, and boosted his stock price target to $74 from $57. He said fiscal fourth-quarter 2018 results, which ends in May, should show overall gross margin expansion for the first time in 10 quarters, as pricing pressure on footwear subsides and direct-to-consumer sales increase. In addition, Svezia said there are more “tangible product drivers to the story around casual and lifestyle that should resonate and be more impactful to consumers.” The stock has soared 21.7% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 12.3%.

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.

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Lincoln Financial Group said Friday it will pay $3.3 billion to buy Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston from Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. Under terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018, Lincoln Financial’s payment consists of $1.45 billion total net investment for the group benefits business, which includes a purchase price of $1.02 billion and $425 million in required capital. The deal also includes $1.20 billion associated with excess capital in LLAC, $4210 million of individual life and annuity value paid by Protective Life and $211 million of tax items. “Through this transaction, Lincoln Financial will have a significantly increased presence in the group benefits market by complementing our existing small to middle-market strengths with even deeper large case and disability expertise,” said Chief Executive Dennis Glass. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has rallied 24.6% over the past 12 months, while the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF has gained 12.1% and the S&P 500 has climbed 23.6%.

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.

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