Tag: stock market

Nearly a year before Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired senior FBI official Andrew McCabe for what Sessions called a “lack of candor,” McCabe oversaw a probe into whether Sessions himself lacked candor when testifying before Congress about contacts with Russian operatives, ABC News reported Wednesday. One source told ABC Sessions was not aware of the investigation when he decided to fire McCabe last Friday. McCabe’s firing came less than 48 hours before McCabe was to retire from government and obtain a full pension.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Guess Inc. jumped more than 8% late Wednesday after the retailer reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings and sales well above Wall Street expectations. Guess said it earned $1 million, an 84% decrease from $6.6 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. GAAP per-share earnings fell 87.5% to 1 cent for the quarter, compared with 8 cents in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, Guess earned $51.3 million, or 62 cents a share, compared with $36.6 million, or 43 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose 18% to $792.2 million, compared with $674 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 54 cents a share on sales of $756 million. “I still see a lot of opportunities left in Europe and Asia, where we will continue to allocate capital for superior returns and where we plan to continue growing sales in double digits while also expanding margins,” Guess Chief Executive Victor Herrero said in a statement. “We will keep working on improving the profitability of the Americas by executing on our cost reduction and margin improvement initiatives.” Guess co-founder Paul Marciano relinquished his duties last month after model Kate Upton made allegations of sexual harassment. Marciano has denied the allegations. The company didn’t provide an update on the ongoing investigation on Wednesday.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average was eroding firmer gains late Wednesday afternoon, as shares of Apple’s were turning sharply south. The move follows a triple-digit advance for the Dow [: DJIA] as investors digested to the Federal Reserve, under newly appointed Chairman Jerome Powell, which lifted short-term interest rates by a quarter point to a range of 1.50% to 1.75%, as expected, but offered a more tempered outlook for future rates. Apples shares , meanwhile, were down 1.8%, or $3.12, cutting about 20 points from the price-weighted average. A $1 move in any one of the benchmark’s components equates to a swing of 6.89 points. The Dow was most recently up 53 points, or 0.2%, at 24,775, while the S&P 500 index was up 0.1% at 2,719. The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.1% at 7,356.

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Exchange-traded funds that track and financial and banking sectors rose sharply on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, as had been widely expected. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF rose 1.3% while the SPDR S&P Bank ETF was up 1.2%. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF gained 0.9%. The Fed stuck to its prior forecast of three rate hikes in 2018, though it projected another three in 2019, rather than the two it previous indicated. In contrast to the broader equity market, bank stocks tend to benefit from environments with higher interest rates, as rates boost their net interest margins, or the difference between the interest they earn on the loans they make and the interest they pay out. Low rates can depress their net interest margins, which can lead to lower earnings. Also boosting the sector was the steeping yield curve, which is also seen as providing a tailwind for bank profits. The yield for the U.S. 10-year Treasury note was 2.92% while it was 2.34% for the two year note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% while the S&P 500 was up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2%. Among individual stocks, Goldman Sachs rose 0.9% while JPMorgan Chase & Co. was up 1.5%.

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Oil futures climbed Wednesday to settle at their highest level since early February, buoyed by an unexpected weekly decline in U.S. crude stockpiles, as well as ongoing geopolitical risks to global production. May West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.63, or 2.6%, to settle at $65.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the highest settlement since Feb. 2, according to FactSet data.

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From:: Stock Market News

Exchange-traded funds that track and financial and banking sectors rose on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates but indicated a less-aggressive schedule for further hikes in 2018. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF rose 0.7% while the SPDR S&P Bank ETF was up 0.5%. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF was gained 0.4%. The Fed stuck to its prior forecast of three rate hikes in 2018, though it projected another three in 2019, rather than the two it previous indicated. In contrast to the broader equity market, bank stocks tend to benefit from environments with higher interest rates, as rates boost their net interest margins, or the difference between the interest they earn on the loans they make and the interest they pay out. Low rates can depress their net interest margins, which can lead to lower earnings. Some investors had speculated that there could be four rate hikes in 2018, which could have provided a tailwind to the sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% while the S&P 500 was up 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.5%. Among individual stocks, Goldman Sachs rose 0.9% while JPMorgan Chase & Co. was up 1.3%.

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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From:: Stock Market News

Exchange-traded funds that track and financial and banking sectors rose on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates but indicated a less-aggressive schedule for further hikes in 2018. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF rose 0.7% while the SPDR S&P Bank ETF was up 0.5%. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF was gained 0.4%. The Fed stuck to its prior forecast of three rate hikes in 2018, though it projected another three in 2019, rather than the two it previous indicated. In contrast to the broader equity market, bank stocks tend to benefit from environments with higher interest rates, as rates boost their net interest margins, or the difference between the interest they earn on the loans they make and the interest they pay out. Low rates can depress their net interest margins, which can lead to lower earnings. Some investors had speculated that there could be four rate hikes in 2018, which could have provided a tailwind to the sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% while the S&P 500 was up 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.5%. Among individual stocks, Goldman Sachs rose 0.9% while JPMorgan Chase & Co. was up 1.3%.

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Shares of Home Depot Inc. edged up 0.3% in afternoon trade Wednesday, after Morgan Stanley said the recent weakness has created a “compelling entry point” for investors. The stock has tumbled 13.7% since closing at a record $207.23 on Jan. 26, while the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF has lost 10.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has declined 6.7%. Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman reiterated his overweight rating and $210 stock price target, saying he left a recent meeting with management “reassured” about housing market drivers and underlying demand over the next 12 months. “The market is worried about the durability of home improvement demand in the face of rising interest and mortgage rates,” Gutman wrote in a note to clients. “Our meetings reinforced several strengths of the story: a favorable macro backdrop, an ability to take market share through differentiation, investing for the future, and organizational cohesion that increases productivity and efficiency while minimizing execution risk.”

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Great Southern Bancorp Inc. said Wednesday it will raise its quarterly dividend by 17% to 28 cents a share from 24 cents a share. The new dividend will be payable April 16 to shareholders of record on April 2. The Missouri-based bank’s stock slipped 0.4% in midday trade to $50.97. At that price, the new annual dividend rate of $1.12 a share would imply a yield of 2.20%, compared with the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF yield of 1.35% and the implied yield for the S&P 500 of 1.89%, according to FactSet. Great Southern’s stock has advanced 7.0% over the past 12 months, while the regional-banking ETF has run up 19.7% and the S&P 500 has gained 16.4%.

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From:: Stock Market News

CFRA analyst Scott Kessler raised his rating on Facebook shares to strong buy from buy, though he cut his 12-month price target to $210 from $250. “We believe FB will make it through this difficult period,” Kessler wrote, referring to heightened scrutiny over data-privacy issues in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook shares were down as much as 2.9% in Wednesday’s session, though they’re now up 1.6%. The stock is up 23% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 is up 16%.

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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From:: Stock Market News