Tag: stock market

Facebook Inc. said Monday that it has hired the digital forensics firm Stroz Friedberg LLC to conduct an audit of Cambridge Analytica’s systems, following the improper handling of data related to about 50 million Facebook members. Facebook stock is down 7% in late afternoon trading. Facebook hired Stroz to investigate the improperly handled data after the company admitted late Friday that Cambridge acquired it from a personality prediction app in 2015, which was shared with the political consulting firm, Cambridge. One of the men involved in the improperly handled data, Christopher Wylie, has declined to allow the Stroz investigators to check his systems. The researcher who created the personality-prediction app, Aleksandr Kogan has agreed to give the Stroz investigators access to his systems. Facebook stock has declined 2.5% this year, as the S&P 500 index has gained 2.9%.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average sharp tumble in Monday trade has helped to erase its year-to-date gain, pushing the blue-chip indicator negative for 2018. The Dow was recently off about 434 points, or 1.8%, at 24,510, for a decline in the first three months of the year of about 0.8%. Any close above 24,719.22, the average’s close for 2017, according to FactSet data, would push it into positive territory. The S&P 500 index, meanwhile, was off 1.9% at 2,699, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was 2.4% lower at 7,301. All three benchmarks were being weighed by selling in technology shares, amid a data scandal tied to how Facebook Inc. has managed user information during the 2016 presidential campaign and election. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are both positive for the year, with the S&P 500 up 1% so far this year and the Nasdaq boasting a return of 5.8%.

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U.S. oil futures fell Monday, giving back nearly all of last week’s gain as prices tracked a drop in the stock market. Analysts said, however, that the potential for supply disruptions amid tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran limited losses for oil, along with sliding crude production in Venezuela. April West Texas Intermediate crude fell 28 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $62.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It had gained 0.5%, or 30 cents, a barrel last week after posting a rise of 1.9% on Friday.

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Shares of General Electric Co. dropped 2.1% in afternoon trade, to give back everything it gained, and then some, during it sharp bounce earlier this month. After closing at $14.02 on March 1, which was the lowest close since July 6, 2010, the stock rallied as much as 7.7% to a five-week closing high of $15.10 on March 12. The stock was last at $14.01, putting it on track for the lowest close in over 7 1/2 years. GE’s stock selloff comes during a broad market selloff, in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 465 points with all 30 components losing ground. GE’s stock has shed 53% over the past 12 months, while the Dow has gained 17%.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 480 points at its lows, heading for its steepest drop since Feb. 8, but selling is relatively calm, according to one measure of market internals. The so-called Arms Index, a volume-weighted breadth measure that usually rises above 1.000 when stock market falls, as sellers of declining stocks tend to be more aggressive than buyers of advancing stocks, rose to just 1.327 for the NYSE. Some market technicians feel a rise above 2.000 suggests panic-like selling. The number of declining stocks outnumbered advancers at 2,524 to 359, or by a 7.0-to-1 margin, at last check. Most recently, the Dow was off 400 points, or 1.6%, at 24,551. It was down by as many as 482 points. The S&P 500 index was down 1.7% at 2,705, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was trading 2.3% lower at 7,310. Stock benchmarks were under pressure on Monday on the heels of a data scandal tied to how Facebook Inc. has managed user information during the 2016 presidential campaign.

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Gold prices finished higher on Monday, erasing their losses from Friday. Sharp declines in benchmark U.S. stock indexes and a weaker dollar boosted investment demand for the precious metal, even as the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to announce an interest-rate hike on Wednesday. April gold fell $5.50, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,317.80 an ounce.

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A pair of exchange-traded products that offer leveraged exposure to a group of popular large-capitalization internet and technology companies saw heavy trading and sharp moves on Monday, as Facebook’s stock suffered one of its worst days in years. The BMO REX MicroSectors FANG+ Index 3X Leveraged ETN sank 11% and traded on heavier-than-average volume. The exchange-traded note offers triple-leveraged exposure to an index of 10 stocks, returning 300% of that index’s daily move. The index is geared toward the so-called ‘FAANG’ group of stocks, which refers to Facebook , Amazon , Apple , Netflix , and Google-parent Alphabet . All those stocks were lower on Monday, dropping at least 2%, with Alphabet down 3.7%. The biggest losses were in Facebook, however; the social-media giant sank 6.5% as it came under heavy criticism for how it has managed user data. The BMO REX MicroSectors FANG+ Index -3X Inverse Leveraged ETN rallied 10% on Monday; the note is designed to rise when the underlying components fall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7% while the S&P 500 lost 1.8% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 2.3%.

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U.S. stocks fell broadly on Monday, with major indexes poised for their biggest one-day drop in more than a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.8%, on track for its biggest one-day percentage drop since Feb. 8. The day’s losses were widespread; not only were all 11 of the primary S&P 500 sectors down on the day, but so were all 30 Dow components. Leading the decline, on a percentage basis, was Caterpillar Inc. , which fell 3.3%. Among other big decliners, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lost 2.7% while Johnson & Johnson was off 2.2%. For the broad market, the day’s losses were driven by Facebook Inc. , which sank 7%, on track for its worst session in years. The stock came under heavy selling pressure over how it manages third-party access to its users’ information, after saying a firm with ties to the 2016 Trump campaign improperly kept member data for years despite saying it had destroyed those records. While Facebook isn’t a Dow component, the decline pressured technology stocks broadly; Cisco Systems fell 2.2% while Microsoft Corp. lost 2.7%. Apple Inc. fell 2.1%. Relatively speaking, the best performer on the day was Coca-Cola Co., which fell less than 0.1%. Separately, the S&P 500 fell 1.8% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 2.4%.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sharp drop in Monday afternoon trade has helped to erase its year-to-date gain, pushing the blue-chip indicator negative for 2018. The Dow was recently off about 320 points, or 1.3%, at 24,627, for a decline in the first three months of the year of about 0.4%. Any close above 24,719.22, the average’s close for 2017, according to FactSet data, would push it into positive territory. The S&P 500 index, meanwhile, was off 1.5% at 2,710, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was 2.1% lower at 7,320. All three benchmarks were being weighed by selling in technology shares, amid a data scandal tied to how Facebook Inc. has managed user information during the 2016 presidential campaign and election. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are both positive for the year, with the S&P 500 up 1.4% so far this year and the Nasdaq boasting a return of 6.1%.

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

Shares of Facebook on Monday tumbled below a closely followed long-term trend line, which some market technicians may view as a bearish signal. Facebook Inc.’s shares were down 7.5% in midday trade, putting it on pace for its worst single-session decline since September 2012, but also threatening to push the social-network giant’s shares below its 200-day moving average at $172.55, according to FactSet data. Most recently, Facebook was trading at $171.02. Market technicians tend to watch moving averages to help gauge bullish and bearish sentiment in an asset. The decline in the Menlo Park, Calif.-based company came as The company’s shares were down about 7% Monday afternoon at $172, with the stock on track to post the worst one-day decline since Sept. 24, 2012, according to FactSet data. U.S. and British lawmakers slammed Facebook over the weekend for not providing more information about how the data firm, Cambridge Analytica, came to access information about potentially tens of millions of the social network’s members without their explicit permission around the time of the 2016 presidential election, which was sparking a wave of selling in the company, putting pressure on the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 313 points, or 1.3%, at 24,628, the S&P 500 index retreated 1.5% at 2,710, while the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index was down 2.3% at 7,311.

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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