Tag: stock market

U.S. major stock indexes ended higher on Friday after stronger-than-expected earnings from the tech sector buoyed the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to all-time highs this week. Amazon.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. , Alphabet Inc. and Intel Corp. posted solid third-quarter earnings. That helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index to notch its largest single-day gain since Nov. 7 2016. The S&P 500 scored its seventh straight weekly gain, while the Nasdaq hit its fifth consecutive such rise. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 2581 points, pushing weekly gains to 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 23434 points, generating a weeklong gain of 0.5% . The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.2% to 6701 points, 1.1% for the week.

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Investors shouldn’t give credit to the surging in shares of Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. , after both tech-sector heavyweights reported better-than-expected earnings, for the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s gain, they should instead thank Apple Inc.’s stock rally. That’s because the combined price gain in Intel and Microsoft shares of $9.13, which would about 63 points to the Dow’s price, was being cancelled out by the combined price decline in Chevron Corp. and Merck & Co. Inc. shares after the companies’ disappointing results of $9.50, which would shave about 65 points off the Dow. So the Dow’s 22-point gain can be attributed to the $5.61, or 3.6%, gain in Apple’s stock after reports of strong iPhone X demand, which is adding about 39 points to the Dow.

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The federal government had “no role” in a contract given to Whitefish Energy to help Puerto Rico repair its electrical grid after Hurricane Maria, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday. Whitefish is headquartered in the Montana hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Sanders said President Donald Trump asked Zinke if he had involvement, and Zinke said he did not.

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President Donald Trump will name his pick to lead the Federal Reserve next week, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday. Sanders did not comment on names, but current Chairwoman Janet Yellen is reportedly out of the race to head the central bank, leaving it to Fed Gov. Jerome Powell and Stanford economist John Taylor. Trump has been expected to announce his nominee before leaving for an Asia trip on Nov. 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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Twitter Inc.’s stock shot up 6.2% on heavy volume in afternoon trade Friday, extending gains after better-than-expected results were reported before the previous session’s open. Volume ballooned to 44.9 million shares, nearly triple the full-day average, The stock has now rocketed 25.9% over the past two sessions, the biggest two-day rally since the social media company went public in November 2013. The previous biggest two-day gain was when it ran 25.4% in the two days ending Sept. 26, 2016, on the back of takeover speculation. The current two-day rally comes after an eight-session losing streak, which was the longest such streak since the eight-day stretch ending Jan. 13, 2016. The stock has now rallied 32.3% year to date, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 has surged 27.7% and the S&P 500 has gained 15.3%.

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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Microsoft Corp. hit record share prices in Friday trading, pushing its market cap past $650 billion just a week after the company pushed past $600 billion for the first time since the dot-com boom. The stock hit an intraday record of $86.25 after Microsoft announced a big earnings beat Thursday afternoon, a 9.5% gain that was Microsoft’s biggest intraday move in more than two years. FactSet tracked 19 analysts raising their price target on Microsoft after the earnings, with one rating change from hold to buy and one downgrade from buy to hold. Microsoft was battling Intel Corp. , which also spiked after a strong earnings report, for the best-performing component of the Dow Jones industrial average , which was also gaining on the day.

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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Gold prices settled higher Friday, buoyed by uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s pick for Federal Reserve chief, but strength in the dollar fueled a weekly decline for the yellow metal. December gold tacked on $2.20, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,271.80 an ounce. It lost about 0.7% for the week, which was its sixth weekly loss in seven.

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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Expedia Inc. shares plunged as much as 20% in Friday trading after the online-travel company posted disappointing quarterly results, trimming billions off of the company’s market capitalization. The stock fell as low as $118 and were headed for the biggest one-day percentage drop in more than four years. The drop, which came after at least 18 analysts dropped their price target on the stock Friday morning, cost Expedia almost $4 billion in market value at its nadir in morning trading. Expedia stood out from other tech companies that were spiking Friday morning after earnings results, sending the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite index higher.

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 General Electric Co. tumbled 3.1% in afternoon trade Friday, as they headed toward their lowest close since Dec. 28, 2012. The stock has now plunged 13.4% this week, which would be the biggest weekly loss since it plummeted 17.0% the week ending March 6, 2009, at its Great Recession bottom. The selloff comes after GE surprised investors last Friday by reporting earnings that missed estimates for the first time in 2 1/2 years. On that day, the stock had sold off sharply at the open, then bounced to close with the first post-earnings gain in eight quarters. New CEO John Flannery said he will outline his plan to turn the company around, which is expected to include asset sales and a likely dividend cut, at the investor gathering scheduled for Nov. 13. The stock has shed 34.6% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 18.5%.

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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The Nasdaq Composite Index was on pace to book its best single-session point gains in more than 2 years on Friday as tech shares soared. The Nasdaq Composite Index was surging 134 points, or 2%, toward a fresh all-time high closing at 6,684, which would mark the best point and percentage gain since a 191.05-point, or 4.2%, climb for the technology-heavy index on Aug. 27, 2015, according to FactSet data. The Nasdaq is marching toward its best gain in 26 months on the back of a series of hotter-than-expected earnings from some of the biggest companies in technology, including Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. , which were both trading at record highs after posting quarterly results that surpassed analysts’ estimates. Meanwhile, a popular way to invest on the tech sector, the exchange-traded Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF , also was on pace to book its best daily climb since Aug. 26, 2015. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 index was up 0.8% at 2,579.92, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading up 30 points, or 0.1%, at 23,432, as shares of Chevron Corp. and Merck & Co. Inc. capped the blue-chip benchmark’s gains.

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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