Tag: stock market

Shares of Century Aluminum Co. shot up 5.0% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the aluminum producer was upgraded at J.P. Morgan, which cited President Trump’s tariff plan and the company’s subsequent decision to restart idled plants. Analyst Michael Gambardella raised his rating to overweight from neutral, and boosted his stock price target to $29 from $18. The stock hasn’t closed above $29 since November 2014. The company said this week that it was restarting three potlines at its smelter in Hawesville, Kentucky that have been curtailed since mid-to-late 2015. “We expect [Century] to benefit significantly from a higher all-in aluminum price and the company’s greater earnings base from Hawesville, leading to higher earnings and cash flow,” Gambardella wrote in a note to clients. Century Aluminum’s stock has run up 37.7% over the past three months, while the SPDR Materials Select Sector ETF has gained 3.2% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 4.3%.

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Activist shareholder Starboard Value LP said Wednesday that three of the directors nominated to the board of consumer brand company Newell Brands Inc. have pledged to purchase $25 million of Newell stock with their own money if Starboard succeeds in its aim of replacing the Newell boards. Starboard and other participants in its solicitation own about 4.5% of Newell, which owns brands including Rubbermaid, Papermate and Elmer’s. “Newell is a great company, with great people and fantastic brands,” said Martin Franklin, one of the nominees along with Ian Ashken and James Lillie who have made the pledge. ” Over the past two years, we, along with many shareholders, have suffered significant value destruction under the current leadership team.” The three said if they are elected, they will commit to not selling any of their shares so long as they remain on on the board, unless the stock exceeds its price on April 15, 2016, the day that Newell closed its acquisition of Jarden Corporation. The stock closed that day at $44.33, compared with its current level of $28.60. The stock has fallen 40% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

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Shares of Express Inc. soared 8.9% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the apparel retailer reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit and sales that beat expectations. Net income for the quarter to Feb. 3 rose to $29.4 million, or 37 cents a share, from $22.8 million, or 29 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as the impact of recent tax legislation, adjusted earnings per share came to 34 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 32 cents. Revenue rose 2% to $693.8 million from $678.8 million a year ago, above the FactSet consensus of $686.8 million, as the same-store sales decline of 1.0% beat expectations of a 1.9% drop. E-commerce sales increased 20% to $203.3 million, and rose 17% on a comparable basis. The company expects first-quarter same-store to be down 1.0% to up 1.0%, compared with the FactSet consensus of a 0.5% increase. Express’s stock has plunged 28.6% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 3.1% and the S&P 500 has advanced 4.3%.

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Signet Jewelers Ltd. shares slid 4% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company unveiled a restructuring plan to be carried out over the next three years as it reported earnings for its fiscal second quarter. The company said it had net income of $343 million, or $5.24 a share, in its fiscal second quarter to Feb. 3, up from $287.8 million, or $3.92 a share, in the year-earlier period. The operator of Zales, H. Samuel and Gordon’s jewelry chains said excluding a tax benefit stemming from the December revamp, per-share earnings came to $4.28, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $4.20. Sales rose 1% to $2.3 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $2.2 billion. Same-store sales fell 5.2% in the quarter, matching the FactSet consensus. The company announced that it is launching a three-year transformation plan, aimed at making it an omnichannel leader in its category. The plan includes cost-savings with the proceeds to be used to invest in growth and other measures. The company is planning to sell the remaining portion of its non-prime credit card receivables and to use the proceeds to buy back shares. For fiscal 2019, Signet is expecting same-store sales to be down in the low to mid single digits. It expects sales to range from $5.9 billion to $6.1 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.75 to $4.25. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of $6.04, sales of $6.1 billion and a same-store sales decline of 1.15. Shares have fallen 29% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

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Broadcom Ltd. said Wednesday it has withdrawn and terminated its hostile bid to buy Qualcomm Inc. , following President Donald Trump’s move this week to block the deal citing national security concerns. The Singapore-based chip maker said it has also withdrawn its nominees for Qualcomm’s board of directors. Qualcomm’s stock rose 0.7% in premarket trade, while Broadcom shares were still inactive. “Although we are disappointed with this outcome, Broadcom will comply with the Order,” Broadcom said in a statement. “Broadcom will continue to move forward with its redomiciliation process and will hold its Special Meeting of Stockholders as planned on March 23, 2018.” Over the past three months, Broadcom’s stock had gained 0.7% through Tuesday, while Qualcomm shares had shed 7.7%, the PHLX Semiconductor Index had run up 15.5% and the S&P 500 had tacked on 4.3%.

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The White House reportedly is looking at imposing up to $60 billion in tariffs in Chinese goods, according to Reuters. The tariffs would be targeted at technology, telecommunications and other products. President Trump has stepped up efforts to reduce the large U.S. trade deficit by targeting what he calls unfair practices of other countries. The administration recently announced broad tariffs on imported steel.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended lower on Tuesday, driven partly by sharp declines in shares of Boeing Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The pair of Dow components contributed about 70 points to the blue-chip’s decline. Boeing shares ended off $5.52, or 1.6%, while Goldman’s stock closed down $4.85 or 1.8%. A $1 move in any one of the Dow’s 30 components equates to a 6.89-point swing in the price-weighted Dow. Tuesday’s slump in the Dow comes as technology shares, marked by the Nasdaq Composite Index halted a 7-session win streak, with the S&P 500 tech sector fund, the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF , down 1.3%, helping to lead losses for the broad-market S&P 500 index [: SPX]. The S&P 500 finished off 0.6% at 2,765, the Nasdaq booked a 1% drop, while the Dow was off closed off 171 points, or 0.7%, to 25,007. The stock market wrestled with uncertainty in President Donald Trump’s White House, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ousted by Trump, who nominated Mike Pompeo, the current director of the Central Intelligence Agency, as his replacement, while a reading of inflation was in line with expectations, calming some worries about rising prices.

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U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday, with equities dropping in a broad decline as political uncertainty returned to the forefront of Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 172 points, or 0.7%, to 25,007. The S&P 500 fell 18 points, or 0.6%, to 2,765. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1%, or 77 points, to 7,511. The day’s losses were widespread, with eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ending lower on the day. Technology shares fell 1.2% as the top-declining industry group of the day, and that pressured the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which snapped a seven-day streak of gains. Among the biggest decliners in the sector, shares of Microsoft Corp. were down 2.4% while Alphabet Inc. , the parent of Google, fell 2.2%. Facebook Inc. fell 1.6%. The stock market was wrestling with uncertainty in President Donald Trump’s White House, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ousted by Trump, who nominated Mike Pompeo, the current director of the Central Intelligence Agency, as his replacement.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw losses accelerate Tuesday afternoon, driven by sharp declines in shares of Boeing Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The pair of Dow components were contributing about 80 points to the blue-chip’s decline, with less than a half-hour left of regular trade. Boeing shares were off $6.30, or 1.8%, while Goldman’s stock was down $5.30, or 2%. A $1 move in any one of the Dow’s 30 components translates to a 6.89-point swing in the price-weighted Dow. Tuesday’s slump in the Dow comes as technology shares, marked by the Nasdaq Composite Index , looked set to halt a 7-session win streak, with the S&P 500 tech sector fund, the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF , down 1.4%, helping to lead losses for the broad-market S&P 500 index [: SPX]. The S&P 500 was down 0.8% at 2,759, the Nasdaq was on pace for a 1.2% drop, while the Dow was off 226 points, or 0.9%, to 24,954. The stock market was wrestling with uncertainty in President Donald Trump’s White House, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson being replaced by Mike Pompeo, the current director of the Central Intelligence Agency against the backdrop of an inflation reading that came in line with expectations, quelling some concerns about out-of-control inflation.

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The Dow Jones Transportation Average rallied 0.7% in afternoon trade, to buck the weakness in the broader market, as gains in airline stocks provided a boost. Of the Dow transports’ 20 components, 17 gained ground, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 109 points, or 0.4%, with 23 of 30 components losing ground. Among the Dow transports’ biggest gainers, shares of Alaska Air Group Inc. ran up 4.3% to a 7-week high after reporting February operating data, FedEx Corp. climbed 1.5%, United Continental Holdings Inc. rallied 1.4%, J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. tacked on 1.3% and JetBlue Airways Corp. advanced 1.2%.

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