Tag: stock market

Hibbett Sports Inc. shares rose 2.2% in Monday premarket trading after the retailer revised upward its fourth-quarter guidance. Earnings for the fourth quarter are expected to be in the range of 47 cents to 51 cents. The FactSet consensus was 30 cents per share. Sales are expected to be $266.7 million, up from $246.9 million last year and ahead of the $260.4 million FactSet consensus. Same-store sales are expected to increase 1.6% for the quarter, ahead of the FactSet estimate for a 0.9% decline. “Results exceeded expectations for the quarter, driven by strength in branded apparel and footwear and continued acceleration in our e-commerce business,” said Chief Executive Jeff Rosenthal in a statement. Hibbett Sports will report fourth-quarter earnings on March 16. Hibbett Sports shares are up 41% for the last three months, but down 15.6% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 5.6% for the past three months.

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From:: Stock Market News

General Electric Co. named Monday the new slate of candidates for its board of directors for the 2018 annual shareholder meeting, as the size of the board is reduced to 12 directors from 17. The slate includes three new candidates: Danaher Corp. Chief Executive H. Lawrence Culp; American Airlines CEO Thomas Horton; and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Chairman Leslie Seidman. The nine incumbent directors standing for reelection are: Sébastien M. Bazin, W. Geoffrey Beattie, John J. Brennan, Francisco D’Souza, John L. Flannery, Edward P. Garden, Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, James J. Mulva and James S. Tisch. Current Lead Director Brennan will not stand for reelection in 2019. “The 2018 board slate aligns the board with the future of the company,” Brennan said. “We are adding proven world-class expertise in capital allocation, aviation, accounting and financial reporting.” The stock, which gained 0.4% in premarket trade, has tumbled 20.3% over the past three months while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has advanced 5.6%.

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At least three people were killed early Monday by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Papua New Guinea, according to a Radio New Zealand report citing local authorities, who said they had received reports of other deaths from the quake as well. The Pacific nation’s government said it had dispatched disaster assessment teams and military personnel to the affected regions, which were parts of the Southern Highlands and Hela provinces. Exxon Mobil was putting plans in place to evacuate non-essential personnel in Papua New Guinea’s energy-rich interior, after the quake caused landslides, damaged buildings and closed oil and gas operations, a Reuters report said.

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From:: Stock Market News

At least three people were killed early Monday by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Papua New Guinea, according to a Radio New Zealand report citing local authorities, who said they had received reports of other deaths from the quake as well. The Pacific nation’s government said it had dispatched disaster assessment teams and military personnel to the affected regions, which were parts of the Southern Highlands and Hela provinces. Exxon Mobil was putting plans in place to evacuate non-essential personnel in Papua New Guinea’s energy-rich interior, after the quake caused landslides, damaged buildings and closed oil and gas operations, a Reuters report said.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stock futures pushed higher on Monday, an indication that equities may be ready to pick up where they left off late last week. Dow futures rose 103 points, or 0.4%, to 25,417, while S&P 500 futures rose 4.7 points, or 0.2%, to 2,753.25. Nasdaq-100 futures inched up 2 points to 6,911.75. U.S. stocks had a burst higher late Friday, helping the Dow Jones Industrial Average finish 347.51 points, or 1.4%, higher at 24,309.99. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes added 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively. The gains came after the Federal Reserve’s semi-annual monetary report eased worries about the prospect of more aggressive policy action. Asian stocks moved higher, while the U.S. dollar pulled back, with the ICE Dollar Index down 0.2% to 89.648. Gold prices jumped $10.50, or 0.8%, to $1,340.80 an ounce.

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

U.S. stock futures pushed higher on Monday, an indication that equities may be ready to pick up where they left off late last week. Dow futures rose 103 points, or 0.4%, to 25,417, while S&P 500 futures rose 4.7 points, or 0.2%, to 2,753.25. Nasdaq-100 futures inched up 2 points to 6,911.75. U.S. stocks had a burst higher late Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing up 347.51 points, or 1.4%, to 24,309.99. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes added 1.6%, and 1.8%, respectively. Gains came after the Federal Reserve’s semi-annual monetary report didn’t hint of more aggressive policy action. Asian stocks also moved higher, while the U.S. dollar pulled back, with the ICE Dollar Index down 0.2% to 89.648. Gold prices jumped $10.50, or 0.8%, to $1,340.80 an ounce.

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

U.S. stock futures pushed higher on Monday, an indication that equities may be ready to pick up where they left off late last week. Dow futures rose 103 points, or 0.4%, to 25,417, while S&P 500 futures rose 4.7 points, or 0.2%, to 2,753.25. Nasdaq-100 futures inched up 2 points to 6,911.75. U.S. stocks had a burst higher late Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing up 347.51 points, or 1.4%, to 24,309.99. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes added 1.6%, and 1.8%, respectively. Gains came after the Federal Reserve’s semi-annual monetary report didn’t hint of more aggressive policy action. Asian stocks also moved higher, while the U.S. dollar pulled back, with the ICE Dollar Index down 0.2% to 89.648. Gold prices jumped $10.50, or 0.8%, to $1,340.80 an ounce.

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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Warren Buffett, the 87-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. , is retiring from Kraft Heinz Co.’s board following the end of his term in April, according to the food company Friday. “Mr. Buffett decided to retire from the board as he decreases his travel commitments,” said Kraft Heinz in a statement. The company’s board plans to nominate Alexandre Van Damme to stand for election at the 2018 Annual Meeting on April 23 to replace Buffett. Shares of Kraft Heinz fell 1.5% after hours.

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The S&P 500 index on Friday broke above a level that represents a retracement of about 68% of its recent market downturn put in earlier this month. The so-called Fibonacci retracement level between 2,742 and 2,744, is viewed as a level that has proved elusive for the broad-market benchmark to overcome since entering correction territory, described as a decline of at least 10% from a recent peak, on Feb 8, along with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite Index . The Fibonacci ratio, made famous by a 13th-century mathematician named Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa, is based on a number sequence in which the sum of two adjacent numbers forms the next higher number. The calculation is viewed by market technicians as a significant component for price discovery of an asset. The S&P 500 closed up 1.6% at around 2,747, well above that technical line.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Friday, with major indexes ending up more than 1% as investors grew less concerned over the prospect of the Federal Reserve becoming more aggressive in raising interest rates in order to combat inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%, or 349 points, to 25,312. The S&P 500 added 43 points, or 1.6%, to 2,747. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 127 points, or 1.8%, to 7,337. Both the Dow and the S&P posted their second straight daily gain, while the Nasdaq snapped a four-day losing streak. All three posted a second straight weekly advance; the Dow rose 0.4% over the week while the S&P added 0.6% and the Nasdaq rose 1.4%. Recent trading has been driven by concerns that inflation could be returning to the market, and that the Federal Reserve may have to become more aggressive to combat such a scenario. In its semiannual monetary policy report to Congress, the Fed signaled that it saw broad improvement in the U.S. economy, and while it pointed to a pickup in inflation toward the end of last year, it didn’t suggest that a rise in prices warranted more aggressive policy action. That helped support equity prices in afternoon trading. The day’s gains were broad, with all 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ending higher on the day. Technology shares were among the biggest percentage gainers, up 2.2%, while energy rose 2.2%, supported by a 1.2% increase in the price of crude oil. In company news, HP Inc. rose 3.5% after stronger-than-expected results, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. also rallied in the wake of its results. The stock closed 10.5% higher.

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From:: Stock Market News