Tag: stock market

The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported an 8.2 million-barrel climb in domestic crude supplies for last week, lifting total commercial inventories to a new record weekly level of 528.4 million. That marked a ninth straight weekly increase. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a rise of 11.6 million barrels, according to sources, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast an increase of 1.6 million barrels. Gasoline supplies, however, dropped 6.6 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles were down 2.7 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. April crude fell 45 cents, or 0.9%, at $52.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading at $52.45 before the supply data.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks opened flat on Wednesday after the latest data on the labor market came in far stronger than expected, adding to expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates at its meeting next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19 points to 20,943, a rise of less than 0.1%. The S&P 500 rose less than a point to 2,369. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose less than 0.1% to 5,836, a move of 3 points on the day. Equities have been in a strong uptrend of late, with major indexes hitting a series of records and the S&P 500 coming off a six-week streak of gains. While the ADP jobs data pointed to an economy that was improving, higher rates could represent a headwind for further gains. Much of the market’s advance over the past several years has been attributed to the low-rate environment, although some sectors – notably banks – are expected to thrive in an environment with higher rates. Financials were the strongest performers of the day on Wednesday, up 0.8%, with Goldman Sachs among the most active, rising 0.9%.

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Bank stocks rallied in premarket trade Wednesday, boosted by a rise in Treasury yields following a blowout private-sector jobs report. The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF climbed 0.9%. Among the ETF’s more heavily-weighted banking components, shares of Bank of America Corp. hiked up 1.7%, of Citigroup Inc. rose 1.3%, of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. gained 1%, of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. tacked on 1.2% and of Wells Fargo & Co. advanced 1%. The U.S. added 298,000 private-sector jobs in February, the most since April 2014, according to ADP. That sent the yield on 10-year Treasurys 5.1 basis points to a 2 1/2-month high of 2.563%. Higher long-term interest rates can boost bank profits, as they increase the spread between what banks earn by funding longer-term assets, such as loans, with shorter-term liabilities. The financial ETF has gained 4.3% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has climbed 5.4%.

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Sequential Brands Group Inc. said Wednesday that it’s bringing three brands to Brazil this year. Sequential, which owns, manages and promotes consumer brands like Ellen Tracy, Martha Stewart and Jessica Simpson, has entered into a licensing agreement with SPR Industria de Confeccao Ltda. to expand the basketball brand AND1, lifestyle brand Avia, and skate brand DVS. The new collections will be online at Netshoes in late 2017, and launch in sporting goods stores starting in early 2018. Sequential shares are inactive in premarket trading, and down 49% for the last year. The S&P 500 index is up 19.7% for the past 12 months.

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Shares of Children’s Place Inc. surged 7.7% in active premarket trade Wednesday, after the children’s apparel retailer doubled its dividend, boosted its stock buyback program and beat fiscal fourth-quarter profit expectations. The company said the new quarterly dividend of 40 cents a share, up from 20 cents a share, is payable May 1 to shareholders of record on April 10. The company also approved a new $250 million share repurchase program. “This dividend increase and the new share repurchase authorization reflect our confidence in our ability to execute on our strategic initiatives and our continuing commitment to return excess capital to shareholders,” said Chief Executive Jane Elfers. Separately, the company reported earnings for the quarter to Jan. 28 that rose to $34.2 million, or $1.86 a share, from $17.5 million, or 87 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.88, well above the FactSet consensus of $1.59. Revenue increased to $520.8 million from $498.5 million, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $522.1 million, while same-store sales growth of 6.9% beat expectations of a 6.8% increase.

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American International Group Inc. said Wednesday it is planning to locate an insurance company in Luxembourg to ensure it maintains access to the European Economic Area and Switzerland after the UK leaves the EU. From 2019, the company will have two subsidiary businesses in Europe, one in the UK to write business there and one in Luxembourg to serve the EEA and Switzerland. “This is a decisive move that ensures AIG is positioned for whatever form the UK’s exit from the EU ultimately takes,” Anthony Baldwin, chief executive AIG Europe, said in a statement. Shares have gained 22% in the last 12 months, outperforming the S&P 500’s 20% gain.

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Shares of Vera Bradley Inc. plummeted more than 14% in premarket trade on Wednesday after the clothing retailer reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue that was below Wall Street expectations and shrinking same-store sales. Net income for the quarter was $3.5 million, or 9 cents per share, compared with $15.7 million, or 41 cents during the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were 28 cents, above FactSet’s consensus of 23 cents. Revenue hit $134.8 million in the quarter, down from last year’s $154.1 million and below FactSet’s $137.0 million. Vera Bradley’s same-store sales fell 9.5% during the fourth quarter, while FactSet had forecast for a 5.1% decline. Vera Bradley sees revenue for 2018 coming in between $460.0 million to $480.0 million, below last year and below FactSet’s $503.1 million consensus. Vera Bradley’s stock is on track to open at a record low and shares have declined nearly 47% in the trailing 12-month period, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 19%.

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Private-sector employment increased by 298,000, ADP reported Thursday. That gain suggests a much better than forecast reading for the payrolls report due Friday, where expectations are for 200,000 jobs added.

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Bob Evans Farms Inc. said Wednesday it had net income of 48.2 million, or 41 cents a share, in its fiscal third quarter to Jan. 27, down from $12.9 million, or 62 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 75 cents, just below the FactSet consensus of 76 cents. Sales fell to $335.9 million from $346.5 million and were also below the FactSet consensus of $345 million. The company, which in January agreed to sell its Bob Evans Restaurants business to private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital, said it gained market share and pounds sold growth in its key markets in the quarter. “Retail channel pounds sold increased nearly 8 percent, with retail side-dish and sausage gains of approximately 13 percent and 3 percent, respectively, driving market share gains in core and national markets,” Chief Executive Saed Mohseni said in a statement. The company is now expecting fiscal 2017 adjusted EPS of $2.22 to $2.32, up from a prior range of $2.15 to $2.30. The current FactSet consensus is for EPS of $2.44. Shares were not yet active premarket, but have gained 23% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained about 20%.

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Shares of Express Inc. tumbled 8% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the apparel retailer provided a downbeat outlook for the fiscal first quarter along declines fourth-quarter profit and sales. For the quarter to Jan. 28, earnings fell to $22.8 million, or 29 cents a share, from $56.1 million, or 67 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for earnings per share of 29 cents. Revenue fell to $678.8 million from $765.6 million, but topped the FactSet consensus of $676 million. Same-store sales dropped 13%, compared with expectations of a 12.2% decline. “As expected, our store performance continued to be impacted by challenging mall traffic and a promotional retail environment,” said Chief Executive David Kornberg. Looking ahead, Express expects first-quarter same-store sales to be in the “negative high single-digits” percentage range, compared with expectations of negative 5.3%. The company expects a per-share loss of 4 cents to breakeven for the quarter, compared with the FactSet EPS consensus of 15 cents. The stock has lost 12% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has declined 13% and the S&P 500 has gained 5.4%.

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