Tag: stock market

U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday, with the Dow falling back below 25,000 as losses accelerated in the afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 260 points, or 1%, to 24,960. The S&P 500 was down 16 points, or 0.6%, to 2,716. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1%, or 5 points, to 7,234. Both the Dow and the S&P are coming off six-day rallies, while all three posted their biggest one-week percentage gain in years last week. One of the biggest drags on the day was Walmart Inc. , which tumbled 10% in the wake of its quarterly results. The discount retailer posted its worst one-day percentage loss in years, which weighed on both the Dow and the S&P. The day’s losses were broad, with 10 of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ending lower on the day. Technology was the only positive group, up 0.3%. Market participants continued to watch a rising dollar and climbing bond yields, both of which could make equities less attractive at current levels, even as macroeconomic conditions and corporate earnings are still seen as strong.

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The White House said Tuesday there was “an incident” last week which will be revealed in the coming days that will show how President Donald Trump is “tough on Russia.” Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made the comment at the daily briefing, but offered no more details. Trump has suggested on Twitter that President Barack Obama’s administration didn’t do enough to counter meddling in the 2016 election, and called himself “much tougher on Russia than Obama.”

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average late Tuesday was trading near session lows and set for its sharpest one-day drop since Feb. 8, when the benchhmark unraveled by more than 1,000 points. At its low, the Dow was off about 335 points, or 1.3%, at 24,884.19, but was most recently off 260 points at 24,962. The blue-chip gauge has been under pressure throughout the session on the back of weakness in shares of Walmart Inc. after the retailing giant reported fourth-quarter results that showed some softness in its online business. Selling pressure accelerated for the Dow with about an hour left in regular trade. Walmart shares were on track to mark the worst point decline on record, which was subtracting about 70 points from the Dow. A $1 move in any one of the Dow’s 30 components translates to a 6.89-swing in the price-weighted average. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index was down 0.6% at 2,715, while the Nasdaq Composite Index , which had held on to modest gains throughout the session, was off 0.1% at 7,229. Meanwhile, a measure of volatility was trading above its historical average at 20. The CBOE Volatility Index was up at 20.89, which typically suggests that stock investors are expecting increased volatility in the coming month.

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BTIG analyst Mark Palmer reiterated his sell rating on Square Inc. shares Tuesday, writing that share price fluctuations in recent months have been similar to Bitcoin price fluctuations, though that’s not the main reason for his caution. “While that connection seems to have worked to Square’s benefit during the latter portion of that ride given that Bitcoin has been rallying, it served as confirmation that Square’s stock has become tethered to the movements of a volatile cryptocurrency – a live-with-it, die-with-it relationship that we do not believe is conducive to the sustenance of a lofty multiple,” Palmer wrote. He’s one of two analysts with a sell rating on Square’s stock, according to FactSet, and his concerns stem mainly from Square’s valuation, with shares trading at nearly 26 times consensus estimates for adjusted Ebitda in 2020. “Its valuation already reflects unimpeded rapid growth when competitive, credit-related and macro factors that could moderate the pace of its expansion remain very much in play,” Palmer added. Square shares are up 3.5% in Tuesday trading and 215% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 Index is up 16% over the past year.

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Gold prices finished sharply lower on Tuesday, marking the sharpest daily decline in more than a year, against a backdrop of rising gold and stabilizing equities. April gold ended off $25.10, or 1.9%, at $1,331.20 an ounce, representing its steepest single-session pullback since a $33.90 drop, or 2.9%, on Dec. 15. 2016, FactSet data show. The tumble for precious metals comes as many Asian investors, big buyers in the commodity, continue to observe Lunar New Year. weighing on buying momentum. The decline also comes against the backdrop of a U.S. dollar, measured by the U.S. ICE Dollar Index , gathered some upward momentum, up 0.6% at 89.69, after registering a weekly decline of 1.4% last week. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index, a proxy for risk appetite against haven assets, was up 0.6% at 7,281, even as a steep decline in shares of retailer Walmart Inc. weighed mightily on the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , where Walmart is a major component, was off 135 points, or 0.5%, at 25,088, while the S&P 500 index was down 0.1% at 2,729.

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CFRA upgraded the stock of Home Depot Inc. Tuesday, after the home-improvement retailer reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. Analyst Victor Ahluwalia upgraded the stock to buy from hold and raised his 12-month price target by $39 to $209, ” accounting for HD’s premium valuation against peers, justified by superior margins, an outlook for further same-store sales, and market share gains in 2018.” Ahluwalia is expecting the company to benefit from additional home price appreciation and stronger consumer demand, aided by the revamp of the U.S. tax code in December. Home Depot shares were up 1.4% in early afternoon trade, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3%.

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The men’s college basketball championship won by the University of Louisville in 2013 is being vacated after an NCAA appeal panel upheld a previous ruling, along with a Final Four appearance the previous season, according to a Washington Post report. In all, according to the breaking report, 123 Louisville wins are being erased from the record books. The NCAA ruling, called “simply wrong” by the university’s interim president, according to the Post, was linked to a scandal involving the hiring of prostitutes to have sex with recruits and players, and unrelated to a separate FBI probe into suspected corruption in the university’s storied basketball program under the leadership of then-coach Rick Pitino and then–athletic director Tom Jurich. Louisville won previous NCAA titles in 1980 and 1986.

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Shares of Walmart Inc. late-Tuesday morning were getting walloped, with the retailing giant on pace to log its worst dollar decline of all time and its worst percentage drop since October of 2015, according to FactSet data. The world’s largest retailer was under heavy selling pressure after it said online sales growth slowed during the fourth quarter. That marks a turn from three quarters of strong online growth, for the Bentonville, Ark.-based company as it attempts to wage war against rival and retailing behemoth Amazon.com Inc. . Walmart has been a publicly traded company since the early 1970s. On the upside, Walmart reported that sales in existing stores rose 2.6% in the fourth quarter, representing its 14th consecutive quarter of growth. Walmart’s decline was weighing on the broader market, yanking the Dow Jones Industrial Average , where it is a component, down by about 70 points, while the S&P 500 index’s consumer-staples sector, as measured by the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF , was also getting whacked, with declines there weighing on the broad-market S&P 500. Nearly all the components of the XLP, referring to its ticker, were trading in negative territory. Most recently, the Dow was off 130 points, or 0.5%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.2% at 2,726, while the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.3% at 7,264, bucking the overall Walmart-driven slide for U.S. equities.

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Fox News said on Tuesday that it is launching an over-the-top opinion streaming service called Fox Nation. The 21st Century Fox Inc. standalone service is expected to debut in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the company. Fox said the price will be announced at a later date. Fox Nation will take deep dives into the issues of the day, while offering exclusive events and more than 20 years of archival programming, according to a news release. Shares of 21st Century Fox are up 23% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index [s; SPX] is up 16%.

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Broadcom Ltd. said it was “evaluating its options” regarding its hostile takeover bid for Qualcomm Inc. , after Qualcomm raised its own bid for NXP Semiconductors NV on Tuesday. “Broadcom believes the price increase demonstrates the Qualcomm board’s disregard for its fiduciary duty to maximize value for Qualcomm stockholders,” Broadcom said in a release. Qualcomm increased its bid for NXP to $127.50 a share, from $110 previously. “We believe any responsible board would have seriously engaged with Broadcom regarding Broadcom’s value-maximizing offer and the terms of the NXP acquisition,” Broadcom said in its statement. NXP shares are up 6% in premarket trading, to $125.62, while Qualcomm shares are down 3.5% and Broadcom shares are up 2.2%. The S&P 500 is down 0.4%, compared with a 1.4% gain for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index .

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