Shares of Equifax Inc., on Friday were set to see their steepest daily drop in nearly 20 years after the credit-monitoring company late Thursday revealed a massive data breach that exposed the personal information of 143 million people in the U.S. and elsewhere. The breach ranks among the largest in history, with Equifax’s shares on track to tumble by about 16% when trading opens later Friday. That would mark its worst daily decline, if it holds, since Dec. 23. 1998, according to FactSet data. The Atlanta-based company has only seen eight–not including Friday’s potential fall–double-digit drops in its 40 years as a publicly traded company. Equifax, which is one of the big three credit-reporting firms in the U.S., including TransUnion and Experian PLC, maintains credit reports on more than 200 million people, became a publicly traded company in 1978. Shares of TransUnion and Experian were both trading, or set to trade, lower on Friday in sympathy. For the year, Equifax has enjoyed a healthy runup, gaining more than 21%. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index are up about 10% year to date, while the Nasdaq Composite Index is on pace for a year-to-date return of 19%.
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.
From:: Stock Market News