Tag Archives: Dow Jones

Dow takes plunge by 524 points

Important Takeaways:

  • Inflation driven Dow plunge is worst in 11 months
  • U.S. stocks tumbled in a broad sell-off after a hotter-than-expected inflation report may jeopardize the Federal Reserve’s plan to cut interest rates.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 524 points or 1.3%, trimming a deficit of over 700 points reached during the session. It was the worst trading day in 11 months.
  • The benchmark has erased almost half its gains for 2024 with the 10-year Treasury yield hitting 4.3%.

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Wall Street hits new record high on Disney, Best Buy

Wall Street hits new record high on Disney, Best Buy
By Arjun Panchadar

(Reuters) – Wall Street’s three main indexes hit all-time highs on Tuesday, as gains for Disney and Best Buy countered weak consumer confidence data and a slump in shares of discount store operator Dollar Tree.

Walt Disney Co was the top boost to the Dow Jones with a 1.8% rise, after a report its streaming service was averaging nearly a million new subscribers a day. The stock also propped up the benchmark S&P 500.

Rising hopes of a U.S.-China trade truce, upbeat domestic economic data and a third-quarter corporate earnings season that has largely topped lowered expectations have put the market back on an upward track after a torrid summer.

Beijing said on Tuesday negotiators had reached a consensus on “resolving relevant problems”. Hours later, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said Washington was getting “really close” to a deal, but sticking points remained.

“They keep talking about the ‘phase one’ deal being done possibly soon, but every day is sort of a ping pong back-and-forth of will they or won’t they,” said Everett Millman, precious metals expert with Gainesville Coins in Tampa, Florida.

A third interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this year has also played a role in boosting risk appetite, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Monday monetary policy was “well positioned” to support the strong labor market.

However, doubts over the strength of the U.S. consumer linger and data on Tuesday showed the Conference Board’s U.S. consumer confidence index missed analysts’ projections.

At 10:31 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average  was up 20.16 points, or 0.07%, at 28,086.63, while the S&P 500 <.SPX> was up 2.10 points, or 0.07%, at 3,135.74. The Nasdaq Composite was up 11.59 points, or 0.13%, at 8,644.08.

Best Buy Co Inc  jumped 7.4% as it forecast strong holiday-quarter earnings, while discount store operator Dollar Tree Inc tumbled 15% after the company projected holiday-quarter profit below expectations, signaling the fallout from the trade dispute. The stock was the biggest on the S&P and the Nasdaq.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co fell 7.9% as the enterprise software maker missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.50-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.37-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 78 new highs and 35 new lows.

(Reporting by Arjun Panchadar and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Wall St. drops on surprise Mexico tariff threat

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S. May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks dropped on Friday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its first monthly drop of the year after President Donald Trump’s surprise threat of tariffs on Mexico fueled fears increasing trade wars could lead to a recession.

Washington will impose a 5% tariff from June 10, which would then rise steadily to 25% until illegal immigration across the southern border was stopped, Trump tweeted late on Thursday.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador responded by urging his U.S. counterpart to back down.

“Mexico would probably like to work something out but I don&rsquo;t think they even know what to work out,” said Tim Ghriskey, Chief Investment Strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.

“It&rsquo;s impossible to handicap Trump because something can come out of left field like this and something can go away just as quickly.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 315.97 points, or 1.26%, to 24,853.91, the S&P 500 lost 33.82 points, or 1.21%, to 2,755.04 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 97.59 points, or 1.29%, to 7,470.12.

Wall Street’s main indexes are down more than 6% in May, as investors have become increasingly worried about deteriorating trade talks between the U.S. and China trade war and have sought safety in government bonds. Technology and energy have been among the hardest hit sectors since May 3 as Trump ramped up tariff threats with Beijing.

U.S. Treasury yields fell to new multi-month lows. Benchmark 10-year yields dropped as low as 2.145 percent, the lowest since September 2017.

The yield curve, as measured in the gap between three-month and 10-year bond yields, remained deeply inverted. An inversion in the yield curve is seen by some as an indicator that a recession is likely in one to two years.

Of the 11 major S&P sectors, only defensive plays utilities and real estate were the two on the plus side while eight were showing drops of more than 1%.

U.S. carmakers and manufacturers were among the worst hit. General Motors Co dropped 4.16% and Ford Motor Co 2.67%, pushing the consumer discretionary sector 1.43% lower.

Adding to the downbeat mood was Beijing’s warning on Friday that it would unveil an unprecedented hit-list of “unreliable” foreign firms, as a slate of retaliatory tariffs on imported U.S. goods was set to kick in at midnight. Tariff-sensitive industrials declined 1.36%.

Data showed U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in 15 months in April, but a cooling in spending pointed to a slowdown in economic growth that could keep inflation pressures moderate.

The report from the Commerce Department supported the Federal Reserve’s contention that recent low inflation readings were transitory.

Among other stocks, Gap Inc tumbled 10.75%, the most among S&amp;P 500 companies, after the apparel retailer cut its 2019 profit forecast.

Constellation Brands, which has substantial brewery operations in Mexico, slid 6.50%.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.52-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.20-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 4 new 52-week highs and 52 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 12 new highs and 210 new lows.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Wall Street enters third day of gains as trade fears ease

FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 6, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Monday, with bank stocks leading third day of gains in a row after strong U.S. jobs data from last week helped investors brush aside trade concerns.

The S&amp;P financial index rose 1.3 percent, providing the biggest boost to the main S&P index. But gains were widespread, with technology, energy, industrials, consumer discretionary and healthcare stocks rising.

The United States and China engaged in tit-for-tat tariffs on Friday, both countries imposing duties worth $34 billion on each others’ goods. But the benchmark S&P 500 closed up 0.84 percent on Friday as many analysts said the move was already priced in, but warned that further escalation could dent the appetite for stocks.

China’s securities regulator said on Sunday it plans to ease restrictions on foreign investment in stocks listed on the Shanghai or Shenzhen exchanges to attract more foreign capital and support the economy.

The sentiment was largely upbeat after Friday’s U.S. payrolls report showed tame wages and more people looking for work, boosting optimism that the Federal Reserve would stay on a path of gradual interest rate increases.

“Last Friday’s gains managed to put a positive patina on what was otherwise a rather unimpressive week for equity investors,” Peter Kenney, senior market strategist at Global Markets Advisory Group in New York, wrote in a note.

“That tone could serve investors well this week as we launch into Q2 earnings season.”

At 9:49 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 193.11 points, or 0.79 percent, at 24,649.59, the S&amp;P 500 was up 15.33 points, or 0.56 percent, at 2,775.15 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 46.97 points, or 0.61 percent, at 7,735.36.

All eyes will turn to second-quarter earnings reports, with banks JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup scheduled to report on Friday.

S&amp;P 500 companies are expected to report 21 percent growth in earnings per share for the June quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. But focus will be on any warnings companies might give about the impact of trade tariffs.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies Alibaba, JD.com and Baidu climbed after KeyBanc recommendations on the stocks.

Tesla was up 1.6 percent after automotive news website Electrek reported the company hiked prices of its Model X and S cars by over $20,000 in China due to tariffs.

Groupon jumped 8.8 percent after a Recode report that the daily deals website operator was looking for a buyer.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 2.53-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&amp;P index recorded 17 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 97 new highs and six new lows.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

U.S. Stock Markets Bounce Wall Street recovers after historic falls

A trader reacts on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, U.S., February 6, 2018.

By Tanya Agrawal

(Reuters) – U.S. stock markets bounced after a torrid opening on Tuesday, bargain-hunters and gains for Apple pushing the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average into positive territory after two days of heavy losses.

Both the S&P 500 and the Dow sank more than 4 percent on Monday, their biggest falls since August 2011, as concerns over rising U.S. interest rates and government bond yields hit record-high valuations of stocks.

New York’s three main indexes sank as much as 2 percent on the opening bell but they quickly moved back into positive territory.

An almost 2 percent gain for Apple was at the heart of an almost half percent gain for the Nasdaq Composite.

“Daily drops of 3 percent or more have been buying opportunities for the S&P 500 post financial crisis,” said Lori Calvasina, head of U.S. equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

At 9:49 a.m. ET (1449 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.25 percent to 24,406.14. The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 2,654.25 and the Nasdaq 0.4 percent to 6,993.47.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Patrick Graham)

Wall Street kicks off 2018 on a strong note

The trading floor is seen on the final day of trading for the year at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York, U.S., December 29, 2017

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes were higher on Tuesday, the first trading day of the year, buoyed by gains in technology and consumer discretionary stocks.

Major stock indexes closed out 2017 with their best performance since 2013, powered by a combination of strong economic growth, solid corporate earnings, low interest rates and hopes of corporate tax cuts.

“The first week of trading usually suggests the overall trend of the markets which we expect to be positive,” Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York, wrote in a note.

Oil prices hovered near their mid-2015 highs on Tuesday amid large anti-government rallies in major exporter Iran and ongoing supply cuts led by OPEC and Russia.

Gold and copper prices continued their upward march, but the greenback began the year on the back foot, with the dollar index slipping to its weakest level since September.

“While we don’t expect the Iranian unrest to reach a full blown political situation just yet, the protest will add to an already positive uptrend in oil and gold prices,” Cardillo said.

December payrolls report, data on manufacturing and service sectors are among leading indicators expected during the week, and will be scrutinized for signs of improving economic health and the number of interest rate hikes this year.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting, when the central bank raised rates for the fourth time since the 2008 financial crisis, will be issued on Wednesday.

At 9:34 a.m. ET (1434 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 112.06 points, or 0.45 percent, at 24,831.28 and the S&P 500 was up 9.49 points, or 0.35 percent, at 2,683.1. The Nasdaq Composite was up 21.51 points, or 0.31 percent, at 6,924.90.

Six of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led by gains in technology and consumer discretionary stocks.

Shares of Walt Disney rose 1.6 percent, giving the biggest boost to the Dow, after brokerage Macquire upgraded the company’s stock to “outperform”.

Netflix and Discovery Communications also rose on positive recommendations from Macquire.

Shares of casino operators Wynn resorts, Las Vegas Sands and Melco Resorts Entertainment were down after a report showed lower-than-expected rise in Macau gambling revenue in December.

Abbott Labs jumped 2.6 percent after JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley upgraded the healthcare company’s stock to “overweight”.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,938 to 652. On the Nasdaq, 1,678 issues rose and 743 fell.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Wall Street opens lower amid Russia probe, Fed pick

Morning commuters are seen outside the New York Stock Exchange, July 30, 2012.

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) – Wall Street opened lower on Monday, pulling back from a strong rally last week, as investors assessed the fallout of the first charges in connection with a probe into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Paul Manafort, a former campaign manager for Trump, surrendered to federal authorities in connection with the investigation, according to reports.

“The market could be awakening to the fact that the political situation is coming back into focus … that could cap the market from moving higher,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial.

The ongoing investigation and its outcome could distract the administration from its efforts to overhaul the tax system and push through other policies, analysts have said.

Investors also awaited the announcement on the nomination of the new Federal Reserve chief, expected later this week. Trump is leaning toward nominating Fed Governor Jerome Powell, considered a moderate, to be the next Fed chair, sources told Reuters.

“This is a very heavy week in terms of macro news. While earnings continue to pour in, majority of the market is now going to focus on the Fed,” Cardillo said.

A Commerce Department report showed consumer spending recorded its biggest increase in more than eight years in September, but underlying inflation remained muted.

With the third-quarter earnings season more than half-way through, nearly 74 percent of the S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far have topped profit expectations, compared with 72 percent overall the past four quarters.

Blockbuster tech earnings last week powered Nasdaq to its best day in nearly a year. Apple and Facebook are among the top tech companies reporting this week.

At 9:55 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 40.68 points, or 0.17 percent, at 23,393.51, and the S&amp;P 500 was down 3.61 points, or 0.139864 percent, at 2,577.46.

The Nasdaq Composite, however, was up 13.63 points, or 0.2 percent, at 6,714.89, helped by Apple and Facebook.

Apple rose 1.8 percent as GBH Insights analyst Daniel Ives raised his pre-order demand expectations for the iPhone X to 50 million units from 40 million.

Seven of the 11 major S&P indexes were lower, led by losses in healthcare and consumer discretionary stocks.

General Motors dipped 3.7 percent after Goldman Sachs downgraded the company’s stock to “sell” from “neutral”.

Merck slipped 5.2 percent after the company said it withdrew an application for European use of its Keytruda cancer immunotherapy.

Advanced Micro Devices fell 4.8 percent after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to “underweight” from “equalweight”.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,417 to 1,226. On the Nasdaq, 1,424 issues fell and 1,071 advanced.

 

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

 

Dow tops 23,000-mark for the first time on strong earnings

Dow tops 23,000-mark for the first time on strong earnings

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) – The Dow Jones Industrial Average breached the 23,000-mark for the first time on Tuesday, powered by strong earnings from UnitedHealth and Johnson & Johnson.

The blue-chip index has surpassed four similar 1,000-point milestones this year, indicating investor faith in the bull-run despite lofty stock valuations.

The broader market, however, was weighed down by losses in industrial, financial and technology stocks.

Shares of the largest U.S. health insurer <UNH.N> touched a life high, rising as much as 5.83 percent, after the company reported a stronger-than-expected profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast.

That, along with a 2.6 percent rise in Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N>, led a 1 percent gain in the S&P healthcare sector <.SPXHC>.

Goldman Sachs <GS.N> dipped 2.07 percent despite reporting a profit beat and smaller-than-expected trading revenue fall. Morgan Stanley <MS.N> rose 0.92 percent as its wealth management business insulated the bank from weakness in trading revenue.

“There was some good earnings, real good economic data in spite of the hurricanes,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.

“We’re not seeing a market that’s galloping along here. The market from a technical perspective is tired. What you’re seeing is some hesitancy but not any major declines.”

Treasury yields and dollar gained after a report that U.S. President Donald Trump was impressed by his meeting with economist John Taylor, who is considered to favor higher interest rates than current Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

The equity market, however, was not impacted by a report that Trump is likely to announce his choice before going to Asia in early November.

At 12:33 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 <.SPX> was down 1.1 points, or 0.04 percent, at 2,556.54 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was down 2.98 points, or 0.05 percent, at 6,621.02.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> was up 19.47 points, or 0.08 percent, at 22,976.43, after briefly hitting the 23,000 mark, when only eight of its 30 components were making gains.

Nine of the 11 major S&P indexes were lower, led by a 0.42 percent drop in industrials <.SPLRCI> index.

General Electric’s <GE.N> 1.15 percent fall led losses in the industrial sector, while drop in shares of Microsoft <MSFT.O> and Intel <INTC.O> weighed on the tech sector.

Netflix <NFLX.O> slipped 1.15 percent after touching a record high as more subscribers signed up for its popular original content in the latest quarter.

(ht Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

Wall Street at new record highs as tech, auto advance

A trader works inside a stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Ankur Banerjee and Gayathree Ganesan

(Reuters) – All the three main U.S. stock indexes hit fresh record highs on Tuesday, buoyed by a rally in tech stocks and gains in Ford Motor <F.N> and General Motors <GM.N> after the carmakers reported strong September sales.

Seven of the 11 major S&P indexes were higher, led by technology <.SPLRCT> and consumer discretionary <.SPLRCD> sectors.

Major automakers posted higher U.S. new vehicle sales in September, as consumers in hurricane-hit parts of the country rushed to replace flood-damaged cars.

However, the market traded in a narrow range as investors awaited upcoming quarterly earnings from big names to help justify the lofty valuations.

Third-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to increase 5.5 percent from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters research, after rising a better-than-expected 12.3 percent in the second quarter.

“Tech has been in leadership for the first nine months of this year,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.

The sector is stabilizing as seasonal rotation ends and investors are looking at the stocks as opportunities now, he said.

The markets have been scaling new highs and on Monday found support from factory data that pointed to underlying strength in the U.S. economy.

The encouraging data helped world shares touch their latest record highs on Tuesday, while lifting the dollar to its loftiest in 1-1/2 months.

“The first two days of October seem to be a continuation of what happened in the last two weeks of September … we’re gradually grinding higher in the month of October,” said Hogan.

At 11:07 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> was up 61.05 points, or 0.27 percent, at 22,618.65, while the S&P 500 <.SPX> was up 0.97 points, or 0.04 percent, at 2,530.09.

The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was up 3.25 points, or 0.05 percent, at 6,519.97.

General Motors’ shares rose 3.7 percent to a record high of $43.32 in morning trading, while Ford’s stock was up 2.05 percent at $12.34.

But rival Tesla Inc <TSLA.O> was down 2 percent after the luxury electric vehicle maker said its planned ramp-up for the new Model 3 mass-market sedan faced production bottlenecks.

Lennar Corp’s <LEN.N> shares rose about 3 percent following a higher-than-expected quarterly profit from the No.2 U.S. homebuilder.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,455 to 1,286. On the Nasdaq, 1,368 issues rose and 1,358 fell.

(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Wall Street falls more than 1 percent on rising North Korea worries

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) – The three major Wall Street indexes fell more than 1 percent on Tuesday and were on track to mark their worst single-day fall in nearly three weeks, weighed down by mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea on Sunday conducted its sixth nuclear test, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile, marking a dramatic escalation of the regime’s stand-off with the United States and its allies.

South Korea’s Asia Business Daily, citing an unidentified source, reported that North Korea had moved what looked like an intercontinental ballistic missile towards its west coast, possibly in preparation for a launch.”It looks as though escalation has gone to the next level, but there are lot of things in the coming weeks that may be causing people to get a little bit more cautious,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

Wall Street may face a rough ride in September, typically the worst month for stocks, if there is a showdown in Washington over the U.S. budget and the federal debt ceiling.

The CBOE Volatility index <.VIX>, Wall Street’s fear gauge rose 3.26 points to 13.39 and was on track to close higher for the first time in four days.At 12:41 p.m. ET (1641 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> was down 239.61 points, or 1.09 percent, at 21,747.95 and the S&P 500 <.SPX> was down 24.8 points, or 1 percent, at 2,451.75. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was down 85.79 points, or 1.33 percent, at 6,349.54.

Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower. Financial stocks <.SPSY> were the worst hit, putting them on track for their biggest one-day fall since mid-May, after an influential Federal Reserve policymaker struck a dovish tone on interest rates.

Fed Governor Lael Brainard said U.S. inflation is falling “well short” of target so the central bank should be cautious about raising interest rates any further until it is confident that prices are headed higher.

Goldman Sachs’ <GS.N> fell 3.3 percent, dragging down the Dow; while the S&P was pulled lower by a more than 2 percent fall in shares of JPMorgan <JPM.N> and Bank of America <BAC.N>.

Shares of United Technologies <UTX.N> were down 4.49 percent after Boeing <BA.N> said on Tuesday it would look closely at United’s $23 billion buy of Rockwell Collins <COL.N>. Boeing was down 1.2 percent and Rockwell inched up 0.5 percent.

Insmed <INSM.O> shares more than doubled after the company said its drug for the treatment of a rare and serious lung disorder met the main goal in a late-stage study.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 2,132 to 722. On the Nasdaq, 2,053 issues fell and 812 advanced.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)