NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:

[bigdog]

British markets were closed for a summer bank holiday.

ALL GREEN today

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...tocks-rise-gripped-by-optimism-on-wall-street

Stocks Rise as US, Mexico Announce Preliminary Trade Deal
Stocks add to their record highs from last week, sending the Nasdaq composite index above 8,000 for the first time, as the White House says it has reached a preliminary agreement with Mexico on replacing NAFTA.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks posted solid gains on Monday after the White House said it reached a preliminary agreement with Mexico on replacing NAFTA. The Nasdaq composite index topped 8,000 for the first time.

The trade deal is far from final and few details were made public during trading hours Monday, but investors were encouraged that the countries are working toward a resolution.

The U.S. still needs to reach an understanding with Canada, the third party in the accord and the second-largest trading partner for the U.S. Canada's NAFTA negotiator, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, is scheduled to fly to Washington Tuesday to try to restart talks.

Automakers, which would stand to benefit from warmer trade relations between the U.S. and Mexico, rose sharply. Major exporters including chemical and industrial companies rose, and so did banks and technology companies.

"Most of this year has been a series of potentially negative events on trade, setting up barriers to trade," said Craig Birk, chief investment officer for Personal Capital. "The market is welcoming anything that's the opposite."

Birk said investors were glad to get some good news on trade even though talks on a NAFTA replacement will likely continue beyond the Congressional elections this fall and into 2019.

The S&P 500 index climbed 22.05 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,896.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 259.29 points, or 1 percent, to 26,049.64. The Nasdaq composite gained 71.92 points, or 0.9 percent, to 8,017.90. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 2.73 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,728.41.

Among automakers, GM gained 4.8 percent to $37.69 and Ford rose 3.2 percent to $9.99.

Construction equipment maker Caterpillar rose 2.8 percent to $142.04 and chemicals maker DowDuPont gained 2.3 percent to $70.81.

Alphabet, Google's parent company, climbed 1.6 percent to $1,256.27. Online retailer Amazon rose 1.2 percent to $1,927.68.

Rising trade tensions are one reason the dollar has been climbing this year, and word that a revision of the NAFTA deal could be coming sent the dollar lower on Monday. The U.S. currency fell to 1.2965 Canadian dollars from 1.3029 late Friday and to 18.7338 Mexican pesos from 18.9249. The dollar also fell to 111.10 yen from 111.20 yen. The euro rose to $1.1680 from $1.1625.

The benchmark S&P 500 has risen for seven of the last eight weeks following strong corporate earnings and growing optimism the U.S. would work out its differences with several major trading partners. The S&P 500 is up 6.6 percent since the end of June, and, like the Nasdaq and Russell, it's trading at all-time highs.

Tesla fell 1.1 percent to $319.27 after CEO and top shareholder Elon Musk said over the weekend that the electric car maker will remain a publicly traded company. Musk wrote in a Friday blog post that he gave up on a plan to take the company private, partly because investors didn't support it.

Wall Street was stunned early this month when Musk tweeted that he had secured funding to take Tesla private, and while its stock jumped initially, investors remained skeptical. Musk said his proposal valued Tesla at $420 a share, and afterward the stock peaked at about $380 a share, close to an all-time high for Tesla but still well below the price he named.

Since then the stock has tumbled as it became clear Musk hadn't lined up funding for the deal. Now reports say regulators are looking into Musk's tweets, including whether he described the potential deal accurately, among other issues for Tesla.

Bond prices slipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.84 percent from 2.82 percent. The increase in interest rates helped financial companies, and Goldman Sachs rose 3.2 percent to $242.60.

Utilities and other high-dividend companies fell. Investors consider those big dividend payers an alternative to bonds, so they often sell them when yields start to rise.

Benchmark U.S. crude edged up 0.2 percent to $68.87 a barrel in the New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, gained 0.5 percent to $76.21 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline rose 0.6 percent to $2.09 a gallon. Heating oil added 0.6 percent to $2.21 a gallon. Natural gas fell 1.4 percent to $2.88 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,216 an ounce. Silver added 0.4 percent to $14.86 an ounce. Copper picked up 0.3 percent to $2.71.

European stocks rose after a major economic survey in Germany, the Ifo institute index, came in stronger than analysts expected. Germany's DAX rose 1.2 percent while the CAC 40 in France was 0.9 percent higher. British markets were closed for a summer bank holiday.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.9 percent and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.2 percent.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...stly-rise-on-us-mexico-preliminary-trade-deal

US Indexes Struggle Higher, Led by Technology Companies
Major U.S. stock indexes shook off a midday stumble and managed tiny gains in afternoon trading, led by technology companies and a handful of retailers.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Major U.S. stock indexes wobbled and finished mostly higher Tuesday, led by technology companies and a handful of retailers.

The gains were enough to mark more record highs for several of the indexes, though not the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Trading was lighter than usual, and stocks flipped between small gains and small losses for most of the day.

Outside of technology and retail, most other stocks finished lower. Energy companies dipped along with oil prices, and an increase in bond yields dented high-dividend stocks like utilities and phone companies, which investors tend to buy when they are seeking income.

Canada's foreign minister arrived in Washington to resume trade talks Tuesday, a day after stocks rose on news that the Trump administration had reached a preliminary deal with Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"If we do get a new agreement in North America with lower overall tariffs or trade restrictions, long-term that's a pretty positive result," said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist for the Leuthold Group.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.78 points to 2,897.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.38 points, or 0.1 percent, to 26,064.02. The Nasdaq composite gained 12.14 points, or 0.2 percent, to 8,030.04.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks inched up 0.02 point to 1,724.42.

The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Russell all closed at record highs. More stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shoe retailer DSW surged 20.2 percent to $32.70 after reporting second-quarter results that were far stronger than analysts expected. Sales surpassed Wall Street forecasts, and the company raised its estimates for the rest of the year.

Tiffany did the same and its stock added 1 percent to $131.07. Like many other retailers, their stocks had slumped in recent years due to growing competition from online retailers and sinking sales in stores.

Retail stocks have climbed recently as they improved their online businesses. DSW has risen 53 percent in 2018 and Tiffany has rallied 26 percent. When the companies fall short of expectations, however, their stocks have plunged.

That happened to Macy's, Gap and J.C. Penney in the second quarter. And on Tuesday Best Buy fell 5 percent to $77.57 after issuing a disappointing forecast for the current quarter.

Apple added 0.8 percent to $219.70 as technology companies, the most valuable part of the S&P 500, did better than the rest of the market. Chipmaker Xilinx rose 2.3 percent to $76.99 and Qualcomm gained 3.6 percent to $69.78.

The dollar continued to slip as investors reacted to signs the U.S. was making progress in resolving some of its trade disputes. The Trump administration has announced numerous tariffs this year, and those tariffs have made the dollar stronger.

The dollar rose to 111.21 yen from 111.10 yen. The euro rose to $1.1696 from $1.1680.

While some experts think stocks could rally if the U.S. and its partners make progress on new trade deals, Paulsen said there might not be a big market reaction because it's not clear how much trade tensions have actually harmed stocks this spring and summer.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.88 percent from 2.85 percent.

High dividend stocks including utilities, phone companies and household goods makers lagged the rest of the market, as they did on Monday.

Campbell Soup lost 2.1 percent to $39.83 after the New York Post reported that the company is wrapping up a strategic review and is unlikely to try to sell itself. Campbell announced the review in May along with the departure of CEO Denise Morrison.

The Post reported in July that activist investor Daniel Loeb is pushing the company to sell, and if it decides not to do that, he could launch a bid for control of the company.

News and financial information company Thomson Reuters jumped 3.2 percent to $44.66 after it announced an offer to buy back up to $9 billion in company stock. It offered to pay between $42 and $47 a share.

Akcea Therapeutics plunged 25.3 percent to $24.73 and Ionis Pharmaceuticals dropped 15.9 percent to $45.17 after the Food and Drug Administration didn't approve their drug Waylivra. It's designed to treat a rare genetic condition that can causes fatal pancreatitis.

Benchmark U.S. crude dipped 0.5 percent to $68.53 a barrel in New York while Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 0.3 percent to $76 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline lost 0.5 percent to $2.08 a gallon. Heating oil gave up 0.2 percent to $2.21 a gallon. Natural gas fell 0.8 percent to $2.85 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,214.40 an ounce. Silver lost 0.6 percent to $14.77 an ounce. Copper gained 1 percent to $2.74 a pound.

France's CAC 40 rose 0.1 percent while Germany's DAX lost 0.1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 0.5 percent.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.1 percent. South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2 percent.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ian-stock-markets-rise-after-wall-street-gain

Stocks Rise Again as Technology Companies and Amazon Jump
Technology companies lead the way as US indexes shake off a slow start and rise for the fourth day in a row.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks climbed Wednesday, driven by gains for big technology companies and Amazon. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at record highs for the fourth day in a row.

Stocks have rallied over the last four days as investors grew more hopeful about trade talks between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that Canada could join a trade pact between the U.S. and Mexico by Friday.

The Commerce Department said the U.S. economy was a bit stronger than it previously thought. It said gross domestic product grew 4.2 percent in the second quarter. Stronger business investment was a big reason, as companies spent more money on items like software.

"Corporate spending is up, which is something that is very important for the overall economy," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

Technology companies including Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet made strong gains.

The S&P 500 advanced 16.52 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,914.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 60.55 points, or 0.2 percent, to 26,124.57. The Nasdaq composite jumped 79.65 points, or 1 percent, to 8,109.69.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 6.33 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,734.75. It also closed at a record high.

Technology firms and other large companies started climbing Friday as reported suggested a breakthrough on trade was near. On Monday the White House said it had reached a preliminary deal with Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexico is the U.S.' third-largest trading partner and Canada is second, behind China.

The S&P 500 has risen 3.5 percent in August after a 3.6 percent gain in July. That two-month gain is its best since late 2015.

Amazon jumped 3.4 percent to $1,998.10 after a Morgan Stanley analyst raised his price target on its stock to $2,500 from $1,850. At that price, Amazon would have a market value of $1.2 trillion.

"We have increasing confidence that Amazon's rapidly growing, increasingly large, high margin revenue streams (advertising, Amazon Web Services, subscriptions) will drive higher profitability," Brian Nowak wrote.

Apple became the first publicly traded company to reach the $1 trillion mark early this month. Investors currently value the iPhone maker at almost $1.08 trillion to Amazon's $975 billion.

Other retailers struggled. Dick's Sporting Goods dipped 2.2 percent to $35.60 after its sales fell short of expectations. The company said sales of Under Armour products dropped significantly because of that company's decision to expand distribution of its apparel to other stores.

Chico's FAS fell 4.1 percent to $8.47 after its quarterly report and watchmaker Movado sank 15.4 percent to $41.80. Elsewhere, Tiffany sank 4.3 percent to $125.48 and Kohl's lost 1.9 percent to $77.34.

Footwear seller Shoe Carnival surged 13.1 percent to $41.74 after it raised its annual forecasts following a second quarter. the company said back-to-school sales are off to a good start.

Energy companies rose along with oil prices. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.4 percent to $69.51 a barrel in New York while Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 1.6 percent to $77.14 a barrel in London.

Homebuilders fell after the National Association of Realtors said fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in July compared with the previous month. High home prices and rising mortgage rates are pushing home sales down even though economic growth is solid.

TopBuild declined 2.7 percent to $65.10 and TRI Pointe lost 2.4 percent to 14.42.

The companies also dipped Tuesday after the S&P-Case Shiller index showed that home prices rose 6.3 percent in July, a slower pace than the month before.

Yum China climbed 5.5 percent to $39.23 after the Wall Street Journal reported that a group of investors offered to buy it for $46 per share, or $17.6 billion. The Journal said the offer was made in recent months and that Yum China rejected it.

Roku slumped 4.9 percent to $59.92 following a report that Amazon may challenge it with an ad-supported video service. The Information said Amazon will offer the service through its Fire TV devices, which are owned by about 48 million people.

In other commodities trading, wholesale gasoline rose 1.3 percent to $2.11 a gallon. Heating oil added 1.4 percent to $2.24 a gallon. Natural gas gained 1.5 percent to $2.90 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,211.50 an ounce. Silver lost 0.5 percent to $14.70 an ounce. Copper sank 1 percent to $2.71 a pound.

Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note stayed at 2.88 percent.

The dollar rose to 111.69 yen from 111.21 yen. The euro dipped to $1.1699 from $1.1696.

Germany's DAX picked up 0.3 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.3 percent. The British FTSE slid 0.7 percent.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.1 percent while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.2 percent and Seoul's Kospi advanced 0.3 percent.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...xed-as-weak-dollar-weighs-on-us-economic-data

Word That More China Tariffs Could Come Knock Stocks Lower
Stocks fell on Wall Street after Bloomberg News reported that the Trump administration could put tariffs on $200 billion in imports from China as soon as next week.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks skidded late Thursday following a report that the Trump administration could put tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods as early as next week.

After a weak start, stocks fell further after Bloomberg News said the U.S. government was getting ready to ramp up its trade dispute with China. It has been threatening to tax $200 billion in Chinese imports for several months, which would represent a major escalation in the trade fight.

Major exporters including chemical companies and machinery makers took sharp losses. Technology companies also fell, while banks dropped along with interest rates and some weak second-quarter results hurt retailers.

According to Bloomberg, the administration could impose the 25 percent tariffs as soon as a public review period ends next week, but it could simply announce the tariffs and say they will take effect later.

China has threatened to retaliate with tariffs on $60 billion in goods from the U.S. and could take other measures as well.

"Markets have kind of gone to sleep on these things," said Sameer Samana, a strategist for the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "We think this might take as long as a year or two to play out."

Stocks were coming off a four-day surge that brought them to record highs as the U.S. appeared to make progress in trade talks with Mexico and Canada.

The S&P 500 index lost 12.91 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,901.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 137.65 points, or 0.5 percent, to 25,986.92. The Nasdaq composite slid 21.32 points, or 0.3 percent, to 8,088.36.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks dipped 2.40 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,732.35.

Construction equipment maker Caterpillar fell 2 percent to $139.06. Gold and copper miner Freeport-McMoRan lost 3.5 percent to $14.15 and steel producer Nucor slid 2 percent to $62.79. General Motors fell 2 percent to $36.36.

Discount retailer Dollar Tree plunged 15.5 percent to $79.78 after its quarterly profit and sales fell short of Wall Street projections. Investors were also concerned about the company's forecast for the rest of the year.

Competitor Dollar General slipped 1 percent to $105.66 after it said its profit margins dipped. Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch sank 17.2 percent to $22.55 after its sales disappointed analysts while PVH, which owns the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, lost 9.6 percent to $141.67. Arts and crafts retailer Michaels fell 14.8 percent to $17.01.

While many other retailers struggled, Signet Jewelers jumped 23.8 percent to $67.68 after its sales flew past expectations and it raised its forecasts for the year. Also rising was clothing and accessories retailer Tilly's, which rose 14.6 percent to $20.63 after its report.

Video game maker Electronic Arts dropped 9.8 percent to $115.94 after it said the release of a major game, "Battlefield V," will be delayed by four weeks. It also said the strong dollar is hurting its sales. It cut a revenue forecast, citing those problems.

K2M Group jumped 26 percent to $27.50 after larger medical device maker Stryker agreed to buy it for $27.50 a share, or $1.2 billion. Stryker slipped 1.3 percent to $169.02.

Campbell Soup says it will sell its international and fresh food businesses to pay down debt and will focus on its snack and soup business in North America. Investors appeared unenthusiastic about the proposal, and the stock lost 2.1 percent to $39.15.

Argentina's peso plunged to another record low. The country's central bank raised its primary interest rate to 60 percent, the highest in the world, to try to stop the sharp decline in the national currency. The peso has dropped more than 50 percent this year.

The Argentine Merval index jumped 5.2 percent after president Mauricio Macri said Wednesday that he is asking the International Monetary Fund for the early release of $50 billion in rescue funds for Argentina.

Other emerging market stock indexes, including those in Brazil and Mexico, took losses.

Amazon stock inched up 0.2 percent to $2,002.38, its first close above the $2,000 mark. The online retail behemoth's stock is up almost 600 percent in the last five years, including a gain of 71 percent so far in 2018. That's taken Amazon's market value to almost $1 trillion. Earlier this month Apple became the first publicly traded company to reach $1 trillion in value.

Oil prices rose. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 1.4 percent to $70.25 a barrel in New York, while Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 0.8 percent to $77.77 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline rose 1.8 percent to $2.14 a gallon. Heating oil inched up 0.3 percent to $2.25 a gallon. Natural gas added 0.4 percent to $2.87 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.86 percent from 2.88 percent. That hurt banks, as lower yields mean long-term loans are less profitable.

Gold fell 0.5 percent to $1,205 an ounce. Silver sank 1.5 percent to $14.59 an ounce. Copper lost 0.7 percent to $2.71 a pound.

The dollar fell to 111.05 yen from 111.69. The euro fell to $1.1663 from $1.1699.

Germany's DAX was down 0.5 percent and the CAC 40 in France shed 0.4 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares fell 0.6 percent.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.1 percent while the Kospi in South Korea dropped 0.1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 0.9 percent lower.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...n-more-china-tariffs-sends-asian-stocks-lower

Stocks Waver Along With US-Canada Trade Talks
Stocks finish little changed after the U.S. and Canada say they haven't completed a trade deal but will resume talks next week.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks hardly budged Friday as the U.S. and Canada were unable to complete a trade deal, but the two sides intend to continue negotiating next week.

Energy companies slipped along with oil prices Friday and high-dividend stocks also fell. Technology companies and retailers made some modest gains. Trading was very light ahead of the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. on Monday.

Investors hoped the two countries would finish the outlines of a revamped NAFTA pact after the U.S. and Mexico announced a preliminary agreement Monday. Right before the markets closed, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said talks will resume on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump says he is willing to make a deal with just Mexico, excluding Canada, but Wall Street is confident the final deal will include all three.

Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management, said Trump will probably submit the outlines of a U.S.-Canada trade deal to Congress soon. But the trade war between the U.S. and China may drag on for months, if not longer, and Nixon said that could stop businesses from investing and affect the economy and the stock market.

"These things will have to be resolved one way or another for investors to regain the kind of confidence it's going to take to propel the markets meaningfully forward," she said.

The S&P 500 index was down for most of the day but inched up 0.39 points to close at 2,901.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.10 points, or 0.1 percent, to 25,964.82.

The Nasdaq composite rose 21.17 points, or 0.3 percent, to 8,109.54. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gained 8.40 points, or 0.5 percent, to a record high of 1,740.75.

Ford declined 2.3 percent to $9.48 following reports the company canceled plans to import a version of the Ford Focus that is made in China, citing the tariffs proposed by the Trump administration.

Otherwise there weren't many developments on trade, and investors responded instead to the few remaining company earnings reports in the current cycle.

Gun and hunting and camping gear maker American Outdoor Brands skyrocketed 43.6 percent to $14.03. The company said sales picked up and it cut costs while offering fewer discounts. The stock erased big losses from earlier in the year.

Lululemon Athletica jumped 13.1 percent to $154.93 after it raised its forecasts for the rest of the year following a strong second quarter. Shares in the yoga gear maker have nearly doubled in value this year.

Discount retailer Big Lots sank 10.1 percent to $43.05 after its earnings and sales fell short of analysts' projections.

Ulta Beauty kept up with the Kardashians, or at least their half-sister Kylie Jenner. Ulta stock jumped 6.4 percent to $260 after the company announced a partnership with Jenner's Kylie Cosmetics. It said the brand will be available in its stores and online later this year.

Stocks slid Thursday afternoon after Bloomberg News reported that the Trump administration could escalate the U.S.-China trade war next week by putting tariffs on $200 billion in imports. Meanwhile the U.S. and Canada are resuming trade negotiations.

The S&P 500 rose 3 percent for the month and the Nasdaq jumped 5.7 percent.

Coca-Cola said it will pay $5.1 billion for the biggest coffee company in Britain. Costa has 2,400 shops in the U.K. and about 1,400 in more than 30 other countries.

Coca-Cola already owns the Georgia and Gold Peak coffee brands, which make bottled and canned drinks, but the purchase of Costa might be a step toward competing with Starbucks. In the last few years Coke has also acquired a minority stake in sports drink company BodyArmor.

Coca-Cola fell 0.8 percent to $44.57.

Argentina's stock index jumped 9.7 percent after a spokesman for the International Monetary Fund said the country has the IMF's "full support." The Merval index has climbed over the last two days after the government asked for the early release of $50 billion in rescue funds.

The Merval is still down 2.5 percent this year, and the Argentine peso has been trading at all-time lows.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 0.6 percent to $69.80 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dipped 0.5 percent to $77.42 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline was unchanged at $2.14 a gallon. Heating oil lost 0.3 percent to $2.24 a gallon. Natural gas gained 1.5 percent to $2.92 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Bond prices rose early, but faded late in the day. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note remained at 2.86 percent.

Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,206.70 an ounce. Silver dipped 0.3 percent to $14.56 an ounce. Copper skidded 1.7 percent to $2.67 a pound.

The dollar rose to 110.97 yen from 110.05 yen. The euro fell to $1.1603 from $1.1663.

France's CAC 40 fell 1.3 percent and Germany's DAX lost 1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 sank 1.1 percent.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 recouped earlier losses to finish virtually unchanged. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.7 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.1 percent.

1597

 

[bigdog]

USA NYSE CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY Monday, September 3

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...s-dip-amid-growing-worry-over-us-canada-trade

Global Shares Mixed Amid Concern Over US-Canada Trade
European stock markets are mostly higher, despite losses earlier in Asia, amid worries about trade friction between the U.S. and Canada and as trade volumes remained subdued due to a U.S. holiday.

By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — European stock markets mostly rose on Monday, after Asia closed lower, amid worries about trade friction between the U.S. and Canada and subdued investor activity due to a U.S. holiday.

KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC 40 was up 0.1 percent to 5,410, while Germany's DAX lost 0.2 percent to 12,338. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.9 percent to 7,498. Wall Street was scheduled to remain closed for Labor Day.

ASIA'S DAY: Earlier, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.7 percent to finish at 22,707.38. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1 percent to 6,310.90. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.7 percent to 2,307.03. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.6 percent to 27,712.54, while the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.2 percent at 2,720.73.

TRADE WORRIES: Investors had hoped the U.S. and Canada would finish the outlines of a revamped NAFTA pact after the U.S. and Mexico announced a preliminary agreement. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said last week that talks will resume on Wednesday. President Donald Trump said he is willing to make a deal with just Mexico, excluding Canada, but Wall Street is confident the final deal will include all three.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "With Canada not reaching an agreement with the U.S. on the NAFTA talks that were rushed on Friday last week, focus has now shifted to the mid-week deadline for Canada to sign up for the revamped NAFTA structure," said Vishnu Varathan at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 24 cents to $70.04 a barrel. It fell 0.6 percent to $69.80 a barrel in New York late Friday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 57 cents to $78.21 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 111.12 yen from 110.75. The euro fell to $1.1618 from $1.1685.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...tocks-fall-on-trade-worries-weak-chinese-data

Health and Tech Stocks Dip; Amazon Flirts With $1 Trillion
US stocks finish slightly lower as health care and technology companies suffer losses, but banks rise and Amazon climbs again.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks finished lower Tuesday as losses for health care and technology companies canceled out gains for banks. Another gain for Amazon briefly brought its market value to $1 trillion.

Banks rose as interest rates climbed. Nike slumped after it gave a major endorsement deal to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, known for his protests of police brutality and racial injustice.

Investors didn't commit to many big moves as trading resumed after the Labor Day holiday. They are likely to focus on trade this week, as the U.S. is scheduled to resume trade talks with Canada on Wednesday and could announce new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports later in the week.

Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at financial services firm Nationwide, said investors are paying less attention to trade-related headlines recently because they are fairly certain they know how the talks will end.

"I'm still pretty confident that before midterms or by the end of the year we're going to have a handshake agreement with the NAFTA region and China," he said.

The S&P 500 index gave up 4.80 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,896.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 12.34 points to 25,952.48. The Nasdaq composite fell 18.29 points, or 0.2 percent, to 8,091.25. The Russell 2000 index lost 7.38 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,733.38.

The S&P 500 has risen in eight of the past nine weeks and closed at an all-time high Wednesday.

Drugmakers and suppliers took some of the sharpest losses Tuesday, and big technology companies including Facebook and Alphabet, Google's parent company, also slumped.

Nike stock fell 3.2 percent to $79.60 after the company said Kaepernick will be one of the faces of its 30th anniversary "Just Do It" campaign. Investors feared a possible backlash from customers.

Two seasons ago Kaepernick began a wave of protests by NFL players, kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality. He hasn't played in the NFL since the end of the 2016 season and is suing the league, saying owners conspired to keep him out of the game because of his protests of social injustice.

Tesla skidded 4.2 percent to $288.95 after a Goldman Sachs analyst said the company will face rising competition from other electric car makers as an important federal tax credit is phased out, while its spending is likely to increase further.

Goldman analyst David Tamberrino expects the stock to fall to $210 in six months.

Amazon briefly traded above $1 trillion in market value, a milestone only Apple has surpassed among publicly-traded U.S. companies. Amazon finished with a gain of 1.3 percent to $2,039.51, which gave it a market value of $995 billion.

Apple reached the $1 trillion mark on Aug. 2 and is now valued at $1.1 trillion. According to S&P Dow Jones Indices, Amazon and Apple combined account for 8 percent of the current value of the S&P 500.

Talks to keep Canada in a revised North American trade deal are scheduled to resume Wednesday as Washington and Ottawa try to break a deadlock over issues such as Canada's dairy market and U.S. efforts to shield drug companies from generic competition.

The U.S. and Mexico announced a preliminary trade deal last week, and while the Trump administration has threatened to leave Canada out of a final deal, investors doubt that will happen.

Hackett, of Nationwide, said talks with China are far more complicated, but investors feel the Chinese government will ultimately make significant concessions. He said that's reflected in the gains for U.S. stocks in recent months and the losses for indexes in China and other emerging markets.

"Investors are pretty solidly betting that the U.S. is going to quote-unquote win the trade war," he said.

Chinese e-commerce company JD.com slid 6.1 percent to $29.38 after founder and CEO Richard Liu was arrested in Minneapolis. Liu was arrested late Friday on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct and was released pending charges. JD.com said he has returned to China.

Bond prices dropped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.90 percent from 2.85 percent.

Banks made modest gains as higher long-term interest rates mean they make more money from mortgages and other types of loans. High-dividend companies including real estate and household goods makers fell, as investors sold those stocks and bought bonds instead.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.1 percent to $69.87 a barrel in New York. Brent Crude, used to price international oils, was little changed at $78.17 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline dipped 0.1 percent to $1.99 a gallon. Heating oil rose 0.5 percent to $2.25 a gallon. Natural gas slumped 3.2 percent to $2.82 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The dollar gained strength and metals prices fell. Gold lost 0.6 percent TO $1,199.10 an ounce. Silver dropped 2.6 percent to $14.18 an ounce and Copper sank 2.6 percent to $2.60 a pound.

The dollar rose to 111.48 yen from 111.01 yen. The euro fell to $1.1581 from $1.1597.

France's CAC 40 dropped 1.3 percent and Germany's DAX shed 1.1 percent. In Britain, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.6 percent.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.1 percent while the Kospi in South Korea gained 0.4 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.9 percent.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2018-09-05/asian-stocks-sink-after-wall-street-losses

Tech Stocks Drop as Congress Scrutinizes Social Media
US stocks finish lower as technology and consumer-focused companies absorb sharp losses, canceling out gains in most other parts of the market.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Technology companies dropped Wednesday as Facebook and Twitter executives testified before Congress. Consumer-focused companies like Amazon and Netflix also slumped.

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told a Senate panel they are working to stop manipulation of their services by foreign countries. Legislators criticized Alphabet, Google's parent company, for refusing to send its CEO to the hearing.

In a separate hearing, House Republicans accused Twitter of bias against conservatives, a charge not backed up by evidence.

The U.S. and Canada resumed negotiations to try to keep Canada in an updated North American trade pact that also includes Mexico. Canada's trade envoy sounded positive after three hours of talks, and investors are confident Canada will be included in the final deal.

Technology companies like Microsoft and consumer-focused companies, most notably Amazon, have done far better than the broader stock market for years, and throughout that time they have quickly recovered from nearly every brief decline.

But Julian Emanuel, chief equity and derivative strategist for BTIG, said Wednesday's hearing came at a time when investors have more concerns about those stocks than in recent years: Facebook, Twitter and Netflix all plunged about 20 percent in July after they reported weak user growth, and they're yet to recover.

"The reflex reaction to buy these names on every dip, which has been the case the last few years, has broken," he said. "That kind of damage takes a bit of time to heal itself."

The S&P 500 index slid 8.12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,888.60. The Nasdaq composite, which has a high concentration of technology companies, tumbled 96.07 points, or 1.2 percent, to 7,995.17. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lost 5.73 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,727.65.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 22.51 points, or 0.1 percent, to 25,974.99 as the weaker dollar sent industrial companies including 3M and Caterpillar sharply higher.

Twitter fell 6.1 percent to $32.73 and Facebook lost 2.3 percent to $167.18. Video chat company Snap shed 4.5 percent to $10.11.

Many of the market's largest companies and the year's most successful stocks traded lower. Microsoft fell 2.9 percent to $108.49 and Alphabet slid 1 percent to $1,199.10. Amazon dropped 2.2 percent to $1,994.82 while Netflix sank 6.2 percent to $341.18.

Traditionally defensive companies did better. Utility Southern Co. rose 1.8 percent to $44.66 while PepsiCo gained 1.9 percent to $113.12. Utilities have fared worse than the broader S&P 500 this year, while household goods stocks have fallen.

The dollar rose to 111.51 yen from 111.48 yen. The euro rose to $1.1623 from $1.1581. The ICE US Dollar index slipped, which helped exporters including industrial and materials companies. The weaker dollar also sent metals prices higher.

Halliburton CEO Jeffrey Miller said the company is seeing a decrease in North American drilling activity because of customers' tight budgets, and the decline is worse than it previously expected. It also reported project delays in the Middle East.

Miller said those problems will trim Halliburton's third-quarter earnings by 8 to 10 cents a share. The stock fell 6 percent to $37.13.

Benchmark U.S. crude declined 1.6 percent to $68.72 per barrel in New York while Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 1.2 percent to $77.27 per barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline lost 1.5 percent to $1.96 a gallon. Heating oil fell 0.9 percent to $2.23 a gallon. Natural gas slid 1 percent to $2.80 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Luggage and accessories retailer Vera Bradley jumped after it posted strong results in the second quarter and raised its profit forecast for the year. The company said fewer items were marked down, which improved its profit margins. The stock climbed 14.8 percent to $16.40.

Furniture and housewares maker RH fell 13.1 percent to $131.51 after its second-quarter sales came up short of analysts' projections.

U.S. shares of Chinese internet retailer JD.com dropped another 10.6 percent to $26.30 after a Minneapolis police report showed company founder and CEO Richard Liu was arrested over a felony rape accusation.

The stock fell 6 percent Tuesday, the first trading day after Liu's arrest was reported. JD.com said Sunday that police found no misconduct, and the company also says Liu has returned to China. The stock is now trading at its lowest price since January 2017.

Bond prices held steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note remained at 2.90 percent.

Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,201.30 an ounce. Silver added 0.3 percent to $14.22 an ounce. Copper rose 0.3 percent to $2.61 a pound.

The French CAC 40 fell 1.5 percent while Germany's DAX lost 1.4 percent. In London the FTSE 100 shed 1 percent.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 retreated 0.5 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.6 percent. Seoul's Kospi declined 1 percent.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-tumble-as-comment-period-for-us-tariffs-ends

US Stocks Slip Again as Technology Companies Extend Slump
US stocks slide for the third consecutive day as technology companies take big losses for the second day in a row.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Technology companies suffered another day of sharp losses Thursday, although the broader market didn't fare as badly.

Chipmakers sank after an executive from KLA-Tencor said business in the fourth quarter looks weaker than the company expected. Apple also fell, and social media companies continued to sink after Congressional hearings weighed on the stocks the day before.

"They have a target on their back," said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist at Voya Investment Management.

The S&P 500 index shed 10.55 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,878.05. The Nasdaq composite fell 72.45 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,922.73. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks declined 13.18 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,714.47.

However industrial companies and high-dividend stocks rose, which limited the market's losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20.88 points, or 0.1 percent, to 25,995.87 as Boeing, 3M and United Technologies headed higher.

Apple fell 1.7 percent to $222.10 and KLA-Tencor lost 9.7 percent to $107.28. Facebook gave up 2.8 percent to $162.53 and Twitter slid 5.9 percent to $30.81, and Google's parent company, Alphabet, declined 1.3 percent to $1,183.99. Those companies took similar losses Wednesday.

The Nasdaq, which has a high concentration of technology companies, is down 2.3 percent this week. But for the second day in a row, big losses for technology companies and for Amazon, the second-largest U.S. company, were partly canceled out by gains elsewhere.

Cavanaugh, of Voya Investment Management, said investors are still optimistic about the U.S. economy, which has helped other stocks.

"They know the underlying fundamentals are good," she said. "Company earnings are not turning tail (and running away) because of the trade wars and all of the political drama."

Technology companies outperformed the broader S&P 500 in each of the past four years and they are doing it again this year. Cavanaugh said the companies have posted very strong profits at a time global economic growth has been slow, and investors will probably continue to find that appealing.

Bond prices turned higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.87 percent from 2.90 percent. That made big dividend payers including utilities and household goods makers more appealing, and their stocks rose.

No major trade developments emerged during the trading hours. The U.S. and Canada continued negotiations to keep Canada in an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The U.S. could put a 25 percent tax on $200 billion in Chinese goods after a public comment period on the proposal expired Thursday, and media reports have said the tariffs could be announced this week. China has vowed to retaliate.

The U.S. and China have put taxes on $50 billion in imports in the last few months, but larger tariffs would represent a major escalation in their dispute.

CBS jumped after the Wall Street Journal reported that the TV network and its parent company are in talks to settle a lawsuit. As part of that settlement, National Amusements would give up on its bid to merge CBS with Viacom, which it also controls.

CBS's board and shareholders opposed the merger, and its stock gained 3.2 percent to $54.62. Viacom dipped 0.6 percent to $29.25.

The Journal also reported that Les Moonves, CBS' longtime CEO, is negotiating with the board of directors about a possible exit. In July, he was accused in a New Yorker article of sexually harassing six women.

Moonves acknowledged he made advances that may have made some women uncomfortable, but he denied allegations he threatened the careers of some of the women afterward.

While the U.S. economy has gained strength this year, investors are worried that rising interest rates and trade disputes will harm fast-growing, but often fragile, economies elsewhere. The currencies of Argentina, Turkey and Iran have all hit record lows recently and Venezuela's currency has lost almost all its value.

While those countries face different problems, the Federal Reserve's interest rate increases affect all of them by driving up their debt costs and making U.S. assets more attractive. Investors are responding by pulling money out of emerging markets, and that's exposed financial vulnerabilities.

Some investors fear that big losses in some developing markets could ripple out into the global financial system, as they did in the late 1990s, when several Asian countries eventually required financial rescue.

Oil prices fell for the second day in a row. Benchmark U.S. crude shed 1.4 percent to $67.77 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 1 percent to $76.50 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline slid 0.7 percent to $1.95 a gallon. Heating oil slumped 1.1 percent to $2.21 a gallon. Natural gas gave up 0.8 percent to $2.77 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,204.30 an ounce. Silver fell 0.3 percent to $14.18 an ounce. Copper gained 1 percent to $2.64 a pound.

The dollar dipped to 110.83 yen from 111.51 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1625 from $1.1623.

Germany's DAX fell 0.7 percent and in Britain the FTSE 100 lost 0.9 percent. The CAC 40 in France gave up an early gain finished 0.3 percent lower.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.4 percent and the Kospi in South Korea dropped 0.2 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 1 percent.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-markets-fall-as-us-china-renew-tariff-threat

Stocks Fall Again on Trade War, Rate Worries
U.S. stock indexes fell Friday after President Donald Trump said he may intensify his trade battle with China.

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes fell Friday after President Donald Trump said he may intensify his trade battle with China. A strong jobs report also pushed investors to gird for higher interest rates.

The S&P 500 bounced between modest gains and losses in an up-and-down day, but its most decisive move was downward after Trump said he's ready to impose tariffs on essentially every good that's imported from China. That helped push the S&P 500 to its fourth straight loss.

The S&P 500 lost 6.37 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,871.68 and closed out just its second down week in the last 10. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 79.33, or 0.3 percent, to 25,916.54, and the Nasdaq composite fell 20.18, or 0.3 percent, to 7,902.54.

Earlier in the day, the government's monthly jobs report showed that hiring and workers' wage gains were healthier than expected in August. It's the latest evidence that the U.S. economy continues to power ahead, and it clears the way for the Federal Reserve to raise short-term interest rates at its meeting later this month and beyond. Treasury yields jumped in response.

With the economy so strong and corporate profits so high, stock prices would likely be even higher than they are today if not for investors' worries about global trade, said David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial.

The United States has already imposed tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports, with Beijing quickly following suit, and investors worry about how high the total will rise. The concern is that escalating tariffs will drag down corporate profits and economic growth.

Trump told reporters Friday that "to a certain extent, it's going to be up to China." He also said that he's prepared to impose tariffs on an additional $267 billion of Chinese imports, which would be on top of tariffs already being considered on $200 billion of Chinese goods. The S&P 500 quickly fell about 0.3 percent after Trump made his comments.

"The underlying fundamentals of the economy are still quite healthy, but the longer this goes, the more destructive it's going to be for supply chains," said Joy of Ameriprise Financial.

Further evidence about those fundamentals came from Fridays' jobs report, which showed employers hired more workers last month than economists expected, and the unemployment rate remained near an 18-year low. That helped push up the average hourly wage by 2.9 percent from a year earlier, the fastest growth in eight years.

If wage gains keep accelerating, it could feed into higher inflation throughout the economy. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve to get more aggressive about raising rates, something it has pledged to do slowly and steadily.

Higher interest rates can hurt stock prices because they make bonds look more attractive. The market went through a similar scenario in February, when the monthly jobs report showed a surprisingly big increase in wages. But investors have recently been preparing themselves for a total of four rate increases for 2018 following comments from the Fed.

"What everyone's trying to figure out is at what point do you get the intersection of higher wages pushing into inflation and the Fed starting to get a little more aggressive," said Joy. "We're not there yet, but this takes us one step closer to that, and historically, that's what brings expansions and bull markets to an end."

The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 2.93 percent to from 2.87 percent late Thursday, and the two-year yield rose to 2.69 percent from 2.62 percent.

When bonds are offering higher yields, it can pull buyers away from stocks that pay big dividends. Utility stocks and real-estate investment trusts, which are among the market's highest dividend payers, had some of the day's steepest losses. They each lost 1.2 percent, tied for the largest loss among the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500.

Tesla also struggled. Its stock sank after its chief accounting officer resigned just a month into the job. Dave Morton said he has no disagreements with Tesla's leadership about its financial reporting, but he was not expecting so much public attention and such a fast pace at the company when he joined on Aug. 6.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also appeared on a podcast overnight in which he inhales from what the host says is a joint containing marijuana and tobacco. Shares sank $17.71, or 6.3 percent, to $263.24.

On the opposite end was Broadcom, which jumped to the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after reporting stronger-than-expected profit for the latest quarter. It rose $16.61, or 7.7 percent, to $232.58.

Broadcom and other technology stocks have been riding fast profit growth to big stock-price gains, and the group has led the market for much of the last five years. That leadership faltered a bit this past week, though, amid worries about increased scrutiny from Capitol Hill.

In markets abroad, Japan's Nikkei 225 index lost 0.8 percent, the Kospi in South Korea dropped 0.3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was virtually unchanged. In Europe, France's CAC 40 rose 0.2 percent, and Germany's DAX was virtually flat. The FTSE 100 in London fell 0.6 percent.

The dollar rose to 111.06 Japanese yen from 110.83 yen late Thursday. The euro fell to $1.1566 from $1.1625, and the British pound fell to $1.2924 from $1.2933.

Benchmark U.S. crude lost 2 cents to settle at $67.75 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 33 cents to $76.83 a barrel.

Natural gas inched up by a fraction of a cent and settled at $2.78 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil rose a penny to $2.22 per gallon, and wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.97 per gallon.

Gold slipped $3.90 to $1,200.40 per ounce, silver lost 1 cent to $14.17 per ounce and copper fell a penny to $2.62 per pound.

1937

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ks-mixed-on-fears-of-more-us-tariffs-on-china

Stocks End Losing Streak as Industrials, Retailers Rise
Gain for industrial and consumer-focused companies help US stock indexes break out of a four-day losing streak.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks broke a four-day losing streak Monday as industrial companies and retailers rose. Technology companies recovered some of their steep losses from last week.

Transportation and other industrial companies continued their recent rally and retailers like Nike, Home Depot and Walmart all climbed. While technology companies rose overall, Apple fell after saying a new round of bigger U.S. tariffs could push it to raise prices.

CBS slipped after it announced the departure of longtime CEO Les Moonves, and Alibaba skidded after the big Chinese internet retailer said co-founder Jack Ma will step down as chairman in 2019.

The European Union's chief negotiator said the bloc might be able to reach a deal with Britain by early November. The British pound jumped.

Investors expect the U.S. to put new tariffs on Chinese imports soon. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell again Monday after President Donald Trump again threatened to tax almost everything the U.S. imports from China. The index has tumbled almost 20 percent since late January as the dispute has escalated.

Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab, said investors feel China has much more to lose in the conflict than the U.S. does, as it exports much more to the U.S. than it imports from it.

"If Chinese businesses and Chinese consumers get uncomfortable with this whole battle, they get nervous and they get tentative," he said. "When people do that, they stop spending."

S&P 500 index gained 5.45 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,877.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 59.47 points, or 0.2 percent, to 25,857.07 as health insurer UnitedHealth and aerospace company Boeing traded lower.

The Nasdaq composite edged up 21.62 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,924.16. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 4.29 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,717.47.

The S&P 500 fell 1 percent last week, its worst drop since late June.

Nike rose 2.2 percent to $82.10. The stock slumped 3 percent Aug. 31 as investors worried about potential backlash to an advertising campaign featuring former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Nike's stock has now regained almost all the ground it lost since then.

Technology companies moved higher as Microsoft picked up 1.1 percent to $109.38 and Broadcom rose 3.5 percent to $240.61. The S&P 500 technology index is coming off its largest weekly loss since March.

Apple fell 1.3 percent to $218.33 after it might raise prices on some of its products, including the Apple Watch and the Mac mini, in response to the tariffs.

The Trump administration could soon announce tariffs on $200 billion in goods imported from China and has threatened more taxes after that. The administration has already imposed tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese products, which Beijing matched.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 1.3 percent. After peaking in late January, it's close to the entering what Wall Street calls a "bear market." The MSCI Emerging Markets stock index has already breached that mark as major indexes in Turkey and Russia have also skidded.

Frederick said the gap between rising U.S. indexes and falling emerging markets indexes is unusual and can't last for very long: either the difficulties in emerging markets will start to affect the rest of the world economy, potentially slowing U.S. growth, or emerging markets will start improving.

CBS announced Sunday that Moonves is stepping down after six more women accused him of sexual misconduct as well as retaliation if they resisted him. Moonves denied the charges in a pair of statements, although he said he had consensual relations with three of the women.

CBS fell 1.5 percent to $55.20, and it's fallen 4 percent since the allegations against Moonves surfaced in late July.

Alibaba fell 3.7 percent to $156.36. The company's next chairman will be Daniel Zhang. Zhang replaced Ma as CEO in 2013.

France's CAC 40 added 0.3 percent and the German DAX moved up 0.2 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was unchanged as the pound climbed to $1.3029 from $1.2924.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 0.3 percent to $67.54 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 0.7 percent to $77.37 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline dipped 0.5 percent to $1.96 a gallon. Heating oil stayed at $2.22 a gallon. Natural gas rose 1 percent to $2.80 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note remained at 2.94 percent.

The dollar rose to 111.21 yen from 111.06 yen. The euro rose to $1.1597 from $1.1566.

Gold was little changed at $1,199.80 an ounce. Silver rose 0.1 percent to $14.18 an ounce. Copper inched up 0.2 percent to $2.63 a pound.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 climbed 0.3 percent after the country's gross domestic product surpassed expectations by growing at a 3 percent annual rate in the second quarter.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...tocks-mixed-as-investors-await-us-tariff-hike

Technology and Energy Companies Help Send US Stocks Higher
U.S. stocks rise as technology and consumer-focused companies recover more of their losses from last week, while home improvement retailers and gas prices climb as Hurricane Florence moves closer to the East Coast.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday as technology companies continued to recover from their recent losses.

The approach of Hurricane Florence sent home improvement retailers and gas prices higher. The Department of Energy said it's seeing signs that shipments of oil from Iran are falling as the U.S. prepares to resume sanctions on the Iranian energy industry and pushes other countries to stop buying.

Apple climbed a day before it's set to announce new phone designs and other products. Video game companies Activision Blizzard and Take-Two Interactive also jumped. Other big technology companies, and their compatriot Amazon, rose for a second day after big declines last week.

Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network, said that when investors' confidence in the technology sector wavers, it tends to come back quickly because the companies are so profitable: Google and Facebook are free to use, and new users cost the companies practically nothing.

"There's no way smaller companies can compete," he said, although that comes with risks. "When a company gets successful beyond a certain level it does draw government attention."

The S&P 500 index rose 10.76 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,887.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 113.99 points, or 0.4 percent, to 25,971.06. The Nasdaq composite added 48.31 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,972.47. The Russell 2000 index of smaller and more U.S.-focused companies inched up 0.94 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,718.40.

Apple jumped 2.5 percent to $223.85 and Amazon rallied 2.5 percent to $1,987.15. Microsoft picked up 1.7 percent to $111.24 and Alphabet climbed 1.3 percent to $1,189.99.

Big technology companies slumped last week as executives from Facebook and Twitter appeared before Congress at hearings about election meddling and political bias. That led to a rare decline for the sector.

While the stocks are bouncing back from that drop, Facebook and Twitter have yet to recover from the big losses they absorbed in July after investors began to worry about their user growth.

Investors also anticipated possible gas shortages linked to Florence. Wholesale gasoline futures surged 2.8 percent to $2.01 a gallon.

Home Depot rose 1.5 percent to $213.85 and Lowe's added 1.6 percent to $114.18 as damage from the storm could lead to a quick boost in sales. But property and casualty insurance companies have slumped in the last week.

According to a note published Sunday by Morgan Stanley analyst Kai Pan, Allstate, Berkshire Hathaway and Travelers are some of the largest catastrophe insurers in the Carolinas and Virginia. while the largest property and casualty reinsurers include Axis Capital, Everest Re and RenaissanceRe.

Most of those stocks inched higher Tuesday, but they have fallen between 3 and 5 percent over the last week.

Benchmark U.S. crude jumped 2.5 percent to $69.25 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, climbed 2.2 percent to $79.06 a barrel in London.

The Energy Information Administration also said there is evidence that several countries are buying significantly less oil from Iran. The U.S. is getting ready to put sanctions on Iran's energy industry again, and it's been pressuring other countries to reduce their imports.

Those steps came after the Trump administration withdrew from an international agreement that is intended to curb Iran's nuclear program.

Chipmaker Integrated Device Technology soared after it agreed to be bought by Renesas Electronics of China for $49 a share, or $6.34 billion. IDT climbed 10.6 percent to $46.56.

Yum China Holdings dropped 13.3 percent to $31.94 after Bloomberg News reported that a Chinese consortium has decided to end its effort to buy the fast food company.

Wireless speaker maker Sonos plunged 22 percent to $16.56 after its first earnings report as a publicly traded company. The company went public in early August with an offering that priced at $15 a share and it had climbed to $21.24 at Monday's close.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.98 percent from 2.94 percent.

The World Trade Organization says it will review China's request to be allowed to impose sanctions on the U.S. for failing to abide by WTO rules. The dispute is linked steps the U.S. took in 2013 over Chinese goods that it said were "dumped," or sold for less than market value.

The dollar rose to 111.59 yen from 111.21 yen. The euro dipped to $1.1586 from $1.1597.

In other commodities trading, heating oil gained 1.5 percent to $2.25 a gallon. Natural gas added 0.9 percent to $2.83 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,202.20 an ounce. Silver fell 0.2 percent to $14.15 an ounce. Copper slipped 0.2 percent to $2.62 a pound.

Germany's DAX and London's FTSE 100 both fell 0.1 percent. The French CAC 40 added 0.3 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.7 percent and officially entered a bear market, having fallen 20.3 percent from its recent peak reached Jan. 26. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 1.3 percent while Seoul's Kospi fell 0.2 percent.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ian-stocks-fall-as-china-reacts-to-us-tariffs

US Stocks Wobble as Trade Hopes Flicker and Tech Stocks Slip
After a short-lived rally, US stocks finish mixed as energy companies climb along with oil prices and technology companies skid.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks wobbled between gains and losses then finished with a split decision Wednesday as technology companies dropped. That canceled out gains for energy companies.

Oil and gasoline prices continued to rise Wednesday after a big gain the day before, and U.S. crude reached its highest price in two months. Chipmakers fell, while Apple slipped after announcing new features for iPhones and Apple Watches.

The market staged a brief rally around midday following a report that the U.S. was seeking new trade talks with China. Stocks climbed, but they retreated to their earlier levels in less than an hour.

Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist for Invesco, said investors have learned from earlier trade updates that didn't amount to much.

"Every other time this has happened, it wasn't worth the positive market move," she said. "Investors ... are a lot more skeptical this time around, having been burned a few times with false optimism about positive trade developments."

The S&P 500 index edged up 1.03 points to 2,888.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 27.86 points, or 0.1 percent, to 25,998.92.

The losses for technology companies weighed on the Nasdaq composite, which slid 18.24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,954.23. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lost 2.71 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,715.70.

Most of the stocks on the New York Stock Exchange finished higher.

Oil prices built on Tuesday's gains after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude stockpiles fell by more than 5 million barrels last week. The prospect of tighter supplies and higher prices also helped energy company stocks.

Benchmark U.S. oil climbed 1.6 percent to $70.37 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, added 0.9 percent to $79.74 a barrel in London. Wholesale gasoline rose 1 percent to $2.03 a gallon. It jumped almost 3 percent the day before.

Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney downgraded Micron Technology stock to "Neutral" and said he expects weaker market conditions for several types of computer chips.

Micron fell 4.3 percent to $41.74 and Nvidia slipped 1.7 percent to $268.20.

Apple unveiled new iPhones with larger screens on Wednesday, and also said new Apple Watches will have larger screens and new health-monitoring features.

Apple tends to trade lower on the days it announces new products, and it fell 1.2 percent to $221.07 Wednesday. It's up 31 percent in 2018, however.

As the Apple Watch updates were announced, shares of fitness tracker company Fitbit slumped 6.9 percent to $5.53 in heavy trading.

According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials recently proposed a new round of trade negotiations to give the Chinese government another chance to address U.S. concerns before the Trump administration imposes bigger tariffs on goods imported from China.

The two countries have already placed new taxes on $50 billion in imports, and the government is threatening higher tariffs on $200 billion in goods.

Many experts feel that China will make substantial concessions to resolve the trade impasse, and some are hoping for major progress over the next few months.

But Hooper of Invesco says she doesn't think China is about to give in. She said the Chinese government is preparing for a long dispute by ramping up spending, and notes that unlike U.S. politicians, Chinese President Xi Jinping doesn't have to worry about facing voters.

Cigarette makers jumped after the Food and Drug Administration said it is looking at steps to combat "an epidemic" of e-cigarette use by teenagers, and said companies need to address the problem or risk having their flavored products pulled off the market.

Altria Group surged 6.7 percent to $63.43, its largest gain in just under a decade. Philip Morris International rose 3.4 percent to $80.05 and overseas rivals like British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands also jumped.

The Labor Department said wholesale prices unexpectedly dipped in August, the first decline in a year and a half. That's a sign inflation pressures could be easing. The agency's producer prices index slipped 0.1 percent in August, although it's up 2.8 percent over the last year.

The department said transportation and warehousing service prices fell for the month.

The dollar weakened and interest rates dipped, which put pressure on bank stocks and also boosted commodities prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.96 percent from 2.98 percent.

The dollar fell to 111.22 yen from 111.59 yen. The euro rose to $1.1632 from $1.1586.

Gold rose 0.7 percent to $1,210.90 an ounce. Silver added 1 percent to $14.29 an ounce. Copper climbed 2.1 percent to $2.68 a pound.

Heating oil added 0.3 percent to $2.26 a gallon and natural gas remained at $2.83 per 1,000 cubic feet.

France's CAC 40 gained 0.9 percent while the British FTSE and the DAX in Germany both rose 0.5 percent.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.3 percent, and the Kospi in South Korea was almost flat. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.3 percent, its ninth loss in 10 days.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...rise-on-possible-us-china-talks-amid-tensions

US Stocks Jump as Inflation Slows; Tech Rebounds
US stocks rise as Apple, Microsoft and Qualcomm lead a round of gains in technology companies and health care companies also move higher.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks made solid gains Thursday as Apple and Qualcomm led a rally in technology companies. Drugmakers and health insurers also rose.

Apple changed course and rose a day after it introduced three new iPhone models and updates to the Apple Watch. Chipmakers recovered after a steep drop the day before.

Stock indexes in Turkey and other emerging markets rose after the Turkish central bank raised interest rates sharply in response to the nation's currency crisis.

Technology stocks are edging higher after a four-day losing streak last week, their longest since April. Investors worried about the prospect of heavier regulation for companies like Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet.

That uncertainty comes right before a shift in the tech sector later this month. Companies including Facebook, Netflix and Alphabet, Google's parent company, will move into a new group called "communications services."

Lindsey Bell, an investment strategist with CFRA, said the changes could encourage investors to look at smaller technology companies that may have been overlooked compared to giants like Apple and Alphabet.

"Some of these software companies do have great potential, and I think they've been underappreciated," she said.

The S&P 500 index gained 15.26 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,904.18. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 147.07 points, or 0.6 percent, to 26,145.99. The Nasdaq composite jumped 59.48 points, or 0.7 percent, to 8,013.71. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks dipped 1.38 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,714.32.

Apple climbed 2.4 percent to $226.41 and Qualcomm rose 4 percent to $74.61 after it announced a $16 billion stock repurchase. Other chipmakers including Skyworks and Broadcom also rose.

Insurance companies reversed their recent loses and home improvement retailers slipped as Hurricane Florence weakened somewhat. The slow-moving storm is expected to reach the East Coast Friday and might remain around the Carolinas for days, but investors figure that it won't do as much damage as previously estimated, and property insurers won't have to pay out as much.

RenaissanceRe jumped 2.7 percent to $130.95 and Everest Re climbed 3.1 percent to $220.69.

Supermarket company Kroger dropped 9.9 percent to $28.58 after its sales fell short of Wall Street forecasts.

The Department of Labor said its index of consumer prices edged up 0.2 percent in August, and it's risen 2.7 percent over the past year. That's a bit slower than the 2.9 percent it reported in July. Investors have worried that faster inflation could threaten economic growth and the current bull market.

Cable channel operator Discovery rose another 4.7 percent to $31.84. The stock jumped 7.7 percent Wednesday after the company announced a deal that will make more of its programming available on the streaming service Hulu.

The S&P 500 is divided into 11 industrial sectors that track industries like energy and health care. A few of those sectors will change before the start of trading on Sept. 24.

The new communications services group will include Facebook, Netflix, Alphabet and Twitter, as well as media companies like Disney, telecom companies like AT&T, which recently bought the media conglomerate Time Warner, and video game makers like Activision Blizzard.

The technology sector will get smaller, but it will still be the largest portion of the benchmark index. Bell, of CFRA, said the changes might cause some volatility in the stock market as funds adjust their holdings. But she said the changes should make the two sectors a bit easier to understand.

Turkey's central bank raised its key interest rate to contain the nation's currency crisis and inflation. The Turkish lira rose 4.4 percent against the U.S. dollar and Turkey's main stock index gained 2.4 percent.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had repeatedly and publicly pushed the bank to keep rates low. That shook investors' confidence, as they grew worried about the bank's independence and Turkey's ability to react to inflation, slowing growth, and its diplomatic spat with the U.S.

The stock indexes of Argentina, Russia and Mexico also rose. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.5 percent after it fell for nine of the previous 10 days.

Acorda Therapeutics dropped 2.4 percent to $18.05 after announcing that the Food and Drug Administration will take three more months to review its inhaled Parkinson's disease treatment Inbrija.

The stock sank 25 percent Monday after Acorda said an appeals court ruled that four patents on its drug Ampyra are not valid, paving the way for other companies to sell their own versions. The stock has plunged 34 percent over an eight-day losing streak.

Benchmark U.S. crude slid 2.5 percent to $68.59 a barrel in New York. It jumped 4.3 percent over the previous two days. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 2 percent to $78.18 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline fell 2.1 percent to $1.99 a gallon. Heating oil lost 1.5 percent to $2.22 a gallon. Natural gas slipped 0.4 percent to $2.82 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Bond prices ticked lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.97 percent from 2.96 percent.

The dollar rose to 111.88 yen from 111.22 yen. The euro rose to $1.1692 from $1.1632.

Gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,208.20 an ounce. Silver dipped 0.3 percent to $14.24 an ounce. Copper rose 0.3 percent to $2.68 a pound.

The German DAX added 0.2 percent and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.1 percent. In Britain, the FTSE 100 fell 0.4 percent.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 1 percent and the South Korean Kospi rose 0.1 percent.

 

[bigdog]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-stocks-little-changed-mixed-143504824.html

Small-company stocks shine on an otherwise ho-hum day

Marley Jay, AP Markets Writer
Associated PressSeptember 15, 2018


NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks hardly moved Friday as the market wrapped up a solid week. Smaller companies rose following signs of sustained economic growth and reports that more tariffs on Chinese goods could be on the way.

Stocks rose in early trading after the Federal Reserve said production of cars and energy jumped in August. The Commerce Department said sales by retailers grew only slightly in August after a big gain in July.

"It's a reflection of stronger economic growth," said Kate Warne, an investment strategist for Edward Jones. "It continues to bode well for strength going into the fall and later in the year.

Warne said she expects the U.S. economy to grow about 3 percent this year, which is what most experts are forecasting. She said growth will be a bit weaker than in 2019, but that would still be better than most of the previous years since 2009.

Bond yields jumped Friday as investors interpreted the Federal Reserve report as a sign the economy will keep growing and interest rates will keep rising. That helped bank stocks, but it hurt high-dividend stocks.

Retailers and health care stocks also took small losses.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.80 points to 2,904.98. The index rose all five days this week after a four-day losing streak last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 8.68 points to 26,154.67. The Nasdaq composite slipped 3.67 points to 8,010.04.

The combination of trade worries and positive economic news helped smaller companies, which do more business in the U.S. than larger companies do. That makes them less vulnerable to flare-ups in trade tensions. The Russell 2000 index gained 7.40 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,721.72.

Bloomberg News reported that President Donald Trump has told aides to go ahead with tariffs on $200 billion in imports from China. The report said the administration may be having difficulty finding products it can tax that won't result in major complaints from consumers and businesses.

China said Thursday the U.S. had reached out to open a new round of trade talks. The new round of tariffs would represent a major escalation in the U.S.-China conflict, which has lasted for most of this year.

Industrial companies also rose after the Federal Reserve's report. Aerospace company Boeing jumped 1.2 percent to $359.80 and shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls gained 1.6 percent to $252.90.

The industrial data is a sign the U.S. economy is likely to keep growing, which means the Federal Reserve is likely to continue raising interest rates. It is expected to raise interest rates later this month, the third increase this year out of an expected four.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.99 percent from 2.96 percent late Thursday.

Banks and financial companies rose, as higher long-term interest rates help them make more money from mortgages and other types of loans. Prudential Financial added 2.9 percent to $99.86 and SVB Financial Group LendingTree gained 1.4 percent to $319.29.

A series of gas explosions killed one person at injured at least 10 and forced evacuations in three communities north of Boston. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency blamed the fires on gas lines that had become over-pressurized.

They are served by Columbia Gas, a unit of NiSource. NiSource's stock plunged 11.7 percent to $24.79.

Hurricane Florence came ashore in North Carolina Friday morning, and while its winds have weakened, experts say the storm surge is a significant threat. The storm is slow moving, meaning North and South Carolina could get days of heavy rain.

While Florence could do significant damage to the region, it's not expected to have a big effect on the overall economy. Economists at IHS Markit said the hurricane might slow down growth in the third quarter a bit but would likely contribute to growth in the fourth quarter.

Shares in British Columbia marijuana company Tilray, which have made huge gains in the last two months, slumped after Politico reported that the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol may ban people who work in the marijuana industry from entering the country.

Canada is set to legalize marijuana in October and stocks in the industry have soared recently. Tilray slumped 8.9 percent to $109.05. The stock was valued at $17 when Tilray went public in July.

Two competitors, Canopy Growth and Cronos Group, continued to rise. Canopy has doubled in valued this year and Cronos is up 34 percent.

Benchmark U.S. crude added 0.6 percent to $68.99 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dipped 0.1 percent to $78.09 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline lost 1.1 percent to $1.97 a gallon and heating oil fell 0.6 percent to $2.21 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 1.8 percent to $2.77 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The dollar rose to 112.03 yen from 111.88 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1632 from $1.1692.

Gold lost 0.6 percent to $1,201.10 an ounce. Silver fell 0.7 percent to $14.14 an ounce. Copper sank 1.4 percent to $2.65 a pound.

The German DAX added 0.6 percent and the French CAC rose 0.5 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 index picked up 0.3 percent.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.2 percent and South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.4 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1 percent.

2194

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-fall-on-fears-over-us-china-tariffs-standoff

Tech Firms Lead Slide as Trade Worries Weigh on US Stocks
A slide in technology companies helped pull U.S. stocks lower Monday, snapping a five-day winning streak for the market.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

A slide in technology companies helped pull U.S. stocks lower Monday, snapping a five-day winning streak for the market.

The sell-off came amid speculation that the Trump administration was preparing to impose tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. The two governments have already imposed 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of each other's goods, and another round of tariffs would represent a significant escalation in the trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.

Investors used the prospect of a deeper U.S.-China trade conflict to take some profits, especially in technology stocks, the market's biggest gainers this year. Department stores and other consumer-focused companies also accounted for a big slice of the losses. Safe-play sectors like real estate and utilities rose. Oil prices fell, erasing early gains.

The S&P 500 index fell 16.18 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,888.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 92.55 points, or 0.4 percent, to 26,062.12.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gave up 114.25 points, or 1.4 percent, to 7,895.79. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 18.17 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,703.55. Most stocks closed lower on the New York Stock Exchange.

The U.S. has been locked in an escalating trade dispute with China, it's biggest trading partner. Washington contends that Beijing uses predatory tactics to acquire technology know-how in an effort to overtake America's global supremacy in technology.

Over the weekend, news reports indicated that the White House was set to announce tariffs on $200 billion more in Chinese imports as soon as Monday. Beijing has said it would swiftly retaliate against additional U.S. tariffs.

The uncertainty over the trade dispute has at times roiled the market, but not derailed it from notching gains on the strength of strong corporate earnings and a growing U.S. economy. That suggests that many investors, for now, expect both sides will ultimately work out a deal.

"It's a short-term, immediate-term thorn in the market's side," said Ted Theodore, chief investment officer of TrimTabs Asset Management. "A big part of it is not knowing what the game plan is."

Technology companies led the market's slide. Apple lost 2.7 percent to $217.88, while Netflix slumped 3.9 percent to $350.35. Twitter fell 4.2 percent to $28.86 after an analyst cut the price target on the social media company.

Amazon.com lost 3.2 percent to $1,908.03 after The Wall Street Journal reported that the online retail giant is investigating suspected bribes and data leaks of its employees.

Several big department store chains declined. Macy's slid 3.1 percent to $35.16. Kohl's lost 2 percent to $79.26. Gap gave up 2.6 percent to $27.05.

Traders bid up shares in companies that got favorable news from government regulators.

Teva Pharmaceutical climbed 2.5 percent to $23.43 after the Food and Drug Administration approved the drugmaker's preventative migraine treatment.

Express Scripts jumped 3.7 percent to $95.23 after regulators cleared the way for Cigna to buy it. Cigna rose 1.4 percent to $197.84.

Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 2.99 percent.

The dollar fell to 111.18 yen from 112.03 yen on Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1686 from $1.1632.

Oil prices declined, wiping out gains from earlier in the day. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 0.1 percent to settle at $68.91 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 0.1 percent to close at $78.05 a barrel in London.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline slipped 0.3 percent to $1.98 a gallon, heating oil fell 0.1 percent to $2.21 a gallon and natural gas jumped 1.7 percent to $2.81 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,205.80 an ounce. Silver added 0.6 percent to $14.22 an ounce. Copper gained 0.2 percent to $2.65 a pound.

Major stock indexes in Europe finished mostly lower. The DAX in Germany dropped 0.2 percent, while France's CAC 40 lost 0.1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 ended flat.

In Asia, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.7 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 1.3 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3 percent. Japanese markets were closed for a national holiday.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ecover-after-trump-orders-new-chinese-tariffs

Stocks End Higher as Traders Shrug off New China-US Tariffs
U.S. stocks closed solidly higher Tuesday as investors largely brushed off the Trump administration's decision to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Once again, Wall Street's jitters over the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China proved to be short-lived.

U.S. stocks closed solidly higher Tuesday as investors largely brushed off the Trump administration's decision to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods. A swift response by China, saying it will increase tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods, also didn't dampen investors' buying mood.

"The tariffs, they kind of came in as expected, but there's been this ongoing hope that this eventually will get resolved," said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank.

Gains in technology stocks and consumer-focused companies powered Tuesday's broad rally, which reversed nearly all of the indexes' losses from a day earlier.

Bond yields climbed, sending banks higher. Energy stocks also rose along with crude oil prices.

The S&P 500 index rose 15.51 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,904.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 184.84 points, or 0.7 percent, to 26,246.96. The Nasdaq composite gained 60.32 points, or 0.8 percent, to 7,956.11. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies added 7.42 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,710.97.

The Trump administration announced late Monday that it will impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods starting next Monday, potentially raising prices on goods ranging from handbags to bicycle tires. The tariffs will start at 10 percent and then climb to 25 percent on Jan. 1.

China responded by saying it will increase tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods. The move involves increases of 10 percent and 5 percent on 5,207 types of U.S. goods. A list released last month included coffee, honey and industrial chemicals.

Trump has threatened to add another $267 billion in Chinese imports to the target list in response to any retaliation by China. That would raise the total to $517 billion, covering nearly everything China sells in the United States.

Even so, there were no signs of the jitters Tuesday that caused Monday's sell-off, snapping a five-day winning streak for the S&P 500.

"Some companies will be affected, but there was an expectation that this could have been far worse," said Doug Cote, chief market strategist for Voya Investment Management.

Technology stocks accounted for much of the market's gains. Chipmaker Micron Technology climbed 4 percent to $45.33.

Apple, which received an exemption to the new tariffs on goods imported from China, added 0.2 percent to $218.24. Fitbit also benefited from some of components that the company uses to manufacture its fitness monitoring bands not being among the items subject to the new tariffs. The stock jumped 6.4 percent to $5.80.

Gains by consumer-focused companies also helped lift the market. Netflix rose 4.9 percent to $367.65.

Investors also had their eye on the latest batch of corporate earnings reports.

Cereal maker General Mills and package delivery giant FedEx declined sharply after reporting quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street's forecasts. General Mills slumped 7.6 percent to $44.13, while FedEx dropped 5.5 percent to $241.58.

Tesla slid 3.4 percent to $284.96 after Bloomberg reported that the electric car maker is being investigated by the Justice Department over public statements made by CEO Elon Musk. Early last month Musk tweeted that he had secured funding to take the company private. A couple of weeks later, he put out a statement saying the go-private deal was off.

Oil prices climbed ahead of an upcoming OPEC meeting where members will weigh how to address the loss of supply from Iran, which faces U.S. sanctions. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.4 percent to settle at $69.85 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 1.3 percent to close at $79.03 a barrel in London.

The pickup in oil prices helped send energy stocks higher. Marathon Oil climbed 3 percent to $21.50.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.05 percent from 3 percent late Monday. That's the highest level since May 22, when the yield hit 3.06 percent.

The dollar rose to 112.35 yen from 111.18 yen on Monday. The euro weakened to $1.1667 from $1.1686.

Gold slipped 0.2 percent to $1,202.90 an ounce. Silver lost 0.3 percent to $14.19 an ounce. Copper surged 3 percent to $2.73 a pound.

In other energy trading, heating oil climbed 1.3 percent to $2.24 a gallon, wholesale gasoline picked up 1.4 percent to $2 a gallon and natural gas jumped 4.2 percent to $2.93 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed mostly higher Tuesday. The DAX in Germany rose 0.5 percent, while France's CAC 40 added 0.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was flat.

Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.4 percent, while the Kospi in South Korea added 0.3 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.6 percent.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ise-as-traders-shrug-off-new-china-us-tariffs

US Stock Indexes Post Mixed Finish as Bond Yields Surge
Major U.S. stock indexes finished unevenly Wednesday as gains in banks and other financial companies outweighed losses elsewhere in the market.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Major U.S. stock indexes finished unevenly Wednesday as gains in banks and other financial companies outweighed losses elsewhere in the market.

Bond yields surged to the highest level in four months. That drove demand for bank stocks and triggered a sell-off in utilities, real estate companies and other high-dividend payers.

Energy stocks rose along with crude oil prices. Homebuilders declined following a mixed batch of housing data.

The surge in bond yields reflected the belief on the part of many investors that the economy is strengthening, noted Craig Birk, chief investment officer at Personal Capital.

"If the economy continues to move forward then interest rates have more room to creep higher and the Fed has more room to continue raising (short-term rates)," he said.

The S&P 500 index rose 3.64 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,907.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 158.80 points, or 0.6 percent, to 26,405.76. The Nasdaq composite lost 6.07 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,950.04.

Smaller companies lagged the broader market. The Russell 2000 index gave up 8.04 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,702.93. Decliners outnumbered gainers on the New York Stock Exchange.

Trading was listless through much of Wednesday. The slight gains for the S&P 500, the market's benchmark index, added to a solid rally a day earlier, when investors shrugged off initial jitters over the latest escalation in the trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

Headlines and speculation about the trade dispute took a backseat Wednesday to the surge in bond yields.

Bond prices fell, driving the yield on the 10-year Treasury to 3.07 percent from 3.04 percent late Tuesday. That's the highest level since May 22.

When yields rise they force interest rates on mortgages and other loans higher, making it more profitable for banks to lend money. The higher bond yields drove up shares in banks and other financial stocks. Citigroup climbed 3.3 percent to $73.72.

New housing data weighed on homebuilder stocks. The Commerce Department said residential construction rebounded in August at the fastest pace in seven months. However, applications for new building permits, a forward-looking indicator, plunged. Homebuilders declined, giving up early gains. William Lyon Homes slid 3.4 percent to $18.65.

"As we're watching the data unfold here in the third quarter we think we may be, if not already passed the peak, passing the peak in terms of the economic acceleration here domestically," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "You look at the housing data from today and there's some signs of that."

A pickup in crude oil prices helped send energy stocks higher. Newfield Exploration gained 4.4 percent to $28.91.

Oil prices rose on data showing U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week and are now running at about 3 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

All told, benchmark U.S. crude climbed 1.8 percent to settle at $71.12 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 0.5 percent to close at $79.40 a barrel in London.

Traders bid up shares in Fitbit after the maker of wearable exercise trackers launched a platform that offers personalized coaching. The company also announced a partnership with Humana to potentially give the insurer's 5 million members access to the platform. Fitbit gained 5.3 percent to $6.11.

Praxair climbed 3.9 percent to $164.37 on news reports that the industrial gases company is moving closer to U.S. antitrust approval of its merger with Germany's Linde.

Copart slumped 13.4 percent to $55.58 after the operator of online vehicle auctions reported earnings that fell short of analysts' estimates.

The dollar fell to 112.27 yen from 112.35 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1674 from $1.1667.

Gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,208.30 an ounce. Silver gained 0.7 percent to $14.28 an ounce. Copper was little changed at $2.73 a pound.

In other energy trading, heating oil rose 0.5 percent to $2.25 a gallon, wholesale gasoline picked up 0.8 percent to $2.02 a gallon and natural gas fell 0.9 percent to $2.91 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Major stock indexes in Europe finished higher. Germany's DAX gained 0.5 percent, while France's CAC 40 rose 0.6 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.4 percent.

In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 1.1 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.2 percent. South Korea's Kospi finished virtually unchanged.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...rack-mixed-finish-on-wall-street-over-tariffs

Stocks at Records; Dow Beats All-Time High From January
Wall Street delivered another set of milestones as a wave of buying sent U.S. stocks solidly higher, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average above the all-time high it closed at in January.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Wall Street delivered another set of milestones Thursday as a wave of buying sent U.S. stocks solidly higher, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average above the all-time high it closed at in January.

The S&P 500, the benchmark for many index funds, also hit a new high, eclipsing the peak it reached last month.

Technology stocks, banks and health care companies accounted for much of the broad rally. Energy companies declined along with crude oil prices.

A weaker dollar, which helps U.S. exporters, and a mix of mostly encouraging economic reports helped put investors in a buying mood, a turnaround from earlier in the week when the U.S. and China each announced a new round of tariffs on each other's goods, triggering a sell-off.

"Some of the economic data that came out today continued to show strength," said Lindsey Bell, an investment strategist with CFRA. "Given the strength in the economy, backed by the stimulus from tax reform as well as just fiscal stimulus in general, that should be able to offset some of the impact that we're going to get from tariffs as we go into the end of the year."

The S&P 500 index rose 22.80 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,930.75. The Dow gained 251.22 points, or 1 percent, to 26,656.98. The Nasdaq composite climbed 78.19 points, or 1 percent, to 8,028.23. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 17.25 points, or 1 percent, to 1,720.18.

The road to the latest records was hardly smooth. Shortly after the Dow's all-time high in January, the market plunged in February and again in March, at one point bringing the index down 11.6 percent from its January peak. Investors worried about rising interest rates and the potential impact of the U.S.-China trade dispute on the big industrial companies that are part of the Dow.

With the Federal Reserve having clearly signaled its policy — gradual rate increases, including two more this year — and the U.S. economy gaining strength, the market has recently taken the trade tremors in stride and pushed the Dow and S&P 500 to new highs.

The Dow is now up 7.8 percent for the year, while the S&P 500 is up 9.6 percent. The gains have helped boost investors' stock holdings.

The Federal Reserve said Thursday that the value of Americans' stock and mutual fund portfolios rose $800 billion last quarter, helping to boost U.S. household wealth to a record $106.9 billion in the April-June quarter. At the same time, stock market wealth has been flowing disproportionately — and increasingly — to the most affluent households. The richest one-tenth of Americans own about 84 percent of the value of stocks.

The Dow and S&P 500 were on course to set record highs from the get-go Thursday as investors pored through a batch of economic data.

The Labor Department's weekly tally of applications for unemployment aid was lower than expected, with claims slipping last week to 201,000. That's the lowest level since November 1969.

An economic index from the Federal Reserve's bank in Philadelphia also topped forecasts, and the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators, designed to anticipate economic conditions three to six months out, rose 0.4 percent last month. While that came in slightly below forecasts, it still suggests the economy is on sure footing, said Tracie McMillion, global head of asset allocation for Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

"With a (reading) that high it's very unlikely that there's a recession on the horizon," McMillion said. "The U.S. market is responding to this foundation of economic strength. Pair that with a dollar that has started to depreciate a little bit and that's good news for U.S. companies that trade abroad."

A weaker dollar is particularly favorable for large-cap companies that do business overseas, because it makes their products more competitive.

The dollar rose to 112.48 yen from 112.27 yen on Wednesday. In other currency trading, the euro strengthened to $1.1776 from $1.1674. The British pound climbed to $1.3268 from $1.3145.

Mixed data on U.S. home sales and mortgage rates weighed on homebuilding stocks.

The National Association of Realtors said sales of previously occupied homes were flat in August after declining the previous four months. Separately, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages jumped to 4.65 percent this week, the highest level since May.

William Lyon Homes tumbled 7.8 percent to $17.20.

Starting Monday, the U.S. will place a 10 percent tariff on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. The tariffs will rise to 25 percent on Jan 1. Beijing has said it would take "counter measures," which includes hitting $60 billion worth of U.S. imports, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals, with retaliatory taxes.

"Part of why you're seeing such significant upside today is the amount of the tariffs was less than expected," Bell said. "The market is still optimistic that we will resolve this issue, perhaps not before the midterm (elections), but hopefully before the end of the year."

Some of the biggest gains Thursday went to technology companies. Apple gained 0.8 percent to $220.03, while Microsoft climbed 1.7 percent to $113.57.

Health care companies also posted solid gains. Cardinal Health rose 2.3 percent to $55.17.

Canadian marijuana producer Tilray slumped 17.6 percent to $176.35 a day after the stock soared 38 percent.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.06 percent from 3.08 percent late Wednesday.

Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,211.30 an ounce. Silver gained 0.2 percent to $14.31 an ounce. Copper added $0.4 percent to $2.74 a pound.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 0.4 percent to settle at $70.80 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 0.9 percent to close at $78.70.

In other energy trading, heating oil gave up 0.8 percent to $2.23 a gallon, wholesale gasoline lost 0.4 percent to $2 a gallon and natural surged 2.3 percent to $2.98 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Major indexes in Europe also notched solid gains Thursday. Germany's DAX rose 0.9 percent, while France's CAC 40 climbed 1.1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.5 percent.

Markets in Asia were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 finished flat. The Kospi in South Korea added 0.7 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.3 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.3 percent. Shares fell in Taiwan but rose in Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

 

[bigdog]

https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2018-09-21/asian-stocks-follow-wall-street-higher

Dow Hits Another All-Time High on Mixed Day for US Stocks
Wall Street capped a milestone-setting week Friday with a mixed finish for the major U.S. stock indexes and the second all-time high in two days for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Wall Street capped a milestone-setting week Friday with a mixed finish for the major U.S. stock indexes and the second all-time high in two days for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

An afternoon sell-off erased modest gains for the S&P 500 that had the benchmark index on track to eke out its own record high for much of the day.

Losses for technology companies and retailers, two of the market's hottest sectors this year, offset gains in energy and industrial stocks.

"When you have a big up week like we've had, we're at all-time highs, for people to take a little bit of risk off the table going into the weekend isn't a big surprise," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.

The S&P 500 index dropped 1.08 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,929.67, just under its latest all-time high set a day earlier. The Dow gained 86.52 points, or 0.3 percent, to 26,743.50, thanks largely to gains in Boeing and McDonald's.

The Nasdaq composite lost 41.28 points, or 0.5 percent, to 7,986.96. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave up 7.87 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,712.32.

The Dow and S&P 500 each ended the week with their 10th weekly gain in the past 12 weeks.

Coming off Thursday's record-setting rally, trading was listless for much of Friday. A couple of factors may have contributed to the market's late-afternoon pullback.

Friday was "quadruple witching" day, when options and futures contracts expire, which often results in heavy trading.

Also, next Monday the S&P 500 is changing the lineup of the 11 company sectors that make up the benchmark index. Technology giants Google and Facebook will join Netflix and 15 other companies in a new communications services sector.

The change forces exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, and other funds that track the S&P 500's sectors to make trades to reflect the new alignment of the index.

"There's probably some selling going on in ETFs and mutual funds right now and also probably on Monday," Frederick said.

Micron Technology was among the biggest decliners in the technology sector. The chipmaker said Friday its profits would be hurt by new tariffs on Chinese imports that go into effect next week. Shares in the company slid 2.9 percent to $44.74.

The trade dispute between the U.S. and China is set to escalate Monday. That's' when an additional 10 percent tax on $200 billion of Chinese imports kicks in. The tariffs will rise to 25 percent on Jan 1. Beijing has said it would retaliate by imposing tariffs of 5 or 10 percent on $60 billion of U.S. goods including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals.

Still, investors have been taking the potential negative impact of the trade dispute in stride this week, drawing comfort from the latest signs that the economy is on solid ground and driving the market higher.

"Finally, the market has shrugged off all the trade war fears," said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist at Voya Investment Management. "The robustness of the economy just won't be put down."

Other sectors fared better Friday. Several airlines notched gains, part of a broad pickup in industrial sector stocks. American Airlines Group climbed 4.1 percent to $43.60 after the company said it will raise fees for checked bags. The move came a day after Delta Air Lines announced its own plans to raise baggage fees. Delta shares added 2.5 percent to $59.61. Southwest Airlines rose 2 percent to $63.77.

Mazor Robotics surged 10.2 percent to $58.15 after the surgical guidance system maker agreed to be bought by Medtronic for $1.54 billion.

Benchmark U.S. crude gained 0.7 percent to settle at $70.78 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 0.1 percent to close at $78.80 a barrel in London.

The rise in crude oil prices sent many energy stocks higher. Cimarex Energy rose 2.1 percent to $92.34.

Shares in Duke Energy slid 1 percent to $79.82 after floodwaters inundated lake a large lake near a retired coal-fired power plant, raising concerns of a potential breach.

Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 3.07 percent.

The dollar rose to 112.52 yen from Thursday's 112.48 yen. The euro edged down to $1.1747 from $1.1776. The British pound weakened to $1.3078 from $1.3268 after British Prime Minister Theresa May said talks over exiting the European Union are at an impasse.

Gold fell 0.8 percent to $1,201.30 an ounce. Silver gained 0.4 percent to $14.36 an ounce. Copper surged 4.3 percent to $2.86 a pound.

In other energy trading, heating oil gave up 0.1 percent to $2.23 a gallon, wholesale gasoline added 0.1 percent to $2.02 a gallon and natural gas was little changed at $2.98 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Major stock indexes in Europe posted solid gains Friday. Germany's DAX added 0.8 percent, while France's CAC 40 rose 0.8 percent. London's FTSE 100 index climbed 1.7 percent.

In Asia, markets closed mostly higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.7 percent and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.8 percent. Seoul's Kospi added 0.7 percent. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 picked up 0.4 percent.

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