NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:

sptrawler · 16 October 2018

Triple B said:
Can someone give me an idea why volatility is less after this sell off compared to the last one??
More confidence this time perhaps?View attachment 89764

Not that I know anything about this charting stuff, but from your chart, it looks as though the correction has taken it back to the longer term trend.
The confidence is probably due to the fact, the Fed is actually ramping up interest rates quite quickly which would indicate a strong underlying economy, which should translate into increased earnings. So I suppose there is an underlying fOMO, if people get out of the market, they may fear they are missing a long term bull run?
Who knows, when has the market ever been driven by common sense, over emotion.

bigdog · 17 October 2018

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-up-on-hopes-that-us-china-will-solve-dispute

Stocks Surge, Recovering Some Recent Losses; Dow Climbs 547
US stocks make their second-biggest gain this year as strong earnings and economic data help the market claw back some of its recent losses.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rocketed to their biggest gain in six months Tuesday following strong earnings from major financial and health care companies as well as encouraging reports on the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 547 points.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth led a parade of companies that reported profits for the third quarter that surpassed analysts' expectations. Technology companies also jumped after taking steep losses during the market's rout last week.

The S&P 500 index jumped 59.13 points, or 2.1 percent, its largest gain since March 26, and finished at 2,809.92. Stocks have bounced around over the last three days, and the S&P 500 is down 4.1 from its record high on Sept. 20. The Dow gained 547.87 points, or 2.2 percent, to 25,798.42.

The Nasdaq composite climbed 214.75 points, or 2.9 percent, to 7,645.49 as technology companies reversed some of their outsize losses from the last few days. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks had its biggest rally in almost two years as it surged 43.74 points, or 2.8 percent, to 1,596.84.

Even with the big gains, major indexes are still broadly lower for the month following a two-day rout last week that erased nearly 1,400 points from the Dow.

Investors were encouraged by some good news on the economy. The Federal Reserve said output by U.S. factories, mines and utilities climbed in September despite the effects of Hurricane Florence, and the Labor Department said U.S. employers posted the most jobs in two decades in August while hiring continued to increase.

Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist for the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said stocks jumped because the industrial production report suggests inflation isn't speeding up, and that investors took that as a sign the Fed won't accelerate the pace of its interest rate increases.

"Anything that helps the market think that the Fed won't make a mistake is good," Wren said.

Netflix soared 12 percent to $387 in aftermarket trading after reporting surprisingly strong subscriber growth during the summer. That was a welcome change from the big losses it took after its second-quarter report, when it posted disappointing subscriber totals and gave a weak forecast. Netflix is up 80.5 percent this year, the fourth-best of any S&P 500 stock.

UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. health insurer and provider of privately-run Medicare Advantage plans, once again topped Wall Street forecasts and raised its projections for the year. The stock climbed 4.7 percent to $272.57. That suggests other health insurers are likely to report strong results in the next few weeks. Cigna advanced 3.9 percent to $211.96.

Health care products giant Johnson & Johnson added 1.9 percent to $136.56 after it said prescription sales jumped.

Morgan Stanley rose 5.7 percent to $45.94 and Goldman Sachs added 3 percent to $221.70 after the two investment banks did better than expected in the third quarter, helped by strong performance in their trading operations and better-than-expected revenue from stock underwriting. Morgan Stanley's stock has fallen 12 percent this year and Goldman has lost 13 percent.

Technology companies rose. Microsoft jumped 3.2 percent to $110.65 and Adobe rallied 9.5 percent to $260.67 after it backed its fourth-quarter profit and revenue forecasts. The stock has jumped 49 percent this year, but had slumped in recent days. Internet companies also advanced. Alphabet, Google's parent company, rose 2.8 percent to $1,133.08.

On Wednesday Canada will legalize marijuana nationwide. While cannabis companies mostly traded lower Tuesday, the stocks have made huge gains this year in highly volatile trading. Tilray fell 4.4 percent to $158.38 while Canopy Growth shed 6.8 percent to $53.01.

Benchmark Capital analyst Mike Hickey started coverage of Tilray with a $200 price target Tuesday, saying its supply deals with pharmacies and a partnership with drugmaker Novartis will help make it an early leader in the market. Hickey valued the Canadian cannabis market at about $3.2 billion in 2019 and said it will climb to $8.1 billion by 2023.

Tilray's market value stands at almost $15 billion, up ninefold since it went public in mid-July. Canopy Growth, which recently announced a big investment from Corona beer maker Constellation Brands, has more than doubled in value to $12.2 billion.

The huge gains reflect investors' view that that other countries will legalize marijuana in the years to come.

U.S. benchmark crude oil added 0.2 percent to $71.92 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.8 percent to $81.41 per barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline rose 1.7 percent to $1.98 a gallon and heating oil picked up 0.6 percent to $2.34 a gallon. Natural gas lost 0.1 percent to $3.24 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Bond prices edged lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.17 percent from 3.16 percent.

Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,231 an ounce. Silver lost 0.2 percent to $14.70 an ounce. Copper slipped 0.3 percent to $2.78 a pound.

The dollar rose to 112.18 yen from 111.88 yen. The euro fell to $1.1578 from $1.1584.

France's CAC 40 added 1.5 percent while the DAX in Germany jumped 1.4 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent. Italy's FTSE MIB jumped 2.2 percent after the government avoided last-minute delays in presenting a budget plan.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rallied 1.2 percent and the Kospi in South Korea was little changed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished 0.1 percent higher.

bigdog · 18 October 2018

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...es-climb-on-strong-us-corporate-earnings-data

Stocks Erase Most of Early Losses After Huge Gain; IBM Sinks
US stocks mostly recover from some early losses as banks rise, but technology companies, retailers and homebuilders finish with losses.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — After an early slide, U.S. stocks clawed back much of the ground they lost and ended slightly lower Wednesday. Banks climbed but retailers, homebuilders and smaller companies fell.

Stocks slumped in morning trading as homebuilders and retailers took sharp losses after the Commerce Department said construction of new homes dropped in September. Technology companies fell as IBM suffered its biggest loss in five and a half years after it reported weak sales. Stocks were coming off their biggest gain in more than six months.

Bond prices fell, sending yields higher, after the Federal Reserve said some of its policymakers argued in their latest meeting that the central bank should raise rates to a level that slows economic growth slightly. After years of record low rates following the financial crisis, the fact that some policymakers are talking about eventually using them to slow the economy is a big change.

Jeremy Zirin, head of investment strategy for UBS' global wealth management business, said the Fed won't raise rates to those levels unless there is clear evidence inflation has increased. But he said it makes sense for investors to be wary.

"Overly restrictive monetary policy is a risk to the bull market," he said. "It would be a mistake for (the Fed) to raise rates in the absence of inflation beyond their target, and it's exceedingly unlikely to do so."

The S&P 500 index fell 0.71 points to 2,809.21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 91.74 points, or 0.4 percent, to 25,706.68. It lost as much as 319 points Wednesday morning before briefly turning higher.

The Nasdaq composite slid 2.79 points to 7,642.70. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks skidded 7.23 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,589.60.

Stock trading has been erratic recently. Earlier this month the benchmark S&P 500 index went through a six-day losing streak that included huge drops last Wednesday and Thursday. Then on Friday the S&P 500 jumped 1.4 percent, its biggest rally in three months, fell on Monday, and surged 2.1 percent Tuesday. Trading had been steady from late June to early October.

The Federal Reserve released minutes from its meeting in late September, when it raised interest rates for the third time this year. A few participants believed that the Fed's key interest rate would eventually need to "become modestly restrictive" to make sure inflation doesn't climb too high. Other officials felt the Fed shouldn't take that step unless there are signs the economy is overheating and inflation is rising quickly.

Bond prices sank. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.19 percent from 3.15 percent.

U.S. home construction fell 5.3 percent in September, according to the Commerce Department. The pace of homebuilding has slowed since May, and the report is the latest sign that the combination of rising home values and increasing mortgage rates may be weighing on the market.

Lennar gave up 2.3 percent to $43.08 and PulteGroup shed 3.4 percent to $22.82. Among retailers, Home Depot fell 4.3 percent to $185.17 while Target lost 1.6 percent to $84.42 and Macy's dipped 5 percent to $31.84.

Some investors worried that a weaker housing market is a bad sign for the economy. Zirin, of UBS, said the housing market should keep getting stronger as long as employment is high and wages are rising, but investors aren't sure what is ahead for the economy or stocks.

"When you get into the latter stages of a bull market or the economic expansion, investors get more nervous about the latter stages turning into the end of the cycle," he said. "They start looking for any signals that would lead them to believe that a downturn is imminent."

Insurer Prudential rose 1.9 percent to $99.70 after regulators lifted the strict government oversight that was imposed on the company after the 2008-09 financial crisis. Prudential was deemed "systemically important," which meant it was subject to special restrictions because of its importance to the financial system. It was the last company still carrying that label.

IBM sank 7.6 percent to $134.05 after its sales in the third quarter fell short of analysts' estimates.

The price of U.S. crude oil dropped 3 percent to $69.75 a barrel in New York, its first close below $70 a barrel in a month, after the U.S. government said energy stockpiles jumped last week. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.7 percent to $80.05 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline lost 3 percent to $1.92 a gallon and heating oil fell 1.2 percent to $2.31 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 2.5 percent to $3.32 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Netflix added 5.3 percent to $364.70 after the streaming video company said it picked up 7 million subscribers in the third quarter, a total that was above Netflix's own projections as well as analyst forecasts.

The stock set a record high in early July, but a week later, Netflix announced disappointing subscriber totals and gave a weak forecast and its stock tumbled. It is still about 13 percent from its highest price.

The dollar rose to 112.49 yen from 112.18 yen. The euro fell to $1.1507 from $1.1578.

Gold slipped 0.3 percent to $1,227.40 an ounce. Silver lost 0.3 percent to $14.66 an ounce. Copper fell 0.1 percent to $2.78 a pound.

Germany's DAX and the French CAC 40 both fell 0.5 percent. In Britain, the FTSE slipped 0.1 percent.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.3 percent and the Kospi in South Korea advanced 1 percent. Markets in Hong Kong were closed for a holiday.

bigdog · 19 October 2018

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ag-after-retreat-on-wall-st-weaker-japan-data

Stocks Sink on Weak Industrial Earnings; Tech Skid Resumes
U.S. stocks slumped again Thursday as investors continued to sell shares of technology and internet companies, industrials, and companies that rely on consumer spending.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks slumped again Thursday as investors continued to sell shares of technology and internet companies, industrials, and companies that rely on consumer spending.

Several industrial companies tumbled after releasing weak quarterly reports, and European stocks also fell as European Union leaders criticized Italy's spending plans.

At the start of trading, stocks took small losses as bond prices fell and interest rates spiked. While the gain in interest rates didn't last, stocks turned lower late in the morning, and by the end of the day they had wiped away most of their big rally from Tuesday.

Stocks have skidded over the last two weeks, and there are signs investors are worried about future economic growth. The S&P 500 has fallen 5.5 percent in volatile trading since Oct. 3, and technology, industrial and energy companies have taken some of the biggest losses. Those companies tend to do better when the economy is growing more quickly and consumers and businesses have more money to spend.

"If uncertainty starts to creep in around trade or growth, that could be a risk to the recovery in ... corporate spending," said Jill Carey Hall, senior U.S. equity strategist for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She said investors will monitor company reports over the next few weeks to learn about their business forecasts and plans.

European leaders expressed concern about the Italian government's proposal to increase spending and widen its budget deficit. European Union budget chief Pierre Moscovici told Italy's economic minister that the new government's plans make it unlikely that Italy will be able to reduce its public debt to levels agreed upon by EU countries.

The S&P 500 index shed 40.43 points, or 1.4 percent, to 2,768.78. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 327.23 points, or 1.3 percent, to 25,379.45. It was down as much as 470 earlier.

The Nasdaq composite sank 157.56 points, or 2.1 percent, to 7,485.14. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks declined 28.85 points, or 1.8 percent, to 1,560.75.

Among industrial companies, aircraft maker Textron slid 11.3 percent to $57.49 after its profit and sales fell far short of analyst forecasts. The company said its aerospace and defense business and its industrial business both weakened. Tool and diagnostic equipment company Snap-on lost 9.6 percent to $151.47 after it posted lower revenue than analysts expected.

Industrial and basic materials companies have taken bigger losses than any other part of the market over the last month, and one reason is that investors feel they are especially vulnerable in the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China. They're already dealing with tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, which have increased their costs and can also hurt sales, and if the global economy slows, then manufacturing and construction could slow down, too.

Amazon pulled retailers lower as it lost 3.3 percent to $1,770.72. Video game maker Activision Blizzard lost 8.3 percent to $71.81 after it announced early sales numbers from "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4," and Apple fell 2.3 percent to $216.02.

Those are some of the sectors that have fared the worst recently. The stocks that have held up the best include utility and household products companies. They don't depend as much on economic growth, as consumers are likely to use about the same amount of electricity and buy the same amount of toilet paper or cereal regardless of the state of the economy.

The recent gains for those stocks is notable because the market's slump began when interest rates started rising quickly. Defensive stocks often struggle when interest rates are rising. The companies are known for paying big dividends, similar to bonds, so when rates rise, investors often sell those stocks and buy bonds instead.

Carey Hall said that if the economy keeps growing and interest rates rise, investors might not want to choose between growth-oriented stocks or defensive ones. She said companies in the middle might do best, including some industrials, banks and older technology companies. Those companies could perform still benefit if the economy keeps growing, but they also have enough financial flexibility to raise their dividends to outpace rising interest rates.

Bond prices ended slightly lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note 3.18 percent from 3.17 percent.

In Europe, Italy's FTSE MIB dropped 1.9 percent and Italian government bond prices dropped again, sending yields to their highest levels since February of 2014. Germany's DAX dipped 1.1 percent. The French CAC 40 lost 0.5 percent and the FTSE 100 in Britain slipped 0.4 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index sank 0.8 percent and the Kospi in South Korea lost 0.9 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was little changed, and remained near its lowest level since May 2017.

The price of U.S. crude oil lost 1.6 percent to $68.65 per barrel in New York, its lowest in a month. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 0.9 percent to $79.29 per barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline fell 1.4 percent to $1.89 a gallon. Heating oil slid 0.7 percent to $2.29 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 3.7 percent to $3.20 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,230.10 an ounce. Silver fell 0.4 percent to $14.60 an ounce. Copper lost 1.1 percent to $2.75 a pound.

The dollar dipped to 112.20 yen from 112.49 yen. The euro fell to $1.1465 from $1.1507.

bigdog · 20 October 2018

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...cks-mixed-after-wall-street-skids-china-slows

US Stocks Wobble at the End of Another Shaky Week of Trading
US stocks give up an early gain and finish mixed as consumer goods maker Procter & Gamble surged, but health care stocks and smaller companies fell.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks gave up an early rally Friday and struggled to another mixed finish as investors continued sell former favorites like retailers. Household goods makers rose again as a week of choppy trading concluded.

Stocks surged in early trading after better-than-expected reports from companies including Procter & Gamble, American Express and PayPal. Procter & Gamble, the world's largest consumer products maker, had its biggest rally in 10 years. But the gains for indexes faded after a report showed U.S. home sales fell for the sixth month in a row. That hurt smaller and more U.S.-focused companies.

The market settled back into its usual pattern from the last two weeks, as companies that depend on economic growth struggled and those with more "defensive" qualities such as high dividends did better, a sign investors are worried about a few threats to growth: rising interest rates, trade tensions between the U.S. and China, and this week, some sluggish reports about housing construction and sales.

"We don't see too many other yellow or red flags right now, but (housing is) certainly one of them," said Mona Mahajan, U.S. investment strategist for Allianz Global Investors. Mahajan said that company earnings aren't doing much for the stock market right now because investors know the next two quarters should be strong, and they're concerned that growth in 2019 will be worse than expected.

The S&P 500 index lost 1 point to 2,767.78. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up most of an early gain. It jumped as much as 229 points early on but finished 64.89 points higher, or 0.3 percent, at 25,444.34.

Tuesday was the best gain in six months for U.S. stocks, but the S&P 500 fell every other day this week and ended the week up just 0.02 percent. That was good enough to end a three-week run of losses, but most of the market's recent gains have been swiftly followed by declines as trading turned choppy in the last two weeks.

The S&P 500 hasn't risen two days in a row since Sept. 20. That was the last day of a three-day string of gains and also the benchmark index's most recent record high. It's down 5.6 percent since then.

The Nasdaq composite sagged 36.11 points, or 0.5 percent, to 7,449.03. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lost 18.71 points, or 1.2 percent, to 1,542.04. The Russell 2000 is at its lowest in almost six months as investors worry that the U.S. economy could slow and interest rates could rise, a bigger challenge for smaller companies.

Procter & Gamble, which makes Tide, Pampers and Gillette razors, soared 8.8 percent to $87.30 after reporting that sales of fabric and home care products rose in its latest quarter while beauty products revenue jumped 20 percent.

Other household goods companies also rose. Pepsi gained 2.2 percent to $110.29 and Coca-Cola added 1.6 percent to $46.33. Electric utility Duke Energy rose 1.8 percent to $82.75.

Aerospace and building components maker Honeywell lagged the rest of the market. It posted a bigger profit than analysts expected, but it also said it is seeing more signs of inflation in its business as a result of the tariffs the U.S. and China have placed on imported goods. Honeywell slid 1.1 percent to $153.47. Industrial companies have skidded recently as investors worried about the results of those trade tensions.

Bond prices slipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.19 percent from 3.17 percent.

China said economic growth sank to a post-financial crisis low of 6.5 percent in the third quarter. Chinese finance officials launched a media blitz to shore up confidence in the country's sagging stock market. China's economy has gradually slowed for years, even before a trade dispute between Beijing and U.S. President Donald Trump led to higher tariffs. The Chinese government tightened controls on lending last year to rein in a debt boom, but that, too, has affected the economy.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.4 percent Seoul's Kospi added 0.4 percent. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 shed 0.6 percent.

Germany's DAX lost 0.3 percent and France's CAC 40 sank 0.6 percent. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.3 percent and the FTSE MIB was little changed. Tensions between European Union officials and Italy's new government sent Italian stocks and government bond prices lower Thursday. Italian bond prices turned higher Friday and yields slipped.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.7 percent to $69.12 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 0.6 percent to $79.78 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline rose 1.2 percent to $1.91 a gallon. Heating oil inched up 0.3 percent to $2.30 a gallon. Natural gas added 1.6 percent to $3.25 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold dipped 0.1 percent to $1,228.70 an ounce. Silver rose 0.3 percent to $14.65 an ounce. Copper gained 1.1 percent to $2.78 a pound.

The dollar rose to 112.60 yen from 112.20 yen. The euro rose to $1.1510 from $1.1465.

4290

bigdog · 23 October 2018

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...s-gain-after-chinese-assurances-over-slowdown

Banks Lead US Stock Slide, Extending Market's Losing Streak
Banks led a broad slide in U.S. stocks Monday as an early rally faded, giving the market its fourth-straight loss.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Banks led a broad slide in U.S. stocks Monday as an early rally faded, giving the benchmark S&P 500 index its fourth straight loss.

Health care and energy stocks also helped pull the market lower, outweighing gains by technology and consumer-focused stocks. Crude oil prices eked out a small gain after spending most of the day in the red.

The latest losses came as traders geared up for a busy week of company earnings reports that should help answer how Corporate America is coping with rising interest rates, inflation and the impact of global trade disputes.

"The earnings results have the potential to stabilize the market, but what investors are really keen on hearing from companies is what the sustainability of the earnings outlook is, especially in light of the concerns of the potential impact from tariffs," said Laura Kane, head of Investment Themes Americas at UBS Wealth Management Research.

The S&P 500 fell 11.90 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,755.88. The index is on course for its worst month in more than three years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 126.93 points, or 0.5 percent, to 25,317.41. The tech-heavy Nasdaq recovered from an early tumble, gaining 19.60 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,468.63.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 2.54 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,539.50. That's the lowest close for the index since April. It's now up just 0.3 percent for the year.

Decliners outnumbered gainers on the New York Stock Exchange.

Major U.S. stock indexes initially headed higher early Monday, riding a strong wave of buying in Chinese markets as traders brushed off potential concerns about slower growth in the world's second-biggest economy and a downgrade in Italy's credit rating.

That early rally vanished after a few minutes, however, as trading turned volatile. At its extremes, the Dow swung from a gain of more than 100 points to a loss of more than 200.

"In this pullback, the defensive sectors have held in there better than these more cyclical sectors," said Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

Investors have been worried in recent weeks about potential threats to corporate growth, including rising interest rates, trade tensions between the U.S. and China, and some sluggish reports about housing construction and sales.

This week marks the busiest stretch of the quarterly earnings calendar as many big-name companies report their latest results, including Caterpillar, Amazon and Google's parent company, Alphabet.

Nearly 17 percent of companies in the S&P 500 had served up third-quarter results as of Monday. Of those, 54 percent delivered earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street's forecasts, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Financial and industrial companies account for most of the S&P 500 companies that have reported results so far this earnings season.

Investors are most focused on what companies have to say about what impact, if any, the U.S.-China trade dispute, a stronger dollar and rising interest rates, which can drive up the cost of borrowing and carrying debt, are likely to have in 2019.

"Everybody's trying to get a fix on what 2019 earnings are going to be, because they're sure as heck not going to be what earnings growth was this year, and we all know that," Wren said. "You're not going to have a big tax-induced sugar high like you're having this year."

So far, most companies have said that they expect minimal impact from the hundreds of billions in tariffs that the U.S. and China have imposed or on each other, "though some have taken a more negative tone about what lies ahead," according to a research note published Monday by RBC Capital Markets.

The key concerns cited by companies that issued quarterly results so far this earnings season are higher labor costs, and the price of commodities, transportation and shipping, among others.

Banks and other financial companies took the heaviest losses Monday. Synchrony Financial fell 6 percent to $29.47.

Energy stocks also fell as the price of crude oil spent most of the day lower. Newfield Exploration fell 3 percent to $22.91.

After a sluggish start, technology stocks rebounded in morning trading. Advanced Micro Devices climbed 5.8 percent to $25.03.

Hasbro slid 3.1 percent to $95.01 after the toy maker reported disappointing third-quarter results, partly due to lost sales following the demise of Toys R Us. Hasbro also said it will cut jobs as it deals with the effects of Toys R Us bankruptcy. Rival Mattel also declined, shedding 0.8 percent to $14.10.

Traders hammered Bristol-Myers Squibb after the drugmaker said regulators want three more months to review data from a potential lung cancer treatment regimen. The stock skidded 6.3 percent to $50.88.

Bond prices didn't move much. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 3.19 percent.

Benchmark U.S. crude recovered from an early skid. It gained 0.1 percent to settle at $69.17 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 0.1 percent to close at $79.83 per barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline fell 0.4 percent to $1.91 a gallon. Heating oil rose 0.7 percent to $2.32 a gallon. Natural gas slid 3.4 percent to $3.14 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold dipped 0.3 percent to $1,224.60 an ounce. Silver fell 0.4 percent to $14.59 an ounce. Copper gained 0.3 percent to $2.79 a pound.

The dollar strengthened to 112.82 yen from 112.60 yen on Friday. The euro fell to $1.1466 from $1.1510.

Major stock indexes in Europe also gave up early gains Monday. Germany's DAX slipped 0.3 percent and France's CAC-40 lost 0.6 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.1 percent.

In Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong surged 2.3 percent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index reversed early losses, gaining 0.4 percent. The Kospi in South Korea added 0.3 percent. Australia's S&P-ASX 200 countered the trend, shedding 0.6 percent. Shares rose in Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia, but fell in Thailand.

bigdog · 24 October 2018

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/9f64424...f75c26a/ss_stocks-mostly-recover-from-an.html

Stocks mostly recover from an early plunge on Wall Street

ALEX VEIGA
Associated Press October 24, 2018

A turbulent day on Wall Street ended Tuesday with stocks climbing nearly all the way out of a steep, broad sell-off that at one point erased more than 500 points from the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Even with the late-afternoon rebound, stocks extended the market's recent string of declines, giving the benchmark S&P 500 index its fifth-straight loss. Bond prices rose, sending yields lower, as investors sought out safer investments.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index sank 3.1 percent. European markets also closed sharply lower.

The latest selling came as investors grew unsettled over slowing economic growth in China and increased signs that President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies are beginning to weigh on corporate earnings. Caterpillar and 3M slumped Tuesday after the companies warned of rising costs related to tariffs.

"That's the story, it's not the current quarter results, but the commentary going forward, the impact of tariffs and what that means in terms of costs," said Willie Delwiche, an investment strategist at Baird. "If tariffs didn't come up in earnings calls and commentary, then maybe you could say we were moving away from that, but the opposite is happening."

The S&P 500 fell 15.19 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,740.69. The Dow lost 125.98 points, or 0.5 percent, to 25,191.43. The average had been down more than 540 points.

The Nasdaq slid 31.09 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,437.54. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 12.91 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,526.59. The index is now down for the year.

Markets have been rattled in recent weeks by increased worries over the impact that rising interest rates, inflation and the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China may have on Corporate America.

Trump has imposed tariffs on about $250 billion in Chinese imports, and Beijing has retaliated by targeting $110 billion in American products. Trump has threatened to tax another $267 billion in Chinese products, a move that would cover virtually everything China ships to America.

The two countries are locked in a dispute over U.S. allegations that China steals U.S. technology and forces U.S. companies to share trade secrets in exchange for access to the Chinese market.

Recent data show China's economic engine is growing more slowly. From July to September, it grew 6.5 percent, the slowest pace since early 2009. The world's second-largest economy was cooling even before the outbreak of a tariff war with Washington. That contrasts with the momentum of the U.S. economy. The government is expected to say Friday that the U.S. economy grew by 3.3 percent in the third quarter, after growing by 4.2 percent in the second quarter.

The strong U.S. economy has helped power earnings growth for companies in the S&P 500. While those companies are expected to deliver 21.9 percent earnings growth for the third quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, investors are concerned about future growth amid rising inflation, interest rates and uncertainty over trade.

Caterpillar skidded 7.6 percent to $118.98 after the heavy equipment manufacturer warned that Trump's taxes on imported steel were driving up production costs.

3M fell 4.4 percent to $192.55 after its earnings missed Wall Street's targets. The industrial manufacturer said it expects raw material prices to continue climbing, and for tariffs to have a roughly $100 million negative impact on the company's sourcing costs next year.

Caterpillar and 3M were, by far, the biggest decliners in the 30-company Dow average.

Losses in banks, energy and technology companies outweighed gains by internet and consumer-goods stocks. A sharp sell-off in Chinese and other global markets set the stage for the volatile day on Wall Street.

Bond prices rose, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note down to 3.17 percent from 3.19 percent late Monday.

Computer-driven trading, which uses algorithms to guide buying and selling, likely drove the gradual, partial rebound toward the end of the day, said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

"On the downside and the upside the algorithms are going to kick in and they really push the market in one direction or another," Krosby said.

A big drop in oil prices weighed on energy stocks Tuesday. Marathon Oil dropped 4.8 percent to $19.48.

Truck maker Paccar fell 5.1 percent to $57.40, while engine manufacturer Cummins slid 3.8 percent to $134.64.

Communications stocks were among the biggest gainers. Verizon Communications climbed 4.1 percent to $57.21

Traders also bid up shares in McDonald's after the fast-food chain reported third-quarter results that topped analysts' forecasts. The stock gained 6.3 percent to $177.15.

Close to 17 percent of companies on the broad S&P 500 index have reported earnings for the third quarter, and over half of them did better than expected.

"They're coming in ahead of expectations, generally, but the degree to which they're beating expectations is less than what it has been in previous quarters," Delwiche said. "That's why there's some concern there."

Tesla was among the big gainers Tuesday. The stock vaulted 12.7 percent to $294.14 after Citron Research, a company that for years had bet against the stock, reversed its position and put out a note saying it would be a long-term investor in the electric car and solar panel company.

U.S. crude fell 4.2 percent to settle at $66.43 per barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 4.2 percent to close at $76.44 per barrel. Heating oil slid 3 percent to $2.25 a gallon. Wholesale gasoline lost 3.7 percent to $1.84 a gallon. Natural gas gained 2.4 percent to $3.21 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The dollar weakened to 112.47 yen from 112.82 yen on Monday. The euro rose to $1.1467 from $1.1466.

Gold rose 1 percent to $1,236.80 an ounce. Silver gained 1.4 percent to $14.79 an ounce. Copper dropped 1 percent to $2.76 a pound.

In Europe, the focus was on Italy's dispute with the European Union over its plan to ramp up public spending. The European Union has rejected Italy's budget, a first for an EU member.

Germany's DAX slid 2.2 percent and France's CAC 40 fell 1.7 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 1.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 2.7 percent and the Kospi in South Korea tumbled 2.6 percent.

Skate · 24 October 2018

bigdog said:
View attachment 89963

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/9f64424...f75c26a/ss_stocks-mostly-recover-from-an.html

Stocks mostly recover from an early plunge on Wall Street

ALEX VEIGA
Associated Press October 24, 2018

A turbulent day on Wall Street ended Tuesday with stocks climbing nearly all the way out of a steep, broad sell-off that at one point erased more than 500 points from the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Even with the late-afternoon rebound, stocks extended the market's recent string of declines, giving the benchmark S&P 500 index its fifth-straight loss. Bond prices rose, sending yields lower, as investors sought out safer investments.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index sank 3.1 percent. European markets also closed sharply lower.

The latest selling came as investors grew unsettled over slowing economic growth in China and increased signs that President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies are beginning to weigh on corporate earnings. Caterpillar and 3M slumped Tuesday after the companies warned of rising costs related to tariffs.

"That's the story, it's not the current quarter results, but the commentary going forward, the impact of tariffs and what that means in terms of costs," said Willie Delwiche, an investment strategist at Baird. "If tariffs didn't come up in earnings calls and commentary, then maybe you could say we were moving away from that, but the opposite is happening."

The S&P 500 fell 15.19 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,740.69. The Dow lost 125.98 points, or 0.5 percent, to 25,191.43. The average had been down more than 540 points.

The Nasdaq slid 31.09 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,437.54. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 12.91 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,526.59. The index is now down for the year.

Markets have been rattled in recent weeks by increased worries over the impact that rising interest rates, inflation and the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China may have on Corporate America.

Trump has imposed tariffs on about $250 billion in Chinese imports, and Beijing has retaliated by targeting $110 billion in American products. Trump has threatened to tax another $267 billion in Chinese products, a move that would cover virtually everything China ships to America.

The two countries are locked in a dispute over U.S. allegations that China steals U.S. technology and forces U.S. companies to share trade secrets in exchange for access to the Chinese market.

Recent data show China's economic engine is growing more slowly. From July to September, it grew 6.5 percent, the slowest pace since early 2009. The world's second-largest economy was cooling even before the outbreak of a tariff war with Washington. That contrasts with the momentum of the U.S. economy. The government is expected to say Friday that the U.S. economy grew by 3.3 percent in the third quarter, after growing by 4.2 percent in the second quarter.

The strong U.S. economy has helped power earnings growth for companies in the S&P 500. While those companies are expected to deliver 21.9 percent earnings growth for the third quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, investors are concerned about future growth amid rising inflation, interest rates and uncertainty over trade.

Caterpillar skidded 7.6 percent to $118.98 after the heavy equipment manufacturer warned that Trump's taxes on imported steel were driving up production costs.

3M fell 4.4 percent to $192.55 after its earnings missed Wall Street's targets. The industrial manufacturer said it expects raw material prices to continue climbing, and for tariffs to have a roughly $100 million negative impact on the company's sourcing costs next year.

Caterpillar and 3M were, by far, the biggest decliners in the 30-company Dow average.

Losses in banks, energy and technology companies outweighed gains by internet and consumer-goods stocks. A sharp sell-off in Chinese and other global markets set the stage for the volatile day on Wall Street.

Bond prices rose, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note down to 3.17 percent from 3.19 percent late Monday.

Computer-driven trading, which uses algorithms to guide buying and selling, likely drove the gradual, partial rebound toward the end of the day, said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

"On the downside and the upside the algorithms are going to kick in and they really push the market in one direction or another," Krosby said.

A big drop in oil prices weighed on energy stocks Tuesday. Marathon Oil dropped 4.8 percent to $19.48.

Truck maker Paccar fell 5.1 percent to $57.40, while engine manufacturer Cummins slid 3.8 percent to $134.64.

Communications stocks were among the biggest gainers. Verizon Communications climbed 4.1 percent to $57.21

Traders also bid up shares in McDonald's after the fast-food chain reported third-quarter results that topped analysts' forecasts. The stock gained 6.3 percent to $177.15.

Close to 17 percent of companies on the broad S&P 500 index have reported earnings for the third quarter, and over half of them did better than expected.

"They're coming in ahead of expectations, generally, but the degree to which they're beating expectations is less than what it has been in previous quarters," Delwiche said. "That's why there's some concern there."

Tesla was among the big gainers Tuesday. The stock vaulted 12.7 percent to $294.14 after Citron Research, a company that for years had bet against the stock, reversed its position and put out a note saying it would be a long-term investor in the electric car and solar panel company.

U.S. crude fell 4.2 percent to settle at $66.43 per barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 4.2 percent to close at $76.44 per barrel. Heating oil slid 3 percent to $2.25 a gallon. Wholesale gasoline lost 3.7 percent to $1.84 a gallon. Natural gas gained 2.4 percent to $3.21 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The dollar weakened to 112.47 yen from 112.82 yen on Monday. The euro rose to $1.1467 from $1.1466.

Gold rose 1 percent to $1,236.80 an ounce. Silver gained 1.4 percent to $14.79 an ounce. Copper dropped 1 percent to $2.76 a pound.

In Europe, the focus was on Italy's dispute with the European Union over its plan to ramp up public spending. The European Union has rejected Italy's budget, a first for an EU member.

Germany's DAX slid 2.2 percent and France's CAC 40 fell 1.7 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 1.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 2.7 percent and the Kospi in South Korea tumbled 2.6 percent.

CONDENSED Takeaway

The latest selling came as investors grew unsettled over slowing economic growth in China and the impact that rising interest rates, inflation and the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China may have on Corporate America.

Also computer-driven trading, which uses algorithms to guide buying and selling push the market in one direction then another, on the downside and the upside the algorithms are going to keep kicking in.

Skate.

bigdog · 25 October 2018

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...es-mostly-higher-on-strong-japan-factory-data

Tech Companies Lead Another Steep Sell-Off in US Stocks
Another torrent of selling gripped Wall Street Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting more than 600 points and extending a losing streak for the benchmark S&P 500 index to a sixth day.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Another torrent of selling gripped Wall Street Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting more than 600 points and erasing its gains for the year.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite bore the brunt of the sell-off, leaving it more than 10 percent below its August peak, what Wall Street calls a "correction."

Technology stocks and media and communications companies accounted for much of the selling. AT&T sank after reporting weak subscriber numbers, and chipmaker Texas Instruments fell sharply after reporting slumping demand.

Banks, health care and industrial companies also took heavy losses, outweighing gains by utilities and other high-dividend stocks.

Disappointing quarterly results and outlooks continued to weigh on the market, stoking investors' jitters over future growth in corporate profits. Bond prices continued to rise, sending yields lower, as traders sought safe-haven investments.

"Investors are on pins and needles," said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank. "There has definitely been a change in sentiment for investors starting with the volatility we had last week. The sentiment and the outlook seems to be turning more negative, or at the very least, less rosy."

The S&P 500 lost 84.59 points, or 3.1 percent, to 2,656.10. The index is now off about 9.4 percent from its Sept. 20 peak.

The Dow tumbled 608.01 points, or 2.4 percent, to 24,583.42. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 329.14 points, or 4.4 percent, to 7,108.40. That's the Nasdaq's biggest drop since August 2011, but it's still up 3 percent for the year.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 57.89 points, or 3.8 percent, to 1,468.70.

Bond prices rose, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note down to 3.11 percent from 3.16 percent late Tuesday. The slide in bond yields came as traders sought out lower-risk assets.

Investors have grown concerned in recent weeks about whether Corporate America's tax cut-fueled earnings growth this year will be arrested in coming months amid rising inflation, uncertainty over the escalating trade conflict between the U.S. and China and the likelihood of higher interest rates. Recent data showing the housing market is slowing have also fueled speculation that U.S. economic growth will start to slow next year.

The outlooks from some of the companies that reported third-quarter results this week, including Caterpillar, 3M and United Parcel Service, have stoked those worries.

"You've seen more discouraging (company) commentary this quarter than you have the last two," said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager with Globalt Investments. "You're really starting to get more of a groundswell of caution. There's some concern about the fourth quarter and what that's going to look like."

Shares in iRobot plunged 12.3 percent to $80.49 after the robotics technology company said tariffs will reduce its profitability in the fourth quarter.

Texas Instruments fell 8.2 percent to $92.01 after the chipmaker delivered quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street's forecasts, noting that demand across most markets is slowing.

United Parcel Service slid 5.5 percent to $107.93 after the shipping company reported weak international revenue, while the strong dollar and high fuel prices also hurt its results.

S&P 500 companies are expected to deliver 22 percent earnings growth for the third quarter, with every sector except communications services, which includes Walt Disney, AT&T, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet, expected to show earnings growth, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

About 24 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 had reported third-quarter results as of Wednesday. Of those, 57 percent delivered earnings and revenue results that topped Wall Street's forecasts.

High-flying companies like Netflix and Amazon took some of the biggest losses Wednesday. Netflix gave back 9.4 percent to $301.83 and Amazon dropped 5.9 percent to $1,664.20.

Apple slid 3.4 percent to $215.09, while Alphabet fell 5.2 percent to $1,057.12. Facebook gave up 5.4 percent to $146.04.

AT&T was among the big decliners in the media and communications sector, dropping 8.1 percent to $30.36 after the communication giant's latest quarterly results fell short of Wall Street's expectations.

The Commerce Department said sales of new U.S. homes plunged 5.5 percent in September, the fourth monthly drop. The report is the latest sign that the housing market is cooling amid rising mortgage rates. Several homebuilders declined following the release of the report. Beazer Homes USA slumped 8.4 percent to $8.44.

Boeing was one of the few gainers Wednesday. It rose 1.3 percent to $354.65 after the defense contractor's latest quarterly results topped analysts' forecasts. The company also raised its estimates for the year, citing faster orders for aircraft.

Benchmark U.S. crude edged up 0.6 percent to settle at $66.82 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, slid 0.4 percent to $76.17 a barrel in London.

Heating oil was little changed at $2.25 a gallon. Wholesale gasoline slipped 0.8 percent to $1.82 a gallon. Natural gas declined 1.4 percent to $3.17 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Energy stocks declined despite the modest pickup in U.S. oil prices. Valero Energy slid 5.4 percent to $86.69.

The dollar weakened to 112.44 yen from 112.47 yen on Tuesday. The euro fell to $1.1387 from $1.1467.

Gold fell 0.5 percent to $1,231.10 an ounce. Silver dropped 0.8 percent to $14.68 an ounce. Copper was little changed at $2.76 a pound.

Several global stock indexes also finished lower Wednesday. Germany's DAX fell 0.7 percent, while the CAC 40 in France lost 0.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 inched up 0.1 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.4 percent after a private survey pointed to a recovery in manufacturing in October. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.4 percent and the Kospi in South Korea gave up 0.4 percent.

SirRumpole · 25 October 2018

That Trump guy really is a genius isn't he ?

bigdog · 26 October 2018

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...hares-extend-losses-after-rout-on-wall-street

After Long Losing Streak, US Stocks Surge on Solid Earnings
Strong results from major companies including Microsoft, Visa and Comcast send U.S. stocks sharply higher Thursday.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Strong results from major companies including Microsoft and Visa helped U.S. stocks bust out of another losing streak Thursday. The rally wiped out part of the market's plunge from the day before, but stocks are still down sharply over the past three weeks.

Technology companies soared as Microsoft, Visa and Xilinx rallied after their quarterly reports, while Twitter and Comcast led the way for internet and media companies. Ford's results helped consumer-focused stocks.

Some encouraging economic news helped stabilize markets. The Commerce Department said orders to U.S. factories for major manufactured goods grew in September, and the increase was larger than analysts expected.

In Europe, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the region's economy is still growing at a solid clip even though there are signs it has weakened somewhat recently. But Asian markets took big losses, as the U.S. market did the day earlier.

The S&P 500 index jumped 49.47 points, or 1.9 percent, to 2,705.57. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 401.13 points, or 1.6 percent, to 24,984.55 after rising as much as 520 points during the day. The Nasdaq surged 209.93 points, or 3 percent, to 7,318.34 after its biggest drop in seven years.

The S&P 500 had index plunged 9.2 percent since Oct. 3 as investors worried about climbing interest rates and the effects of the U.S-China trade dispute. The Nasdaq plummeted 11.4 percent through Wednesday.

Investors are worried that rising interest rates and disputes with trading partners could hurt the economy. They will get more insight into how the U.S. is doing early Friday when the government reports on economic growth during the third quarter. Experts think the country's gross domestic product grew 3.3 percent from July to September, according to FactSet.

Microsoft surpassed analysts' forecasts in the first quarter as it mined new revenue sources in online subscriptions, gaming and its LinkedIn professional networking service. Shares of the tech giant jumped 5.8 percent to $108.30.

"It's certainly reassuring to see stocks bounce back today on stronger earnings, but I would expect that we continue to see a lot of day to day volatility," said Kate Warne, an investment strategist for Edward Jones.

Twitter soared 15.5 percent to $31.80 and electric car maker Tesla jumped 9.1 percent to $314.86 after their quarterly reports, while video game maker Take-Two vaulted 8.8 percent to $120.70 after strong reviews for its latest game, "Red Dead Redemption 2."

The S&P 500 suffered two separate six-day losing streaks this month and had fallen for 13 out of the past 15 days. That stretch also included a couple of big rallies, but the losses erased the benchmark index's gains from earlier in the year. After Thursday's gains, the Dow and S&P 500 are each up about 1 percent for the year.

Warne, of Edward Jones, said investors have been dumping shares of companies that reported weak results, while companies that surpassed expectations haven't been rewarded much. She expects that to change when the dust settles.

"When we get beyond earnings season and investors are wondering what now can drive the market higher or lower, knowing that we had a strong earnings season and companies did not lower their guidance very much will provide some support for stocks," she said.

Earnings for S&P 500 companies grew about 20 percent in the first and second quarters, and experts expect similar results for the third quarter.

On Thursday the stock market looked the way it has looked for most of this year: high-tech and consumer-focused companies lead the way while steadier, defensive stocks that pay big dividends weren't doing much, or lost ground. But huge companies like Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon.

While all three rallied Thursday following Microsoft's earnings, investors didn't like what they heard from Amazon and Alphabet, which reported earnings after the close of trading. The internet retailer dropped 4.8 percent in aftermarket trading while Google's parent company lost 3.2 percent.

Smaller, more U.S.-focused companies have also been sinking as Wall Street worries about future growth in the U.S. economy, which is tightly connected to their profits, as well as the possibility that rising interest rates will make it tougher for them to pay back their debts.

The Russell 2000 index gained 31.70 points, or 2.2 percent, to 1,500.40. It's fallen 13.8 percent since the end of August and is down 2.3 percent so far this year.

The French CAC 40 jumped 1.6 percent and Germany's DAX added 1 percent. The British FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent, although WPP, the world's largest advertising company, said its business slowed in the third quarter and warned about weaker annual earnings. U.S.-traded shares of WPP fell 17.5 percent to $57.75.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index swooned 3.7 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended 1 percent lower. The Kospi in South Korea dropped 1.6 percent. The heaviest losses came from technology companies including chipmakers Tokyo Electron and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and South Korea's Samsung Electronics. Japanese telecom and energy giant Softbank lost 4.4 percent.

U.S. bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note remained at 3.12 percent.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.8 percent to $67.33 a barrel. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, rose 0.9 percent to $76.89 a barrel.

Wholesale gasoline lost 0.5 percent to $1.81 a gallon. Heating oil added 1.2 percent to $2.28 a gallon and natural gas gained 1.1 percent to $3.20 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,232.40 an ounce. Silver fell 0.3 percent to $14.63 an ounce. Copper dipped 0.1 percent to $2.75 a pound.

The dollar climbed to 112.61 yen from 112.44 yen. The euro fell to $1.1359 from $1.1387.

bigdog · 27 October 2018

A SEA OF RED!!!

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-shares-mostly-lower-despite-us-markets-rally

Stocks Slump Again; S&P 500, Dow Back Into Red for Year
Stocks are back in the red for the year as another big slump rocks Wall Street.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Stocks are back in the red for the year after another wave of selling hit Wall Street Friday.

The latest plunge came at the end of an unusually turbulent week of trading that had one huge gain sandwiched between massive losses.

A three-week slide has left the benchmark S&P 500 index on track for its worst month since February 2009, right before the stock market hit bottom following the 2008 financial crisis.

Longtime market favorites like Amazon led the way lower after reporting weak results. Technology and consumer-focused companies accounted for much of the sell-off.

Media and communications stocks, banks and health care companies also took heavy losses. Bond prices rose, sending yields lower, as investors sought out less risky assets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 300 points and the S&P 500, a benchmark for many index funds, is now down 9.3 percent from its September peak. That's just shy of what Wall Street calls a "correction," or a drop of 10 percent or more from a peak. The last S&P 500 correction happened in February.

The stock market has whipsawed this week, with the Dow slumping 500 points over the first two days of the week, plunging 608 on Wednesday, soaring 401 points Thursday and then plunging again on Friday. The ups and downs came during the busiest week for third-quarter company earnings.

"We're going through this transition where, earlier in the year, the corporate earnings results were just a blowout and now they're more mixed," said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management. "That's causing some of this volatility."

The S&P 500 index slid 46.88 points, or 1.7 percent, to 2,658.69.

The Dow dropped 296.24 points, or 1.2 percent, to 24,688.31. The average was briefly down 539 points.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 151.12 points, or 2.1 percent, to 7,167.21. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 16.58 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,483.82. The S&P 500 and Dow are now down for the year again.

Stock trading turned volatile in October after a placid summer, with big sell-offs in the sectors that have powered the bulk of the gains during the market's long bull run.

Disappointing quarterly results and outlooks have stoked investors' jitters over future growth in corporate profits, a key driver of the stock market.

Traders are worried that rising interest rates and the escalating U.S.-China trading dispute could hurt the economy and dampen corporate earnings growth.

"There's still uncertainty facing equity investors," said Gary Pollack, managing director at Deutsche Bank Wealth Management. "And the GDP report this morning showed the economy slowing down from the second quarter."

The Commerce Department said the U.S. economy's gross domestic product, a measure of total output of goods and services, grew at a robust annual rate of 3.5 percent in the July-September quarter. That's higher than what many economists had been projecting, but lower than the 4.2 percent rate of growth in the second quarter.

While a sharp increase in personal consumption helped boost the overall GDP reading, there was also an increase in business inventories during the quarter. That could mean that companies may pull back on beefing up their stockpiles in the fourth quarter, Pollack said.

Amazon and Google parent company Alphabet slumped after both companies reported quarterly reported revenue figures that fell short of analysts' estimates. Amazon sank 7.8 percent to $1,642.81 while Alphabet fell 1.8 percent to $1,083.75.

Mattel dropped 2.8 percent to $13.45 after the toy maker served up quarterly results that fell short of analysts' forecasts.

Colgate-Palmolive lost 6.6 percent to $59.58 after the maker of consumer products didn't earn as much revenue in the latest quarter as analysts expected.

In a bright spot, chipmaker Intel gained 3.1 percent to $45.69 after it reported strong quarterly results and raised its outlook.

U.S. bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.08 percent from 3.13 percent late Thursday.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.4 percent to settle at $67.59 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, added 0.9 percent to close at $77.62 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline gained 0.1 percent to $1.82 a gallon. Heating oil jumped 1.1 percent to $2.30 a gallon and natural gas fell 0.5 percent to $3.19 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The dollar fell to 111.85 yen from 112.61 yen on Thursday. The euro rose to $1.1412 from $1.1359.

Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,235.80 an ounce. Silver gained 0.5 percent to $14.70 an ounce. Copper dipped 0.5 percent to $2.74 a pound.

Major European stock indexes fell. Germany's DAX slipped 0.9 percent, while France's CAC 40 dropped 1.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.9 percent. In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.4 percent, while South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.8 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was flat. Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 1.1 percent.

5390

Darc Knight · 29 October 2018

U.S. unemployment rate now below 4%. EVERY single time that has happened the U.S. has gone into recession! Only saving grace is the Underemployment rate is high also.

bigdog · 30 October 2018

https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2018-10-29/asian-stocks-mixed-after-wall-street-tumble

Stocks Tumble Again on Report US Plans More Tariffs
Stocks close sharply lower in another turbulent day of trading following a report that the U.S. is preparing to put tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports if talks between the countries don't produce progress.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Fear that the Trump administration will announce tariffs on all remaining imports from China helped knock U.S. stocks from a strong early gain to another sharp loss Monday.

Technology companies sank again after Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. is planning new tariffs if the two sides don't make progress in trade talks next month.

Technology and internet companies, industrials and retailers took steep losses as Wall Street's recent bout of volatility continued. The S&P 500 index has dropped 9.4 percent in October and is on track for its worst monthly loss since February 2009. That was right before the market hit its lowest point during the 2008-09 financial crisis.

Bloomberg News reported that the Trump administration will put tariffs on the rest of the country's imports from China if Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping don't make substantial progress in easing the trade dispute next month.

The S&P 500 index fell 17.44 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,641.25.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained as much as 352 points Monday morning but closed down 245.39 points, or 1 percent, to 24,442.92. It fell as much as 566 during the day.

The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, lost 116.92 points, or 1.6 percent, to 7,050.29. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 6.51 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,447.31.

Stocks have plunged since early October, breaking a long period of relative calm over the summer, and trading has been especially volatile the last few days.

Among industrials, Boeing sank 6.6 percent to $335.59. Some early gains for tech and internet stocks also faded. Microsoft shed 2.9 percent to $103.85. Alphabet, Google's parent company, lost 4.5 percent to $1,034.73.

Amazon.com dropped another 6.3 percent to $1,538.88. The online retailer tumbled Friday after it reported weak sales and gave a lower-than-expected revenue estimate for the quarter that includes the holiday shopping season. Its stock traded above $2,000 a share in early September and has fallen 24.5 percent since then.

The S&P 500, the main benchmark for the U.S. stock market, has fallen 9.9 percent from its latest record high on Sept. 20. The Nasdaq has plunged 13 percent from its record high reached Aug. 29.

For most of this year investors have remained hopeful that the U.S. and China would work out their disagreements on trade policy and that many of the tariffs would be reduced or eliminated. But in recent weeks they've lost some of their confidence, and that's contributed to the market's tumble

The effects of higher tariffs could be especially severe for technology companies, which make many of their products in China, and for industrial companies, which are already paying higher prices for metals. The U.S. and China are the world's largest economies and their trade relationship is the world's largest, so the higher taxes on imports could also slow global economic growth and increase inflation.

While most technology companies fell, open-source software company Red Hat jumped after IBM agreed to buy it for $34 billion in stock. IBM Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty said the deal will make IBM the world's biggest hybrid cloud provider, meaning it will offer companies a mix of on-site, private and third-party public cloud services.

Red Hat soared 45.4 percent to $169.63, reversing its losses from earlier this year. IBM fell 4.1 percent to $119.64.

The prospect of reduced barriers to trade helped auto makers on Monday. Car companies rose after Bloomberg News reported that regulators in China intend to propose cutting the tax on imported cars to 5 percent from 10 percent. The trade fight between the U.S. and China has hurt sales, and that slowdown is one of several factors that have damaged car company stocks this year.

Ford climbed 3.3 percent to $9.28 and auto parts retailer BorgWarner advanced 4 percent to $39.56. After Cooper Tire & Rubber reported a bigger third-quarter profit than analysts expected, its stock surged 21.4 percent to $30.89.

Germany's DAX rose 1.2 percent as Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW made big gains. Italy's FTSE MIB index rose 1.9 percent after Standard & Poor's did not downgrade the company's credit rating. Italy's new government plans to ramp up spending and European Union leaders have demanded it change its plans.

The CAC 40 in France added 0.4 percent and the British FTSE 100 rose 1.3 percent.

Mexico's stock index shed 4.2 percent after President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he will respect the result of a referendum that rejected a partly-built new airport for Mexico City. He said 70 percent of voters opposed the $13 billion project.

Brazil's Bovespa rose in morning trading after far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro was elected president, but it later turned lower and lost 2.2 percent. Stocks climbed earlier this month after Bolsonaro led the previous round of voting, as investors preferred him to leftist parties.

Bond prices dipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.08 percent from 3.07 percent.

The price of U.S. crude oil dropped 0.8 percent to $67.04 per barrel in New York while Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 0.4 percent to $77.34 per barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline added 0.5 percent to $1.82 a gallon and heating oil slid 0.8 percent to $2.28 a gallon. Natural gas was unchanged at $3.19 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold lost 0.7 percent to $1,227.60 an ounce. Silver fell 1.8 percent to $14.44 an ounce. Copper was little changed at $2.74 a pound.

The dollar rose to 112.35 yen from 111.85 yen. The euro fell to $1.1390 from $1.1412.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 sank 0.2 percent and Seoul's Kospi lost 1.5 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.4 percent.

bigdog · 31 October 2018

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ise-as-weaker-yuan-eases-fear-of-more-tariffs

Stocks Rally on Earnings a Day After Ending at 5-Month Lows
Stocks are climbing as strong results from a number of companies help the market regain a sliver of its recent losses.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks climbed Tuesday after solid earnings reports from several big companies. Stocks had closed at five-month lows the day before, and groups of companies that struggled badly made big gains.

Many of the best-performing stocks Tuesday came from parts of the market that have fared the worst during the market's plunge this month. Those included smaller and more U.S.-focused companies, internet and media companies, basic materials makers and energy companies.

Oreo maker Mondelez and athletic apparel maker Under Armour both jumped following strong third-quarter reports.

Corporate earnings are up about 20 percent this year as the U.S. economy gains strength and corporate taxes come down after last year's tax cut. Analysts expect company profits to keep growing in 2019, but at a slower pace.

Julian Emanuel, chief equity and derivative strategist for BTIG, said investors are worried about two things that could slow the economy further: the U.S.-China trade dispute, and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates.

"All of this fear about growth is being traded on something we don't see in the statistics right now," he said. "You factually don't have signs of an economic slowdown yet."

The S&P 500 index jumped 41.38 points, or 1.6 percent, to 2,682.63. On Monday the benchmark index closed at its lowest level since early May following a report that the Trump administration could announce more tariffs on imports from China in December.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 431.72 points, or 1.8 percent, to 24,874.64. The Nasdaq composite advanced 111.36 points, or 1.6 percent, to 7,161.65. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 29.33 points, or 2 percent, to 1,506.64.

Trading remained uneven: the S&P 500 fell at the start of trading and then turned sharply higher. In the afternoon the index gave up all of its gains and briefly turned lower, but recovered to finish near its highest levels of the day.

Mondelez, which makes Cadbury chocolates and Trident gum in addition to Oreos, rose by the most in a year after its quarterly profit surpassed analysts' projections. Its stock gained 5 percent to $42.12. Other household goods makers also did well. Walmart rose 2.6 percent to $102.42.

Among media companies, video game maker Take-Two Interactive soared 11 percent to $124.01 after it said its game "Red Dead Redemption 2" brought in $725 million in retail sales over its first three days. Take-Two shares are sharply lower this month as media, internet and technology companies have taken a beating.

Some of the worst losses during the market's current downturn were sustained by longtime investor favorites that had soared in recent months. Amazon and Netflix have both plunged 24 percent in October, but those companies had more to lose than many others did: Amazon is still up 31 percent this year, and Netflix has climbed 49 percent.

Elsewhere among internet and media companies, Comcast jumped 4.8 percent and Facebook rose 2.9 percent to $146.22. The social media company rose another 1.4 percent in aftermarket trading after its third-quarter profit was larger than analysts expected.

Among technology companies, chipmaker Intel rose 5.2 percent to $47.76.

While those stocks have slumped lately, the S&P 500's index of utilities and household goods makers have each climbed 3 percent this month. The broader S&P 500 has tumbled 7.9 percent over the same time.

General Electric cut its dividend again. The company halved its dividend to 12 cents from 24 cents in December, and cut it to 1 cent Tuesday. The struggling industrial giant also said the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into a $22 billion charge it booked to its power business this year. Securities regulators were also conducting a civil probe.

The stock sank 8.8 percent to $10.18, its lowest price since April 2009.

European stocks mostly fell following a report that the region's economy slowed down in the third quarter. The economy of the 19-country eurozone unexpectedly slowed in the third quarter. It expanded by 0.2 percent in the July-September period, which fell short of analyst forecasts. Experts say growth is likely to pick up again, but it's unlikely to match last year's strong performance as the region faces issues like Britain's departure from the EU, trade disputes and a clash with Italy over that country's budget.

Germany's DAX fell 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 lost 0.2 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.1 percent.

A weakening of the Chinese yuan helped some stock indexes in Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.5 percent after official data showed that the unemployment rate dipped to 2.3 percent in September. South Korea's Kospi picked up 0.9 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.9 percent.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.12 percent from 3.08 percent.

Benchmark U.S. crude shed 1.3 percent to $66.18 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 1.8 percent to $75.91 per barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline fell 1 percent to $1.81 a gallon. Heating oil lost 1.1 percent to $2.26 a gallon and natural gas declined 0.3 percent to $3.19 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold lost 0.2 percent to $1,225.30 an ounce. Silver rose 0.1 percent to $14.46 an ounce. Copper slumped 2.8 percent to $2.66 a pound.

The dollar rose to 112.96 yen from 112.35 yen. The euro fell to $1.1342 from $1.1390.

bigdog · 1 November 2018

A SEA OF GREEN FOR A CHANGE

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...es-climb-on-strong-us-earnings-boj-stands-pat

US Stocks Rally Again, but Finish October With Steep Losses
Stocks climbed for the second day in a row Wednesday at the end of a brutal month for the global market.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks climbed for the second day in a row Wednesday at the end of a brutal month for the global market. Investors applauded strong quarterly results from companies including Facebook and General Motors, but U.S. stocks still finished with their worst monthly loss in seven years.

Markets in Europe, Asia and the U.S. rallied following better-than-expected results from various companies and continued hiring by U.S. businesses. Many of the biggest gains Wednesday came from technology and internet companies and retailers, which plunged early in October as investors worried about rising interest rates and the U.S.-China trade dispute.

The S&P 500 hadn't risen for two consecutive days since late September. It finished October with a loss of 6.9 percent, its worst since September 2011. The third quarter of this year was the best in five years for U.S. stocks, but those gains were wiped out this month. The S&P 500 is now up 1.4 percent for the year.

Stocks began sinking on Oct. 3 as interest rates rocketed higher. Even after those gains eased, investors kept selling stocks as they worried about the trade dispute and other factors that could also hurt economic growth and company profits.

Investors are that much more nervous because corporate profit growth is already expected to slow in 2019 after it jumped this year, a big portion of which stemmed from the one-time corporate tax cut.

Schroders Investment Strategist Marina Severinovsky said several different factors could help stocks over the next few weeks: corporate stock purchases are expected to increase, and U.S. President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping could meet next month, an opportunity for progress in U.S.-China trade talks.

"If there's any kind of movement, even a stay of execution (on tariff hikes), could be a positive for the market," she said. Severinovsky added that whatever the outcome of next week's midterm elections, stocks will probably rise once they are over.

"Markets tend to rally on certainty," she said.

The S&P 500 index rose 29.11 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,711.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 241.12 points, or 1 percent, to 25,115.76. The Nasdaq composite jumped 144.25 points, or 2 percent, to 7,305.90.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies edged up 4.78 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,511.41. Smaller and more U.S.-focused companies did even worse than the rest of the stock market in October.

Facebook had a mixed third quarter, with better-than-expected earnings and disappointing revenue. But after the company's recent losses, even that was a relief to Wall Street. After a 2.9 percent gain Tuesday, the stock rose 3.8 percent to $151.79.

Other high-flying internet and tech stocks did better. Netflix jumped 5.6 percent to $301.78 and Amazon soared 4.4 percent to $1,598.01. Apple, which held up much better than the broader stock market this month, gained 2.6 percent to $218.86.

Facebook has plummeted 30 percent since reaching a record high in late July. That same month, the social network reported weaker-than-expected user growth and said it's spending more on security, moderation and product development.

Investors worry that companies like Facebook will be subject to more regulation following several data privacy scandals as well as online election meddling from outside the U.S. Facebook is also facing harsh criticism that its platform is being used to inflame ethnic and religious conflict in Myanmar. On top of all that, high-tech stocks like Facebook have stumbled this month as investors looked for safer, steadier options.

Amazon fell 20 percent for the month, wiping out around $200 billion in market value. The tech-heavy Nasdaq skidded 9.2 percent, its biggest one-month loss since November 2008.

General Motors also did far better than expected in the third quarter as it raised prices in North America and its China division held up well. The company also moved to cut costs by offering buyouts to about 18,000 white-collar employees in North America. The stock jumped 9.1 percent to $36.59.

Bond prices dropped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.14 percent from 3.11 percent.

The French CAC 40 surged 2.3 percent as aircraft maker Airbus and cosmetics maker L'Oreal's both jumped. Germany's DAX gained 1.4 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 added 1.3 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.6 percent. The Kospi in South Korea gained 0.7 percent.

Stock indexes overseas also tumbled in October. The Hang Seng, Kospi, CAC 40 and Mexico's Bolsa all did worse than the S&P 500. U.S. stocks had done far better than all of those indexes this year.

"The U.S. was showing extraordinary outperformance to the rest of the world, and it wasn't necessarily justifiable," said Severinovsky, of Schroeders.

The last winning streak for the S&P 500 was a three-day string of gains that ended on Sept. 20, the day of its latest record high. That was 28 trading days ago. According to Ryan Detrick of LPL Financial, that's one of the longest gaps since the Great Depression: the S&P 500 also went 28 days without a winning streak in 1970, 1994 and 2015.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 1.3 percent to $65.31 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 0.6 percent to $75.47 per barrel in London.

Energy companies have lagged the market as U.S. crude has fallen 10 percent this month.

Wholesale gasoline lost 2.1 percent to $1.77 a gallon. Heating oil edged up 0.1 percent to $2.26 a gallon. Natural gas rose 2.3 percent to $3.26 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold lost 0.8 percent to $1,215 an ounce. Silver fell 1.2 percent to $14.28 an ounce. Copper slipped 0.2 percent to $2.66 a pound.

Skate · 1 November 2018

bigdog said:
A SEA OF GREEN FOR A CHANGE
View attachment 90085

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...es-climb-on-strong-us-earnings-boj-stands-pat

US Stocks Rally Again, but Finish October With Steep Losses
Stocks climbed for the second day in a row Wednesday at the end of a brutal month for the global market.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks climbed for the second day in a row Wednesday at the end of a brutal month for the global market. Investors applauded strong quarterly results from companies including Facebook and General Motors, but U.S. stocks still finished with their worst monthly loss in seven years.

Markets in Europe, Asia and the U.S. rallied following better-than-expected results from various companies and continued hiring by U.S. businesses. Many of the biggest gains Wednesday came from technology and internet companies and retailers, which plunged early in October as investors worried about rising interest rates and the U.S.-China trade dispute.

The S&P 500 hadn't risen for two consecutive days since late September. It finished October with a loss of 6.9 percent, its worst since September 2011. The third quarter of this year was the best in five years for U.S. stocks, but those gains were wiped out this month. The S&P 500 is now up 1.4 percent for the year.

Stocks began sinking on Oct. 3 as interest rates rocketed higher. Even after those gains eased, investors kept selling stocks as they worried about the trade dispute and other factors that could also hurt economic growth and company profits.

Investors are that much more nervous because corporate profit growth is already expected to slow in 2019 after it jumped this year, a big portion of which stemmed from the one-time corporate tax cut.

Schroders Investment Strategist Marina Severinovsky said several different factors could help stocks over the next few weeks: corporate stock purchases are expected to increase, and U.S. President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping could meet next month, an opportunity for progress in U.S.-China trade talks.

"If there's any kind of movement, even a stay of execution (on tariff hikes), could be a positive for the market," she said. Severinovsky added that whatever the outcome of next week's midterm elections, stocks will probably rise once they are over.

"Markets tend to rally on certainty," she said.

The S&P 500 index rose 29.11 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,711.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 241.12 points, or 1 percent, to 25,115.76. The Nasdaq composite jumped 144.25 points, or 2 percent, to 7,305.90.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies edged up 4.78 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,511.41. Smaller and more U.S.-focused companies did even worse than the rest of the stock market in October.

Facebook had a mixed third quarter, with better-than-expected earnings and disappointing revenue. But after the company's recent losses, even that was a relief to Wall Street. After a 2.9 percent gain Tuesday, the stock rose 3.8 percent to $151.79.

Other high-flying internet and tech stocks did better. Netflix jumped 5.6 percent to $301.78 and Amazon soared 4.4 percent to $1,598.01. Apple, which held up much better than the broader stock market this month, gained 2.6 percent to $218.86.

Facebook has plummeted 30 percent since reaching a record high in late July. That same month, the social network reported weaker-than-expected user growth and said it's spending more on security, moderation and product development.

Investors worry that companies like Facebook will be subject to more regulation following several data privacy scandals as well as online election meddling from outside the U.S. Facebook is also facing harsh criticism that its platform is being used to inflame ethnic and religious conflict in Myanmar. On top of all that, high-tech stocks like Facebook have stumbled this month as investors looked for safer, steadier options.

Amazon fell 20 percent for the month, wiping out around $200 billion in market value. The tech-heavy Nasdaq skidded 9.2 percent, its biggest one-month loss since November 2008.

General Motors also did far better than expected in the third quarter as it raised prices in North America and its China division held up well. The company also moved to cut costs by offering buyouts to about 18,000 white-collar employees in North America. The stock jumped 9.1 percent to $36.59.

Bond prices dropped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.14 percent from 3.11 percent.

The French CAC 40 surged 2.3 percent as aircraft maker Airbus and cosmetics maker L'Oreal's both jumped. Germany's DAX gained 1.4 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 added 1.3 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.6 percent. The Kospi in South Korea gained 0.7 percent.

Stock indexes overseas also tumbled in October. The Hang Seng, Kospi, CAC 40 and Mexico's Bolsa all did worse than the S&P 500. U.S. stocks had done far better than all of those indexes this year.

"The U.S. was showing extraordinary outperformance to the rest of the world, and it wasn't necessarily justifiable," said Severinovsky, of Schroeders.

The last winning streak for the S&P 500 was a three-day string of gains that ended on Sept. 20, the day of its latest record high. That was 28 trading days ago. According to Ryan Detrick of LPL Financial, that's one of the longest gaps since the Great Depression: the S&P 500 also went 28 days without a winning streak in 1970, 1994 and 2015.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 1.3 percent to $65.31 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 0.6 percent to $75.47 per barrel in London.

Energy companies have lagged the market as U.S. crude has fallen 10 percent this month.

Wholesale gasoline lost 2.1 percent to $1.77 a gallon. Heating oil edged up 0.1 percent to $2.26 a gallon. Natural gas rose 2.3 percent to $3.26 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold lost 0.8 percent to $1,215 an ounce. Silver fell 1.2 percent to $14.28 an ounce. Copper slipped 0.2 percent to $2.66 a pound.

A SEA OF GREEN FOR A CHANGE

About time...

Skate.

bigdog · 2 November 2018

explanation of my table using Australian ALL ORDINARIES index

we are currently -555.40 below the 52 Wk High
we are currently +91.90 above the 52-Wk Low

Last Price is 5925.90
Change is +12.60 to previous day
% Chg is +0.21% to previous day
52-Wk High is 6,481.30
52-Wk Low is 5,834.00
52-Wk High Chg is -555.40 = (5,925.90 less 6,481.30)
52-Wk Low Chg is +91.90 = (5925.90 less 5,834.00)

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...-shares-mixed-on-doubts-over-chinese-stimulus

Stocks Rise as Market Rebound Stretches to a 3rd Day
Stocks end higher following strong results from financial, health care and basic materials companies. Gains for technology and industrial companies also helped the market extend its rally to a third day.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks climbed Thursday as major indexes extended a rebound into a third day. The dollar dropped, a change that provided a relief to big exporters like industrial and technology companies.

The U.S. stock market continued its gradual rebound from a plunge that lasted almost the entire month of October, and many of the biggest gains Thursday came from stocks that struggled badly last month like chipmakers and other technology companies and smaller, domestically-focused companies.

Strong earnings from U.S. companies have helped the market recover its footing over the last three days. Chemicals maker DowDuPont jumped after reporting a strong quarter, as did Arm & Hammer maker Church & Dwight and insurer AIG. Apple also climbed prior to releasing its quarterly report.

The S&P 500 index added 28.63 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,740.37. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 264.98 points, or 1.1 percent, to 25,380.74. The Nasdaq composite climbed 128.16 points, or 1.8 percent, to 7,434.06. The Russell 2000 index jumped 33.57 points, or 2.2 percent, to 1,544.98.

Stocks fell sharply from early October through the last few days of the month, a skid that briefly wiped out their gains for the year. After a rally over the last two days, the S&P 500 is up 2.5 percent in 2018.

During the sell-off, high-growth companies like technology and industrial companies and smaller stocks were hit especially hard as investors worried about various factors that could slow their growth and their profits. Those included the U.S.-China trade fight, rising interest rates that could make it more expensive to borrow money, and higher costs for fuel and other necessities.

Chemicals maker DowDuPont surged 8.1 percent to $58.27 after its third-quarter profit surpassed analysts' estimates. The company said sales grew in all regions, with strong gains in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. DowDuPont also said it expects to save more money from a cost-cutting program and plans to buy back another $3 billion in stock.

Fertilizer and chemicals maker CF Industries jumped 6.3 percent to $51.05 after it said it expects better nitrogen fertilizer prices over the next few years.

Cigna, one of the largest U.S. health insurance companies, rose 21.2 percent to $216.28 after raising its forecasts following a better-than-expected quarter.

Exporters rose as the dollar slumped. The ICE US Dollar Index slid 0.9 percent after reaching a 16-month high on Wednesday. A weaker dollar helps companies that do a lot of business outside the U.S., as it makes their products more affordable in foreign markets and also increases their profits when they are translated back into dollars.

Boeing rose 2.3 percent to $363.07 while farm equipment maker Deere added 3.8 percent to $140.65. Among chipmakers, Nvidia gained 3.5 percent to $218.11 and Broadcom jumped 2.9 percent to $229.88. Advanced Micro devices leaped 11 percent to $20.22.

The S&P 500 fell 6.9 percent last month, and technology and industrial companies and retailers fared even worse. One exception was Apple, which slipped just 3 percent in October. The world's largest tech company is scheduled to report its results after the close of trading, and climbed 1.5 percent to $222.22.

The decline in the dollar also sent metals prices sharply higher. Gold jumped 1.9 percent to $1,238.60 an ounce. Silver soared 3.5 percent to $14.78 an ounce. Copper gained 2.4 percent to $2.72 a pound.

The pound rose sharply following reports that Britain and the European Union had reached a deal to give U.K. financial services companies access to the bloc after Brexit. The article by The Times cited anonymous sources, and other reports suggested a deal had not yet been finalized. The British pound rose to $1.3018 from $1.2771.

Canadian energy company Encana said it will buy oil and gas company Newfield Exploration for $5.5 billion in stock. Newfield climbed 16.1 percent to $23.46, while Encana dropped 12.6 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Germany's DAX rose 0.2 percent and the British FTSE 100 dipped 0.2 percent. After a big rally Wednesday, the CAC 40 in France fell 0.2 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.7 percent while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index tumbled 1.1 percent. The Kospi in South Korea finished 0.3 percent lower.

Oil prices continued to weaken after the Department of Energy said U.S. crude stockpiles increased for the sixth straight week. Benchmark U.S. crude slumped 2.5 percent to $63.69 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 2.9 percent to $72.89 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline fell 2 percent to $1.72 a gallon and heating oil skidded 2.2 percent to $2.20 a gallon. Natural gas fell 0.7 percent to $3.24 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Bond prices turned higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.14 percent from 3.15 percent.

The dollar fell to 112.69 yen from 113.06 yen. The euro rose to $1.1409 from $1.1314.

bigdog · 3 November 2018

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...ap-big-gains-following-rebound-on-wall-street

Stocks End a Strong Week With Losses as Apple Shares Skid
US stocks slide as a sharp loss for Apple takes technology companies lower.

By MARLEY JAY, AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks slipped Friday as Apple absorbed its worst loss in more than four years. Thanks to gains over the previous three days, the S&P 500 index finished with its biggest weekly increase since March.

Apple, the world's largest technology company, forecast weak revenue in the current quarter and startled investors by saying it will stop disclosing quarterly iPhone sales. That pulled technology stocks lower. Other high-growth stocks held up well after the U.S. and China said they had made some progress in trade talks, and Asian indexes surged on reports that China's government plans to cut taxes.

The Department of Labor said employers added 250,000 jobs in October, with no sign that hiring was going to slow down. The proportion of Americans with jobs is at its highest level since January 2009, and hourly wages also grew by the most since then. Along with high consumer confidence, those are all good signs for economic growth and consumer spending in the months to come.

Bond yields surged following the strong jobs report as investors bet on continued economic growth, which would push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates more quickly.

"It clearly was a good report," said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Growth in wages, while stronger than anything that's been reported recently, was about what investors were expecting, Lefkowitz said. That's important because investors are still sensitive to signs that inflation could flare up, forcing the Federal Reserve to be more aggressive in raising rates. If inflation grows moderately, as it appeared to in October, that's not as likely.

The S&P 500 index slid 17.31 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,723.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 109.91 points, or 0.4 percent, to 25,270.83.

The Nasdaq composite, which has a high concentration of technology companies, lost 77.06 points, or 1 percent, to 7,356.99. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,547.98.

Stocks had surged over the previous three days and finished the week 2.4 percent higher. They skidded in October, suffering their worst monthly loss in seven years. The S&P 500 will have to rise another 7.6 percent to match the all-time high it reached on Sept. 20.

Bond prices dropped, sending yields sharply higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 3.22 percent, from 3.14 percent. A jump in interest rates last month started the market's downturn, but investors on Friday didn't seem as worried. Interest rates will also be in focus when the Federal Reserve meets next week. It's not expected to raise rates in November.

Apple's sales in its latest quarter and its estimates for the holiday season disappointed investors. Other big smartphone makes don't disclose how many phones they sell each quarter or what the sale price is. The change raised suspicions that Apple might be trying to mask a downturn in the phone's popularity. The company says the quarterly numbers don't necessarily tell investors how strong its business has been.

Apple gets most of its revenue from iPhone sales and lately it's boosted its profits by selling higher-priced models.

Apple sagged 6.6 percent to $207.48. Chipmakers also fell. Qorvo lost 5.7 percent to $74 and Broadcom fell 4 percent to $220.77.

The governments of the U.S. and China both said they were making some progress in trade talks. It's been months since the two sides made any visible progress and fears that the dispute was getting worse contributed to the big losses for global markets in October. Chinese state media also said President Xi Jingping promised tax cuts and other help to China's entrepreneurs.

"In September, before earnings season started ... the market was kind of complacent about tariff issues," said Lefkowitz. "It's something I think the market was ignoring and is now more attuned to."

Germany's DAX rose 0.4 percent and the CAC 40 in France added 0.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong soared 4.2 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged 2.6 percent while South Korea's Kospi climbed 3.5 percent.

Starbucks' sales were better than expected, and customers spent more after it raised prices for brewed coffee. It said revenue from cold drinks improved as well, and revenue also improved in China. The stock jumped 9.7 percent to $64.42, its biggest gain since 2011.

Kraft Heinz sank 9.7 percent to $50.73 after its profit in the third quarter fell way short of analyst forecasts. The maker of Oscar Mayer meats, Jell-O pudding and Velveeta cheese said costs grew and it's continuing to make major investments in its business. Prices in the U.S. fell as stores ramped up discounts, especially for cheeses and drinks. That led to its worst loss in three years.

The dollar rose to 113.28 yen from 112.69 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1398 from $1.1409.

Oil prices continued to slip. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 0.9 percent to $63.14 a barrel in New York and Brent crude shed 0.1 percent to $72.83 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline lost 0.5 percent to $1.71 a gallon and heating oil fell 1.3 percent to $2.17 a gallon. Natural gas rose 1.5 percent to $3.28 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,233.30 an ounce. Silver dipped 0.1 percent to $14.75 an ounce. Copper climbed 3.1 percent to $2.81 a pound.

5932

bigdog · 6 November 2018

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-s...mbs-apple-sinks-again-151200093--finance.html

US stocks rise as banks and health care companies climb

MARLEY JAY
Associated Press November 6, 2018

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks mostly rose Monday as financial and health care companies finished higher, while Apple and other technology companies continued to fall. Asian indexes fell following weak economic data in China and a lack of progress in trade negotiations between the U.S. and China.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which owns Geico and other insurance businesses, led the rally in financial stocks after it reported strong results over the weekend. Drugmakers including Eli Lilly also climbed. Apple took another sharp loss, which knocked the tech giant's market value below the $1 trillion mark.

Real estate companies, utilities, and other high-dividend stocks finished with solid gains as high-growth stocks like tech and internet companies slipped. Smaller and more U.S.-focused companies also lagged.

Big technology companies and small companies were both hit hard during the market's slump in October. Tech companies fell as investors worried about the trade dispute and about an increase in interest rates, which could erode their future profits. Smaller companies are vulnerable to higher interest rates because they tend to carry more debt.

Earnings for S&P 500 companies are on track to grow about 20 percent this year, and analysts expect company profits to grow another 10 percent next year, according to FactSet. But Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist for the Leuthold Group, said that might be too optimistic because costs and interest rates are rising and global economic growth could slip.

"It's a double whammy of slowing sales at the same time we may be starting to (see pressure on) profit margins," he said. Paulsen said corporate earnings could fall next year, and smaller companies might have a hard time dealing with that.

"Large companies tend to operate with bigger profit margins, and they have more room as a result of that to allow them to cut and to deal with a slowdown," he said.

The S&P 500 index added 15.25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,738.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 190.87 points, or 0.8 percent, to 25,461.70.

The Nasdaq composite sank 28.14 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,328.85. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks slipped 0.47 point to 1,547.51.

Stocks plunged in October, but last week was the market's best week since March. One reason for that recovery was increased optimism about trade talks, as Chinese officials and President Donald Trump said a phone conversation between Trump and China's President Xi Jinping had gone well. On Monday Xi promised to reduce costs for importers and raise consumer spending power, but he did not address the technology policy dispute between the U.S. and China, a critical part of the trade impasse.

Berkshire Hathaway said its profit quadrupled in the third quarter as the value of its investments climbed. It also reported better results from its insurance and railroad divisions. Berkshire bought back almost $1 billion in stock during the quarter, the most in years. Its Class B stock climbed 4.7 percent to $216.24. Other insurers and banks also rose.

Apple lost another 2.8 percent to $201.59. The stock tumbled Friday following a weak fourth-quarter forecast. Apple also said it will stop announcing how many iPhones it sold each quarter. Daniel Ives of Wedbush said that while Apple's announcement felt "flippant," it's actually part of a strategy intended to get investors to see the company as a services provider and not just a device seller.

In early August Apple became the first publicly traded company valued at $1 trillion, but Monday's decline brought its value down to $958.6 billion.

After big gains late last week, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.5 percent and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.9 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 2.1 percent.

Benchmark U.S. crude slipped 0.1 percent to $63.10 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 0.5 percent to $73.17 per barrel in London.

Natural gas soared 8.6 percent to $3.57 per 1,000 cubic feet following forecasts for cold weather in the next few days. According to the Energy Department, nearly half of all U.S. households use natural gas as the primary source for heating. Its price often surges when investors expect a cold snap. Heating oil also rose 1.1 percent to $2.20 a gallon.

Wholesale gasoline lost 1 percent to $1.69 a gallon.

Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent while Germany's DAZ fell 0.2 percent. The CAC 40 in France was little changed.

The British pound rose even though the office of British Prime Minister Theresa May dismissed reports the country is close to reaching a divorce agreement with the European Union. Officials have said negotiators are on the brink of a deal, which could be reached this month.

The pound rose to $1.3053 from $1.2963.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.20 percent from 3.21 percent late Friday.

Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,232.30 an ounce. Silver lost 0.7 percent to $14.65 an ounce. Copper shed 1.8 percent to $2.76 a pound.

The dollar slipped to 113.21 yen from 113.28 yen. The euro rose to $1.1418 from $1.1398.

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:

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