Apple, Philip Morris, chip stocks lead Wall Street slide; financials gain

US stocks dropped on Thursday, weighed down by a broad-based decline in technology stocks from Apple to chipmakers as well as a tumble in consumer staples such as Philip Morris and P&G.
A warning from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker and an Apple supplier, on soft demand for smartphones and on the semiconductor industry's growth this year sparked a tumble in chip stocks.

Apple's shares also fell 2.3 percent, with analysts telling Reuters that TSMC's warning was related to the iPhone maker. Apple was the biggest drag on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq.

TSMC's US-listed shares fell 6.3 percent. Intel declined 3.1 percent, falling the most on the Dow. All stocks on the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index were in the red, with the index itself tumbling 3.9 percent.

The S&P consumer staples sector declined 3.2 percent as Philip Morris plunged 17.4 percent after the tobacco company's weak results and forecast.

Nasdaq drops nearly 1% as Facebook leads slide in tech stocks

Wall Street's main indexes opened lower on Monday as reports of Facebook's user data being misused weighed on technology stocks and the broader market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 90.8 points, or 0.36 percent, to 24,855.71. The S&P 500 lost 11.84 points, or 0.430231 percent, to 2,740.17. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 63.99 points, or 0.86 percent, to 7,418.00.

Wall Street slips after report says China may slow US bond purchases

Wall Street's major indexes slipped on Wednesday, stalling the rally that marked the start of 2018, after a report that China is considering slowing or halting purchases of US government debt.

Apple, Microsoft and Amazon were among the biggest drags on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, while a 0.7 percent drop in Boeing and Caterpillar weighed on the Dow.

The S&P and the Nasdaq have closed at record highs on every single day in 2018, buoyed by optimism over global economic growth and expectations of strong quarterly earnings.

"For a market that was probably looking for reason to take a pause, it's not unreasonable to use today's rise in yield as a catalyst," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley FBR in Boston.

The dollar dropped 0.4 percent against a basket of currencies, while long-dated Treasury yields hit fresh 10-month highs after Bloomberg reported the US bond market was becoming less attractive for Beijing.

The CBOE Volatility index, a widely followed measure of market anxiety, rose to its highest level in more than a week at 10.41.

At 9:46 a.m. ET (1446 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 67.02 points, or 0.26 percent, at 25,318.78 and the S&P 500 was down 7.64 points, or 0.27 percent, at 2,743.65. The Nasdaq Composite was down 25.48 points, or 0.36 percent, at 7,138.09.
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Drop in Apple shares due to weak iPhone X demand drags Wall Street lower

Wall Street's main indexes came under pressure on Tuesday following a 2.8 per cent drop in Apple's shares on a report of weak iPhone X demand.

Apple will slash its sales forecast for its flagship phone in the current quarter to 30 million units, down from what it said was an initial plan of 50 million units, Taiwan's Economic Daily reported, citing unidentified sources.

That, along with some bearish brokerage calls on iPhone X demand, put its shares on track for their worst single-day percentage fall since Aug. 10.

Shares of companies that supply parts to Apple, including Broadcom, Skyworks Solutions, Finisar and Lumentum Holdings, fell between 1.8 per cent and 3.5 per cent.

The S&P technology index fell 0.9 per cent, the only loser among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors.

Most markets around the world, including parts of Europe and Asia, were shut on Tuesday. Trading volumes are also expected to be light in the holiday week.

"It's going to be slow trading for most of the week. A market that's going to stay within a trading range, we could have a plus or a negative day, but nothing exciting," said Peter Cardillo, the chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.

At 9:34 a.m. ET (1434 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 8.32 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 24,745.74 and the S&P 500 was down 2.4 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 2,680.94.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 29.11 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 6,930.86.

Sucampo Pharma surged 6 per cent after Mallinckrodt said it would acquire the drugmaker for $1.2 billion, to gain access to its constipation drug Amitiza. Mallinckrodt shares rose 4.3 per cent.
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Technology stocks boost Nasdaq to record high

Wall Street indexes opened higher on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq hitting a record high, led by gains in technology stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94.06 points, or 0.4 percent, to 23,524.39. The S&P 500 gained 8.57 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,590.71. The Nasdaq Composite added 30.99 points, or 0.46 percent, to 6,821.71.
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Technology stocks boost Wall Street to hit fresh records

Major Wall Street indexes hit fresh records at the open on Monday on gains in financial and technology stocks even as investors awaited a barrage of earnings reports this week.

Apple gained 1.05 percent, providing the biggest boost to the Nasdaq and the S&P after KeyBanc upgraded the stock to "overweight".

Financial stocks gained for the first time in four days, led by bank stocks. Reactions to bank results last week were muted on concerns about credit card losses at JPMorgan and Citigroup and weak trading activity across the sector.

Investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley report before markets open on Tuesday. Insurer Travelers jumped 2 percent, providing the biggest boost to the Dow.

Video-streaming pioneer Netflix reports third-quarter results after market.

"The market still wants to be optimistic, it wants to continue to move higher from here," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth.
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Dow, Nasdaq eke out record highs over Trump's proposed tax reforms

US stocks inched higher on Monday, with the Dow and the Nasdaq hitting fresh records, on rising optimism over President Donald Trump's proposed tax overhaul.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.43 points, or 0.03 percent, to 22,781.1. The S&P 500 gained 2.06 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,551.39. The Nasdaq Composite added 7.26 points, or 0.11 percent, to 6,597.44.
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Nasdaq, S&P slip; Dow ticks above 22,647 level, hits new record high

The Nasdaq and the S&P fell on Wednesday as investors likely took profits on tech stocks, the best performing sector in the recent rally, while the Dow touched a record high.

Seven of 11 major S&P indexes were down, led by the information technology and Industrials.
The S&P information technology index, up about 26 per cent this year, was on pace to post its first losses in seven sessions.

"The market has been on a slow drift upward, in anticipation of the earnings season coming and the hopes about tax reform," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City.

"I think you're just seeing some small profit taking in the absence of new news."

The dollar was off seven-week highs on speculation that US President Donald Trump's choice for the next head of the Federal Reserve could be a less hawkish candidate than had previously been expected.

US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to address the Community Banking in the 21st Century Research and Policy Conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis.
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Wall Street climbs as North Korea tension eases, S&P tops with 1.12% rise

Wall Street opened higher on Monday, with broad gains across sectors, as investor sentiment was lifted by easing tensions in the Korean peninsula after key US officials played down the risk of an imminent war with North Korea.

All the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with S&P financial's 1.12 per cent rise leading the gainers.

Global stocks lost nearly $1 trillion last week after President Donald Trump warned North Korea that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States, leading to a war of words between Pyongyang and Washington.

However, US officials including National Security Adviser H R McMaster and CIA Director Mike Pompeo played down the risk on Sunday, while South Korea's president said resolving Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions must be done peacefully.

"Feels as though the North Korean tension seems to be abating a bit, with commentary coming out of China and the United States. But the situation seems to have de-escalated in the near term", said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich
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Dow hits record high again on back of robust July jobs data

The Dow hit another record high and the Nasdaq opened slightly higher on Monday, while the S&P was little changed.

The Dow closed at a record high for the eighth straight session on Friday, powered by a robust July employment report that showed US employers added more jobs than expected in the month.

The report is likely to clear the way for the Federal Reserve to announce a plan to start shrinking its $4.2 trillion bond portfolio in September, and could strengthen its case to raise rates for the third time this year in December.

"The jobs report was quite well-received on Friday despite suffering the same pitfall that has plagued the US recovery for years, inadequate wage growth," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at online forex broker Oanda.

At 9:36 a.m. ET (1336 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 8.3 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 22,084.51, the S&P 500 was down 0.42 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 2,476.41.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 9.36 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 6,360.92.

Six of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the energy index's 0.49 per cent fall leading the decliners.
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S&P, Nasdaq slip as tech weighs; Dow hits record high

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lost ground in late morning trading on Thursday as tech stocks slipped, while the Dow moved above the 22,000 mark to hit a new record.

The S&P tech index — which has been the best performer in 2017, with a 23 per cent rise — was down 0.39 per cent.

Apple, Amazon and Microsoft were top drags on the S&P and the Nasdaq.

However, Tesla's 7.20 per cent jump eased some pressure on the tech-heavy index after the luxury electric car maker reported quarterly revenue that more than doubled.

"The tech sector is going through a consolidation phase where people are taking some money away from big names and putting it towards underperformers," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.

"I don't see that as a bad thing as it helps broaden out this rally."

Quarterly earnings remain in the spotlight to see if valuations are justified, especially with the S&P 500 trading at around 18 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months, well above its long-term average of 15 times.
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Wall Street adds to record rally on strong earnings

Wall Street continued its record run on Thursday, powered by a barrage of strong quarterly earnings, particularly from Facebook and Verizon.

Facebook jumped 5.49 percent, lifting both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite indexes, after the social network's results topped Wall Street estimates.

Verizon surged 6.37 percent after the company reported quarterly subscriber additions that topped estimates. The stock was the second-biggest gainer on both the S&P and the Dow, and put the S&P telecommunications index on track to post its biggest one-day percentage gain in nearly six years.

Earnings of S&P 500 companies are now expected to have climbed 9.9 percent in the second quarter, up from an 8 percent rise estimated at the start of the month, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

With equity markets at record levels, investors have been counting on strong earnings to justify the relatively expensive stock valuations.

"While multiples are not cheap and are expected to grow further, strong earnings are justifying these levels," said Aaron Clark, portfolio manager at GW&K Investment Management.
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Strong show by Caterpillar, McDonald's has S&P at record high, Nasdaq drags

A set of strong earnings from companies, including Caterpillar and McDonald's, lifted the Dow and drove the S&P 500 to a record high, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq was dragged lower by losses in Google parent Alphabet Inc.

Shares of McDonald's surged 5 percent after the fast-food giant posted the biggest rise in sales at established restaurants globally in five years.

Caterpillar's shares rose 4.1 percent after the company reported quarterly results that smashed expectations and raised its full-year outlook for the second time this year.

However, Alphabet fell 2.6 percent, after the tech giant warned that expenses would remain high as more searches shift to mobile devices.

The S&P tech index has been the best performing sector this year and earnings from big tech companies will be closely watched to see if the rally has legs.

Amazon and Facebook, part of the high-flying "FANG" stocks, report results later this week, while Apple is due to report next week.

Earnings are expected to have climbed 8.8 percent in the second quarter, compared with an 8 percent rise estimated at the start of the month, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
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Dollar hits a year-low, global stocks rally set to end over strong euro

The US dollar sank to its lowest in more than a year against key world currencies on Friday as investors assessed comments from the European Central Bank (ECB) and obstacles to US President Donald Trump's domestic agenda, while world stock markets were poised to snap a 10-session streak of gains.

Gains in the yen, gold and US Treasuries pointed to moves into safe-haven assets compared with stocks that are considered riskier. Oil prices sank more than 1 per cent.

The euro built on sharp gains from a day earlier, rising to near two-year highs against the dollar and undermining European stocks, with Germany's DAX equity index down 1.7 per cent.

ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday financing conditions remained broadly supportive, and that the euro's appreciation had "received some attention." However, he did not cite that as a problem nor did he directly try to talk the currency down.

"The fact that Draghi didn't necessarily argue too much against the strength of the euro... certainly gave the greenlight for individuals to want to own the currency again or actually add to their positions," said Dean Popplewell, chief currency strategist at Oanda in Toronto.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.32 per cent, falling after 10 days of gains.

US stock indexes opened lower, pulling back from record high levels reached earlier in the week.
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Wall Street flat as consumer stocks, weak earnings weigh

The US stocks traded little changed in late morning session on Thursday, struggling to hold on to the record highs on the S&P and the Nasdaq, weighed by a drop in consumer discretionary stocks and disappointing earnings by some big names.

Home Depot fell 4.1 percent, shaving off 45 points off the Dow and weighing the most on the S&P 500.

Sears soared 20 percent after the retailer said it would sell its Kenmore home appliances on Amazon.com and integrate the brand's smart gadgets with the online giant's Alexa digital assistant.

The news, however, dragged down the shares of fellow retailer Best Buy by 4 percent.

Cigarette maker Philip Morris was down 2.8 percent after its quarterly profit missed expectations and was among the top drags on the S&P.

Qualcomm fell 4.7 percent after the chipmaker's forecast missed estimates.

Still, overall earnings continue to beat expectations which, along with a rally in technology shares, helped all three major indexes to close at a record high on Wednesday.

Analysts are estimating an 8.7 percent rise in second-quarter earnings and a 4.6 percent increase in revenue for the S&P 500 companies from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
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Nasdaq, S&P hit record highs as tech, health stocks rise

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 opened at record highs on Wednesday, powered by technology and healthcare stocks, while the Dow was weighed down by a fall in IBM's shares.

IBM fell 3.9 percent after the company's quarterly revenue came in below expectations.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at a record high on Tuesday, helped by a jump in Netflix, with the index posting its longest streak of gains since February 2015.

The S&P tech sector has been the best performing sector this year despite concerns about stretched valuations as investors look for growth sectors immune to policy uncertainties.

"Netflix's strong results has caused money to move to tech stocks in anticipation of stronger earnings," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive officer at 50 Park Investments.

"If the big names such as Alphabet, Facebook, Amazon are able to show growth in an otherwise low-growth environment, then investors will pay for these stocks."

All three big tech names will report results next week.

Microsoft, which reports results on Thursday, was up 0.6 percent and was among the biggest boosts to the S&P and the Nasdaq.

At 9:45 a.m. ET (1345 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 4.76 points, or 0.02 percent, at 21,579.49, the S&P 500 was up 6.35 points, or 0.25 percent, at 2,466.96.
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Wall Street flat as James Comey's testimony underway

US stocks were little changed in choppy late morning trading on Thursday as former FBI Director James Comey's testimony got underway.

Comey is being grilled by Washington politicians over his claims that President Donald Trump asked him to drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of a probe into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Comey said he had no doubt that Russia interfered with the election but was confident that no votes had been altered.

"Today is about Washington and the drama surrounding Comey's testimony. But the talk about the demise of President Trump's presidency or growth agenda seems premature, short of a smoking gun," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at US Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.

"I expect equities to generally tend sideways today, short of any new revelations coming out of the testimony."

Earlier on Thursday, the European Central Bank signalled no further interest rate cuts as euro zone prospects improved but said subdued inflation meant it would continue to pump more stimulus into the region's economy.

Investors are also keeping an eye on the outcome of the UK general election, with opinion polls showing Theresa May's Conservative Party leading between 5 and 12 percentage points over the main opposition Labour Party, suggesting she would increase her majority.

At 10:35 am ET (1435 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5.62 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 21,179.31, the S&P 500 was down 1.51 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 2,431.63.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.56 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 6,296.82.

Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the defensive utilities index's 1.08 per cent loss topping the decliners.

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding were up 9.5 per cent at $137.55 after the company said it expects revenue growth of 45-49 per cent in the 2018 financial year.

Yahoo, which owns a 15.5 per cent stake in Alibaba also rose 7.2 per cent to $54.18.

Nordstrom jumped 11.4 per cent to $45.09 after the department store operator said that some members of the controlling Nordstrom family have formed a group to consider taking the company private.

Among other retailers, Macy's was up 2.1 per cent, and JC Penney 1.2 per cent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,410 to 1,252. On the Nasdaq, 1,408 issues rose and 1,162 fell.
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Wall Street flat as oil offsets gains in tech, healthcare

US stocks were little changed on Wednesday, with the three major indexes on track to end the month higher, as gains in healthcare and technology were outweighed by a drop in energy shares due to a steep fall in oil prices.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite looked set to post their best monthly percentage gain since February. The Nasdaq also hit a record intraday high in early trading.

Oil prices fell by more than 2 per cent to a three-week low, as rising Libyan production fueled concerns that OPEC-led output cuts are being undermined by several countries that are excluded from the deal.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq snapped their seven-day winning streak on Tuesday as weakness in the energy and financial sectors outweighed gains in technology shares.

With stocks at record levels and the earnings season in the rear-view mirror, analysts say investors need to see strong economic data and progress on President Donald Trump's pro-business policies for further meaningful gains.

"We had the Memorial day weekend and volumes on Tuesday were low, so this is the first day that Wall Street is coming back in full force and we could see a resumption of strong equity buying that we saw last week," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

At 9:41 a.m. ET (1341 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.23 points, or 0.01 percent, at 21,028.24, the S&P 500 was up 1.97 points, or 0.08 percent, at 2,414.88 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 10.98 points, or 0.18 percent, at 6,214.17.

Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with the healthcare index's 0.48 percent rise leading the advancers.

Johnson and Johnson was up 0.67 percent and provided the biggest boost to the S&P and the Dow.

While first-quarter economic data was mixed, with dips in consumer spending and sentiment, continuing strength in the labor market suggests economic activity will regain momentum as the year progresses.

The Federal Reserve issues its Beige Book at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), a compendium of anecdotes on the health of the economy, that will likely provide further evidence that the economy continues to strengthen giving the Federal Reserve impetus to raise rate next month.

Traders currently see an 86.6-percent chance of a quarter-point rate hike at the Fed's June meeting, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Shares of Michael Kors fell 8.9 percent to $33 after the luxury fashion retailer gave a bleak full-year forecast and said it would shut more than 100 full-price retail stores in the next two years.

Mallinckrodt was up 0.6 percent at $43.94, after sources said the drugmaker is exploring a sale of its generic drug unit, in a deal that could fetch as much as $2 billion.

Analog Devices rose 4.7 percent to $88.75 after the chipmaker's quarterly results came in above expectations.

Exact Sciences was up 9.3 percent at $35.58 after two brokerages raised their price target on the diagnostic test maker's shares.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,371 to 1,186, for a 1.16-to-1 ratio on the upside. On the Nasdaq, 1,221 issues rose and 1,007 fell for a 1.21-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The S&P 500 index showed 28 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 82 new highs and 70 new lows.
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S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs as oil price rise boosts energy stocks

The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 touched record highs in late morning trading on Monday as a rise in oil prices boosted energy stocks and investors shrugged off the impact of a global cyber attack.

Oil hit its highest in more than three weeks after top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia said supply cuts needed to last into 2018, a step towards extending the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Counties (Opec)-led deal to support prices for longer than originally agreed.

Shares of oil majors Exxon and Chevron helped boost the S&P energy index, which was on track to close higher for the first time in three sessions.

"The rebound in oil prices and lack of bad news on the geopolitical front has led to a bit of a relief rally in equities," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

"At this level, there isn't too big a correlation between oil and equities but since we've seen oil fall quite a bit in a month or so, today's rally in oil is helping the market grind higher."

At 10:53 am ET (14:53 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 89.46 points, or 0.43 per cent, at 20,986.07. The S&P 500 was up 12.54 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 2,403.44 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 30.37 points, or 0.50 per cent, at 6,151.61.

All the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with the energy and materials index leading the gainers.

Investors seemed to mostly shrug off fears from a successful missile test by North Korea and a cyber attack that disrupted operations at car factories, hospitals, shops and schools.

Shares of cybersecurity firms such as Fireye, Symantec and Palo Alto Networks were all up.

Cisco's 2.5 per cent rise provided the biggest boost to the Nasdaq and S&P.

US stocks slipped on Friday, ending the week lower as tepid economic data weighed on banks and worries deepened over department stores.
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Wall Street go red as tech, consumer discretionary stocks decline

US stocks were slightly lower on Thursday, with the Dow on track for its third straight day of losses, led by declines in consumer discretionary and technology sectors.

Macy's disappointing profit and a 11 per cent slump in shares took a toll on the consumer discretionary sector, which fell 0.52 per cent with all of its components in the red.

Kohl's was down about 2 per cent despite beating profit estimate.

"Retail is front-and-center because it has been a sore area for the market over the last year or two," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive officer at 50 Park Investments.

At 9:41 am EDT the Dow Jones industrial average was down 40.78 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 20,902.33, the S&P 500 was down 7.72 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 2,391.91 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 21.11 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 6,108.04.

Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower. Technology was down 0.3 per cent, following losses in Microsoft and Intel.

Shares of Snapchat owner Snap Inc plunged 20 per cent after the company reported a slowdown in user growth and revenue in its first earnings report as a public company.

Straight Path fell 20 per cent after agreeing to be bought by Verizon for $184 per share and terminated an earlier deal with AT&T.

Whole Foods was up 5 per cent after the grocer shook up its board and appointed a new CFO.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,836 to 718. On the Nasdaq, 1,662 issues fell and 606 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed six 52-week highs and six lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 28 highs and 16 lows.
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