U.S. stocks closed mixed for the first week of February, with the Nasdaq setting new closing records, as investors mainly digested a batch of economic data and corporate earnings. For the week, the blue-chip Dow edged down 0.1 percent, while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 0.1 percent.
Category: Financial Markets
3 Mid-Cap Stocks to Buy in February
Sometimes the stock market’s top bargains are hiding in plain sight. Mid-cap stocks, or those with market caps between $2 billion and $10 billion, tend to be particularly attractive to growth and value investors since they usually have established and profitable business models, along with plenty of room for business development.
3 Mid-Cap Stocks to Buy in February
Sometimes the stock market’s top bargains are hiding in plain sight. Mid-cap stocks, or those with market caps between $2 billion and $10 billion, tend to be particularly attractive to growth and value investors since they usually have established and profitable business models, along with plenty of room for business development.
U.S. Stocks Climb on Payrolls Surge as Trump Targets Dodd-Frank
U.S. stocks rose the most in a week after Labor Department data showed U.S. employers added the most workers in four months. Financial shares rallied on the prospect of looser financial regulations.
Your Stocks Are Really Resilient – Until They Aren’t
A couple of weeks ago, I recounted a conversation I had with a friend who works at a little nondescript cafe overlooking the beach. The place has been there a long time.
Norway Salmon Anyone? What to Watch If Russia Sanctions Ease
Stock pickers are already positioning for an event that has the potential to shake up markets from Norway to Brazil: the lifting of sanctions on Russia. Any easing of the restrictions that have isolated Europe’s fifth-biggest economy for nearly three years will be a “shot of adrenaline for the stock market,” according to Luis Saenz, who runs the Russian sales and trading department at BCS Financial Group.
UPDATE 3-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Jan 31
* SSE: Britain’s second-biggest energy supplier SSE continued losing customers in the third quarter of its financial year, while still and wet weather meant output from its renewable energy plants fell 20 percent year on year, it said on Tuesday. * BRITVIC: British soft drinks firm Britvic said first-quarter revenue rose 4.3 percent on strong sales of its drinks in Britain and international markets.
Why Dow 20,000 Does Matter For US Blue-Chips And Price-Weighted Indices
The persistence and performance of the Dow, along with its simplicity, shows that price-weighting has its uses and merits as an alternative to market-cap weighting. The longest term relative value milestone may be against gold, of which one unit of the Dow bought 4 ounces in 1905 vs over 16 ounces today, excluding dividends.
What Happened in the Stock Market Today
Gold-based ETFs attracted heavy investor interest as the price of the precious metal continues to bounce around. It rose on Friday, which helped send the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF As for individual stocks, dozens of companies saw elevated attention after posting their quarterly earnings reports ahead of Friday’s opening bell.The reports from Starbucks Starbucks managed improved sales and profits over the holiday quarter , but that wasn’t enough to impress investors as the stock fell 4% following its earnings report.
Nikkei surges to more than 2-week high on strong Wall Street; financials gain
TOKYO, Jan 26 Japan’s Nikkei share average surged to more than a two-week high on Thursday morning tracking strength in Wall Street, while financial stocks were in demand after U.S. yields rose. The Nikkei gained 1.5 percent to 19,345.85 in midmorning trade after hitting as high as 19,354.48 earlier, the highest level since Jan. 11. U.S. Treasury yields increased overnight with benchmark yields hitting a four-week high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed atop the 20,000 mark for the first time.
Citigroup Says This Time It’s Different for Europe Profit Growth
This time, it’s Citigroup Inc.’s Jonathan Stubbs forecasting the region’s earnings will jump at least 10 percent to end a three-year dry spell. His bullishness on Europe is reminiscent of early 2015 and 2016, when strategists and investors doubled down on the region’s stocks, drawn by the promise that monetary stimulus and a weak currency would be sufficient to prop up corporate profits.
European Stocks Slide to 3-Week Low as Trump Spurs Trade Angst
European stocks declined, while volatility surged, as Donald Trump ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.4 percent at the close, after retreating as much as 0.7 percent.
Dollar Declines, Gold Gains With Industrial Metals: Markets Wrap
The dollar slumped after Donald Trump in his first days in office offered little news on his plans to boost growth while stirring concerns over protectionism. Metals and Asian shares outside of Japan rose.
3 Stocks Hit Hard By Downgrades This Week
After President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech, the markets managed a small rally Friday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 clinging to narrow weekly gains of 0.48% and 0.34%, respectively. While much of the speech was rhetoric that we’ve already heard, it was made fairly clear that, by Monday, we’ll see actions in terms of executive orders that will set the tone for the administration.
European Stocks Fall for Second Day Ahead of Trump Inauguration
European equity benchmarks fell on Friday as investors turned their focus to the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president, whose election in November has fueled expectation of stronger economic growth boosted by potential fiscal spending and tax cuts. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.2 percent at 8:28 a.m. in London, dropping for the second day further from its 52-week high, reached Jan. 3. The index has lacked momentum since its outperformance of the U.S. S&P 500 Index in December.
Algorithmic trading in less than 100 lines of Python code
If you’d like to learn more about analyzing financial data with Python, check out Python for Finance by Yves Hilpisch. Algorithmic trading refers to the computerized, automated trading of financial instruments with little or no human intervention during trading hours.
Traditional retailers are using a trick to make same-store sales look better
It was a rough 2016 holiday season for brick-and-mortar retailers. Department store shares got thumped last week after Macy’s and Kohl’s both lowered their full-year earnings guidance and said their comparable-stores sales dropped.
Fidelity Biotech Fund: Better than the Index?
Of all the Fidelity mutual funds, its healthcare-focused funds have some of the best records. The Fidelity Select Biotechnology Portfolio But there may be more to its performance than meets the eye.
Fidelity Biotech Fund: Better than the Index?
Fidelity Select Biotechnology Fund has crushed the broader market, but doesn’t fare so well when compared to other biotech mutual funds and ETFs. Of all the Fidelity mutual funds, its healthcare-focused funds have some of the best records.
Week in Review: Nasdaq Brushes Aside Trump-Triggered Selloff in Biotech
The Nasdaq ended the week with a record close in four out of five trading days, even when under assault by a selloff in biotech stocks. Despite an assault by a selloff in biotech stocks, the Nasdaq ended the week with a record close in four out of five trading days.
The 7 Best Undervalued Retail Stocks for Dividends
Physical retailers took it on the chin last year. The retail industry is being disrupted at a rapid pace due to a shift in consumer buying preferences.
5 Ominous Signs for the Securities Industry
Donald Trump’s election win created a sunny day in the financial industry. The promise of deregulation has sent financial stocks up about 10 percent — almost double the gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index — and related exchange-traded funds have attracted more than $11 billion in new money.
Central-Bank Bashing Makes Gold Only Asset Safe From Meddling
Baring Asset Management’s Christopher Mahon has one major conviction about 2017: it will be the year in which central-bank bashing by politicians becomes the new normal, so he’s seeking shelter in gold. “This year is the turning point,” Mahon said in an interview on Monday.
U.S. Stocks Decline With Banks as Nasdaq Ends Seven-Day Streak
U.S. stocks declined as investors assessed President-elect Donald Trump’s comments on healthcare and imports during his first press conference since the election. Semiconductor shares retreated amid declines of 2.1 percent in Micron Technology Inc. and 3.9 percent for Advanced Micro Devices.
Gold Surges Above $1,200 as Details-Shy Trump Weighing on Dollar
Gold futures rallied to a seven-week high as investors flooded back into funds backed by the metal and the dollar declined in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s press conference that provided little detail on his economic stimulus plans. The metal on Thursday rose above $1,200 an ounce for the first time since late November as exchange-traded holdings jumped by the most since the day after the election.
How 8×8, Inc. Gained 27% in 2016
The provider of internet-based voice and communications services put together a remarkable financial record last year. 8X8 beat Wall Street’s earnings and sales estimates handily in each one of the year’s quarterly reports,citing strong organic revenue growth among larger customers along the way.
Bull Market Masks Australia’s Year of 20%-Plus Stock Swings
Last year, the S&P/ASX 200 had 27 instances of a constituent rising or falling more than 20 percent on a single day, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Comparisons with other developed markets in Asia aren’t equal because Japan enforces limits on how much some stocks can move, and the main gauges in Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand have 50 members at most.
Drug stocks plunge as Trump threatens to force price bidding
Pharmaceutical and biotech stocks plummeted Wednesday as President-elect Donald Trump said he’d force the industry to bid for government business in order to save the government billions of dollars. “They are getting away with murder.
These Swedish Stocks Will Pay You the Best Dividends in 2017
Sweden may have negative interest rates, but its biggest firms are about to deliver some hefty payouts to their shareholders. Of the 29 names listed on Sweden’s index of its most-traded stocks, phone companies Tele2 AB and Ericsson AB offer the highest projected dividend yields over the next 12 months, according to Bloomberg BDVD forecasts.
European Stocks Little Changed After Biggest Retreat in a Month
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.1 percent at the close, erasing an earlier slide of as much as 0.4 percent. A rotation out of defensive shares into cyclical companies resumed — miners surged the most in a month after data showed China’s factory prices rose at the fastest pace in more than five years in December.
A Double Record for FTSE 100 Completing 9th All-Time High
The FTSE 100 Index has closed at a record every session since U.K. markets reopened after Christmas — that’s nine trading days — marking a record streak of consecutive all-time highs. Coming on the heels of its best annual performance relative to the Stoxx Europe 600 Index in three decades, the FTSE 100 has climbed 1.9 percent in 2017 as a further slump in sterling boosted its exporters, and commodity producers rallied.
Catalog & Mail Order Houses Stocks on Investors’ Radar — Vipshop, Amazon.com, QVC Group, and Wayfair
The Catalog and Mail Order Houses space comprises the total profit produced through the retailing of a variety of goods by catalog and mail order channels. Goods that are retailed in this industry may include books, health products, personal care items, specialty food items, and furniture.
Cashless Is King as E-Money Stocks Surge From India Currency Ban
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may offer another gift to India’s electronic cash companies. An index of the stocks has gained 12 percent since November’s surprise currency ban, and may further rally after the government introduced tax rebates on digital transactions from Christmas Day.
4 Reasons to Choose Walmart Over Amazon
The internet changed the world. Nowhere is this more evident than in the retail industry, where Amazon.com seems to be unstoppable.
Dow 20,000 Fails to Yield in Best Week for U.S. Stocks in Month
Yet again, investors watched the Dow Industrial Average stop just short of the 20,000 level, even as U.S. equities resumed their post-election rally with the best week of gains in a month. Much of Wall Street spent Friday afternoon transfixed as the Dow made half a dozen passes at the milestone and each time fell excruciatingly short.
NVIDIA Stock in 6 Charts
The stock’s scorching 225% total return in 2016 made it the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 for the year. You might be wondering if it’s too late to invest in NVIDIA.
European Stocks Extend New Year Rally to Enter Bull Market
European stocks rose for a third day and entered a bull market after a better-than-forecast U.S. manufacturing report fueled investor demand hours after data in China showed its factories and services both ended 2016 on relatively robust notes. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 1 percent at 3:37 p.m. in London, with 13 of 19 industry segments climbing.
Top Gaming Stocks to Buy in 2017
According to analysts at SuperData,2016 has been the best year yet for video games, with the total market value hitting $91 billion this year. Driving this growth is exciting new technology and expanding platforms bringing in new gamers worldwide.
Asia Stocks Follow U.S. Lower as Yen Strengthens: Markets Wrap
Asian stocks followed U.S. equities lower and the yen climbed as investors prepared to close out a volatile year for financial markets. Oil dropped from its highest close in 17 months.
UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Dec 28
Dec 28 Britain’s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 0.07 percent higher on Wednesday after a four-day Christmas break, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.1 percent ahead of the cash market open. * BOVIS HOMES: Bovis Homes said it would not deliver the number of houses it originally expected in 2016, after about 180 sales failed to complete before the end of the year, resulting in a likely miss against market profit forecasts.