The sentiment on the German Index is good today. The DAX is on its way up and has beaten the 12’200 point mark and us standing at a 0,70% gain two hours before close. U.S. Investors will be looking at Jackson Hole the location chosen for the annual FED meeting. Investors will focus their attention on the Yellen and on the Draghi talk scheduled for Friday.
In the U.S. the recent and strong rally in the stock market, which reflected revived hopes that the Administration would eventually get the tax reform changes it has sought since the new Administration took over in January, did not carry over to yesterday morning. Indeed, stocks started the session lower and continued in a negative vein through the conclusion of trading. On point, as we reached the noon hour in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a 192-point winner on Tuesday, had fallen back by about 45 points, with a morning-worst reading of some 90 points. The other averages were weaker, too, following outsized gains the day before. Behind the renewed, but moderate, selling yesterday were concerns emanating from the President’s speech at a campaign rally the night before, in which he said the government might be shut down if the U.S.-Mexico wall is not built and paid for. Also, his threats about a possible termination of the North American trade agreement, or NAFTA, unsettled investors. Currently, there are differences between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, on the pact. As to the equity market, the declines, in truth, were modest, with an even split between gaining and losing equity groups and just a slight advantage for individual issues gaining in price on the NYSE. Overall, the stock market seems more focused on the political comings and goings in Washington and around the globe than it is on the nation’s economy, which continues to move forward, if in unimposing fashion. So, stocks meandered into the early afternoon, with weakness notable on the consumer front, but strength in the energy area. The balance of the afternoon brought scant relief to the bulls, as the worries persisted, most notably those that pertained to the outlook for Administration-backed legislation, which is widely favored on the Street. With earnings season now largely over, the next Federal Reserve FOMC meeting still a month away, and the critical government employment some 10 days off, politics are now taking center stage. And that is not good given the deep divisions on Capitol Hill. So, stocks continued to move lower as we entered the home stretch yesterday. As the final bell sounded, the major averages were down near their session lows, with the Dow off 88 points; the S&P 500 down by eight points; and the NASDAQ lower by 19 points. Small losses also were tabulated by the small-cap composites. Still, reflecting the late weakness, gaining stocks still managed to hold a slim lead on declining issues on the Big Board. At the same time, the top 10 equity groups were evenly split between gainers and losers, with the former headed by the energy and basic materials stocks, which benefited from a small recovery in oil prices yesterday.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is allowing Amazon to move forward in the process of purchasing Whole Foods. The $13.7 billion acquisition, which was announced in June, combines the e-commerce behemoth with a major grocery chain. The FTC has since been investigating whether the tie-up would decrease competition, ultimately deciding it needn’t pursue the matter further. Whole Foods shareholders have also approved the purchase. It was a good deal for them because Amazon paid a 27 percent premium on the stock price.
U.S. teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co posted a much smaller than expected quarterly loss on Thursday, helped by robust demand for its Hollister brand, sending the company’s shares soaring nearly 20 percent. Hollister, the retailer’s California beach-themed brand of surfwear, reported a 5 percent rise in comparable sales in the second quarter ended July 29, beating analysts’ average estimate for a 2.9 percent increase, according to Consensus Metrix. Abercrombie said total sales at established stores fell 1 percent. That result, too, topped analysts’ expectations. The company’s upbeat results come as several teen apparel companies struggle in the face of intense competition from fast-fashion retailers such as H&M and Zara as well as online merchants such as Amazon.com Inc. Net loss attributable to Abercrombie widened to $15.5 million, or 23 cents per share in the second quarter, from $13.1 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, the company posted a loss of 16 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected a loss of 33 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The retailer’s net sales fell slightly to $779.3 million, also handily beating analyst expectations of $758.6 million. Abercrombie’s shares were up 18.8 percent at $11.42 in premarket trading.
HP Inc. published its third quarter financial results on Wednesday, beating market expectations and posting net revenue gains in both its PC and printing segments. The company reported non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share of 43 cents on net revenue of $13.1 billion. Wall Street was looking for earnings of 42 cents per share on revenue on $12.3 billion. A year prior, the company reported earnings of 48 cents per share on $11.89 billion in revenue. Personal Systems net revenue in Q3 came to $8.4 billion, up 12 percent year-over-year. Commercial net revenue increased 11 percent while Consumer net revenue increased 14 percent. Total units were up 7 percent, with Notebooks units up 12 percent and Desktops units down 3 percent. Meanwhile, HP’s Q3 printing net revenue was $4.7 billion, up 6 percent year-over-year. This marks the second quarter in a row HP has seen growth in both its PC and printing businesses. Q2 was the first time in seven years that revenue from both PC and printer sales increased over the same quarter. Notebooks were up 16%, Moorhead noted, attributing that to HP’s revitalized Spectre, ENVY and EliteBook lines.
Tiffany & Co. shares rose 1.6% in Thursday premarket trading after the luxury jewelry company reported earnings and sales that exceeded expectations. Tiffany had second-quarter net income of $115.0 million, or 92 cents per share, up from $105.7 million, or 84 cents per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was 86 cents. Revenue totaled $959.7 million, up from $931.6 million last year and ahead of the $930.0 million FactSet consensus. Same-store sales fell 2%. The company said growth in fashion and designer jewelry offset softness in other categories. Tiffany expects fiscal 2017 global sales to rise by a low-single-digit percentage year-over-year and earnings to increase by a high-single-digit percentage over last year’s $3.55. FactSet expects sales of$4.06 billion and earnings of $3.95. Tiffany shares are up 14.6% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.06% is up 9.2% for the period.
Sir of Finance 