Stock Market

January’s super strong jobs report and a solid manufacturing survey on Friday showed that recession worries may be overblown and slowdown fears are not impacting corporate hiring or dampening manufacturers’ sentiment. The economy added a surprising 304,000 new jobs in January, well above the 165,000 expected by economists. Wages grew by an annual 3.2 percent,

After January’s strong jobs report calmed some recession fears, investors will be picking through the next wave of earnings reports and economic data for clues on just how much the U.S. economy could be slowing. Dozens of earnings, from companies like Alphabet, Disney and Eli Lily, report in the week ahead, and there are just

Check out the companies making headlines midday Friday: Papa John’s — The third-largest pizza delivery company saw its stock fall 8 percent after Reuters reported Papa John’s would not sell itself, despite offers from private equity firms. The firm’s offers reportedly did not meet Papa John’s valuation expectations. Exxon Mobil — Shares of Exxon Mobil

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: DowDupont – The chemical maker earned an adjusted 88 cents per share for the fourth quarter, a penny a share above estimates. Revenue was short of estimates, however, on lower demand for automotive and appliance-related products. General Electric – GE missed estimates by 5 centss a

Check out the companies making headlines midday Wednesday: Apple — Shares of the iPhone maker rose more than 5 percent and were on track for their best day since Aug. 1. The jump comes after Apple reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue. Apple’s earnings report comes after the company had slashed its revenue guidance, citing weakness

If history is a guide, there’s a very good chance Apple’s earnings will be better than expected when it reports Tuesday afternoon, but the stock may not perform all that well. Bespoke studied three FANG-related stocks reporting earnings this week, and it found Facebook has the best track record, with a 96 percent earnings beat

Natural gas prices fell sharply Monday, as weather forecasts for February show more normal and even warmer-than-normal temperatures for parts of the U.S., following a brutal cold snap this week. Natural gas futures for February fell 7.2 percent to $2.95 per million British thermal units. “The forecast tuned a little milder for next week, and

These are the companies making headlines in the middle of Friday trading: Intel, AMD – Intel fell 7 percent after the chipmaker said it expects revenue to be nearly flat compared to last year. But other chipmakers held up with AMD shares rising more than 2 percent. Many analysts believe Intel’s issues were company specific

The earnings season is about to get a lot more interesting with about a quarter of the S&P 500, nearly half of the Dow Jones Industrials and three of the four biggest companies in the world reporting in the week ahead. Mega-cap tech companies Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon report respectively on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Colgate-Palmolive – The consumer products company reported profit of an adjusted 74 cents per share for its latest quarter, while revenue and organic sales growth also beat forecasts. Colgate was helped by stronger demand on North America, however the company is also predicting lower sales and

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Southwest Airlines – Southwest reported earnings of $1.17 per share for the fourth quarter, beating consensus estimates by 10 cents a share. Revenue also came in above estimates, and Southwest gave an upbeat outlook for 2019 despite a hit to January revenue from the government shutdown.

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Comcast – The NBCUniversal and CNBC parent reported adjusted quarterly profit of 64 cents per share, beating consensus estimates by 2 cents a share. Revenue also beat Street forecasts and the company increased its dividend by 10 percent. United Technologies – The maker of Carrier air

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Johnson & Johnson – Johnson & Johnson earned an adjusted $1.97 per share for the fourth quarter, 2 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also topped forecasts, helped by stronger sales of cancer and psoriasis treatments. Travelers – The insurance company reported adjusted quarterly profit of

Check out the companies making headlines midday Friday: Netflix — Shares of the video-streaming giant fell more than 2 percent after issuing weaker-than-expected guidance for the first quarter of 2019. The company also posted lighter-than-expected revenue for the fourth quarter of 2018. Schlumberger — Schlumberger’s stock rose more than 6 percent and was on track

Compared to the rough ride down, stocks have much more quietly and gently recovered more than 13 percent of their losses from the Christmas Eve low. That’s good news for bullish investors, who expect that the turbulent Christmas lows marked the bottom of the rout that took the S&P 500 down 20 percent on an

Stocks have gotten a boost from optimismfor U.S.-China trade talks, but earnings could take a bigger role in the week ahead, when reports roll in from a diverse group of companies in tech, railroads, pharma, airlines and consumer products. Stocks closed higher for a fourth week, amid talk the market may be getting overbought. The

Tesla – Tesla is cutting its full-time workforce by 7 percent to lower costs, according to an employee memo. In the memo, CEO Elon Musk said the cuts are needed along with manufacturing design improvements to achieve economies of scale and to maintain a viable company. (Read the full text of Musk’s email to Tesla

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Morgan Stanley – Morgan Stanley reported quarterly profit of 80 cents per share, missing the 89 cents a share consensus estimate. Revenue was also below forecasts, with CEO James Gorman saying the firm’s results were impacted by the volatile global market environment. Electronic Arts – Jefferies

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: First Data – The financial technology company will be acquired by Fiserv in an all-stock deal with an equity value of $22 billion, or $22.74 per share. First Data had closed yesterday at $17.54. Bank of America – Bank of America reported quarterly profit of 70

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: JPMorgan Chase – The bank reported quarterly profit of $1.98 per share, below the consensus estimate of $2.20, with revenue essentially in line. Consumer, community, and business banking results beat forecasts, but investment bank and wealth management results did not. UnitedHealth Group – The health insurer

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Goldcorp – Goldcorp will be acquired by Newmont Mining in a $10 billion deal. The price for the combination of the two gold producers represents about a 17 percent premium for Goldcorp shareholders. Lululemon – The athletic apparel maker raised its full-year earnings and revenue guidance

After the market’s December meltdown, earnings season could turn up some winners among the rubble, analysts said. What fourth quarter results will do for the market’s rebound from December’s trough is tough to say, given other factors, like trade talks, Washington dysfunction and the UK’s upcoming Brexit vote. But analysts do see some potential for

Stocks are quickly closing in on an important level that some traders believe could make or break the market’s post-Christmas bullish run. The S&P 500 is poised to take aim at an extremely important level in the coming week. The 2,600 level has sucked in all sorts of market watchers — technicians and non-technicians alike

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell: Netflix shares rose more than 1.5 percent after UBS upgraded the company to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $410. It said that after six months of under-performing, the investment bank thinks that the stock will rise as subscriber numbers grow. Activision Blizzard

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell: Bed Bath & Beyond shares soared more than 20 percent during after hours trading as the home-goods company reported it is ahead of its long-term financial goals and beat earnings estimates. The company said it is ahead of schedule in terms of slowing down the declines

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell: H&R Block shares rose as much as 2 percent during after hours trading. The U.S. government has said it will still distribute federal income tax refunds despite the government shutdown. The government has been shut down since December 22 as President Donald Trump and Congress engage

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell: Union Pacific shares rose more than 6.5 percent after hours as it hired a new chief operating officer. Jim Vena, who previously worked for Canadian National Railway, will begin as COO effective January 14. NuVasive shares rose 1.4 percent after hours after dropping more than 9

December’sstronger-than-expected jobs report shows the labor market remains solid, but does not alleviate fears that the economy is slowing down as the new year begins. The economy added 312,000 jobs in December, far more than the 177,000 that were expected and the largest increase in payrolls since February, 2018. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell changed his tone on Fed policy, walking back a comment he made in December that rattled markets and made him sound rigid about the Fed’s balance sheet. Following the Fed’s December meeting, Powell had said that the Fed’s balance sheet wind-down was on “autopilot.” That unnerved some investors who had been

Trade talks between the U.S.and China will dominate the market’s focus in the week ahead, while investors are also watching to see whether other companies join the ranks of Apple and warn about an earnings miss. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who sent stocks sharply higher Friday, speaks again Thursday at an Economics Club of Washington