US stocks close lower
Tyson Foods surges in after-hours trading
New IPO Roku surges
After-hours
Investors were tucking into Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE:TSN) in after-hours trading after the foods group raised its outlook for the year.
The group also announced plans to lay off 450 jobs, but that was not responsible for the raised profit guidance, which the company said was due to a much better than expected performance in its beef segment.
The company now expects earnings per share for the current financial year to land somewhere between US$5.20 and US$5.30 a share, which represents a 25 cent increase at both ends of the range.
Guidance for fiscal 2018 was set at US$5.70 to US$5.85 a share.
Tyson said most of the job losses would come from the corporate offices.
Shares were up 6% at US$69.38 in screen-based trading.
House builder KB Home (NYSE:KBH) did not exactly blow the roof off with its third quarter numbers, but they were good enough to warrant a 2.5% increase in the share price to US$22.22.
Earnings per share of 51 cents were five cents higher than analysts' had been expecting.
Revenue was also better than expectations at US$1.14bn; the consensus forecast had been for US$1.12bn.
The company said it built 2,765 homes in the period, which was a little above the 2,736 the market had been expecting.
The company said its operations in Texas had been affected by Hurricane Harvey, but the impact was not as severe as it might have been because the company's homes were built in newer areas that have decent drainage systems.
We'll have to wait until the next earnings announcement to learn of the impact of Hurricane Irma, as that did not hit Florida until the first week of the fiscal fourth quarter.
On the tech side of things, expensive groceries seller Whole Foods Market Inc's (NASDAQ:WFM) share price was unaffected by news that payment card information has been stolen from taprooms, restaurants and other venues located within some of its stores.
The company is in the process of being taken over by online shopping giant Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Social media giant Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) saw its shares edged 10 cents higher after the bell to US$16.95, after it said it had founds hundreds of accounts that are linked to Russian operatives.
Slightly in excess of 200 accounts were found to be linked to 470 pages and accounts on rival social media platform Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) that have links to a so-called “Russian troll farm” - an operation that systematically looks for social media postings it disagrees with and counters those views with aggressive posts – that was said to have stuck its nose in to the US presidential election.
Meanwhile, tech darling Apple NASDAQ:AAPL) said it had received highest ever number of US government national security requests for data in the first half of 2017.
Between 13,250 and 13,499 requests were received regarding 9,000 - 9,249 accounts.
Stocks close lower
US stocks closed lower as traders mulled over economic data and President Trump's tax plans.
Gross domestic product (GDP) for the USA increased at a 3.1% annual rate for the three months to June (second quarter), the Commerce Department said - the quickest rate for more than two years.
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, however, are likely to dampen the trajectory in the third quarter.
The Dow Jones closed at 22,360, down 52 while the S&P 500 shed 8 points to close at 2,501.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX Composite index advanced 9 points to 15,618.
US crude, or West Texas Intermediate, is down 1.13% to US$51.55 a barrel.
MID-SESSION
It was a mixed bag at mid-session for US stocks, with the Dow higher and the Nasdaq lower.
The Dow Jones added around 48 points at 22,386 and the broader based S&P 500 gained 2.49 at 2,509.
The Nasdaq was down 3.26 at 6,450.
"US equity benchmarks are a touch lower amid low volatility. The proposal by Donald Trump to introduce a more pro-business tax system is the talk of the markets at the moment," said David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets.
OPEN
Wall Street shares lost ground at the open, having been higher yesterday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Index down over 20 points.
The tech heavy Nasdaq index lost almost 13 points at 6,440. The broader-based S&P 500 shed 2.56 at 2,504.
In Toronto, the TSX shed 5.33 points to stand at 15,614.
In the oil market, US crude lost 0.77% to US$52.50 a barrel.
It came as traders are digesting Donald Trump's new tax plans, annouced late yesterday, which would see corporate tax cut to 20% from 35% and create just three tax bands of 12%, 25% and 35% instead of the current seven.
In companies, Abbvie Inc ( NASDAQ:ABBV) added 6.31% to US$90.09 and was top gainer on S&P 500 after Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) and the group said earlier, that they had reached a settlement over Amgen's biosimilar rival to Abbvie's blockbuster drug Humira.
Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC) was the big loser, down 3.09% to US$85.98.
Blackberry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) shares added 14.63% to US$10.58 as software sales hit a record and second quarter numbers were far better than expected.
PREVIEW
US shares in Wall Street are seen starting lower after a higher finish yesterday. Several stocks are in play, including a new float.
In focus will be Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU), the streaming TV and media firm, which makes its market debut today in New York on the Nasdaq index.
In doing so, it plans to sell shares worth US$219mln of shares, priced at US$14 each, valuing the group at US$1.3bn.
Meanwhile, Blackberry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) shares added 7.48% to US$ 9.92 after hours as the Canadian smartphone giant announced second quarter numbers, which beat estimates.
The group for the three months reported revenue of US$249mln, which was higher than the US$221mln that had been expected.
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) shares lost 2.63% to US$2.22 as it is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.01 per share on revenues of $7.84bn.
Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN) shares lost 1.57% to US$134.50. The group is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.46 per share on revenue of $8.99bn.