US benchmarks mixed
Apple shares 2.4% lower; Amazon down 1.0%
TSX up 36
AFTER HOURS
Online payments specialist Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) was wanted in after-hours trading after topping expectations with its earnings.
The firm also raised its outlook for the full year, now expecting revenues in the range of between US$12.92bn and US$12.98bn.
READ Paypal Holdings boosted by growth in mobile as it raises full year outlook
The shares were up almost 4% at US$69.84 in screen-based trading.
That rise was put in the shade by the 27% surge to US$30.45 by Skechers USA Inc (NYSE:SKX), the footwear company.
Third quarter earnings per share of 59 cents were 16 cents higher than the market had been expecting.
“Third quarter net sales of US$1.095 billion set a new quarterly record for the Company, surpassing our previous record in the first quarter earlier this year by $22 million, and resulted in a new nine month record with sales exceeding $3 billion,” said David Weinberg, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Skechers.
Fiscal first quarter results from collaboration software outfit Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ:TEAM) sparked a surge in demand for the shares, which rose 12% to US$45.10 in after-hours trading.
Total revenue in the three months to the end of September was US$193.8, up 42% from US$136.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2017.
Adjusted net income was US$29.9mln, versus US$22.7mln the year before.
Going the other way was Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG), the cancer and inflammatory diseases drugs developer.
The shares retreated 5.5% to US$128.50 after the company announced it would not take a possible Crohn’s disease treatment to Phase 3 trial.
READ Celgene stock drops on drug development disappointment
Medtech firm Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ:ISRG) found the market hard to please.
The shares dipped 3.2% to US$345.90, despite reporting third quarter revenues and profits that beat Wall Street's consensus forecasts.
Net income weighed in at US$323.8mln, equivalent to US$2.77 a share; that was up from US$245.7mln (US$2.06 a share) the year before ans better than the US$1.99 a share analysts had been expecting.
CLOSE
US benchmarks rallied at the death, but weakness among the so-called FANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) kept the Nasdaq Composite in the red,
The Dow Jones finished at 23,163, up 5 while the S&P 500 was up slightly less than a point at 2,562. The Nasdaq was over 19 points lower at 6,605.
US crude was down 1.315 to US$51.36 a barrel.
The TSX closed up over 36 at 15,818.
Today is the 30 year anniversary of the 1987 'Black Monday' crash, but that is seemingly the only link between the two days, as analysts suggested the 2017 US rally isn’t a rerun of the 1987 pre-crash runup.
Tech stocks falls weighed on Wall Street. Apple Inc (NADSAQ:AAPL) is down 2.43% to US$155.88 on iPhone 8 production news. Amazon.com Inc (NADSAQ:AMZN) shed 1.07% to US$986.33. Facebook (NYSE:FB) lost 0.87% to US$174.50.
Textron Inc (NYSE:TXT) shares lost 0.90% to US$53.09 as the aircraft and helicopter maker revenue from its aviation business declined last year as deliveries fell.
MID-SESSION
US stocks joined global equities on Thursday to head lower.
A number of factors are spooking investors around the globe, including the Spanish, Catalonia question, Brexit and weak data.
The Dow Jones shed 17.25 at 23,140, while the S&P 500 is off 2.39 at 2,558.
The tech heavy Nasdaq index shed over 33 to stand at 6,590.
In Toronto, the TSX, conversely, is up over 21 points at 15,803.
Imprimis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IMMY) added over 34% to US$1.96 after the firm announced the release of a 99-cent alternative to Allergan PLC's Restasis to address the 30 million Americans suffering from Dry Eye Disease
Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRBP) added over 12% to US$7.85 after the company disclosed positive topline results from Phase 2 study of safety and efficacy of anabasum in dermatomyositis.
The mean (average) improvement (or reduction) in the primary efficacy outcome, the Cutaneous Dermatomyositis Disease Area and Severity Index (CDASI) activity score - a validated outcome measure of skin disease severity - was 9.3 points for anabasum treatment at the end of the study versus a reduction of 3.7 points for placebo treatment.
On the losing front, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares lost 2.73% to US$155.40 as traders got spooked by news the tech titan would be cutting production of its iPhone 8 due to a lack of demand.
LIVE: Apple down on reports of low iPhone 8 sales $AAPL - is this good for the company? https://t.co/W3N23Yd3IP pic.twitter.com/Z1mEmzOpXD
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) 19 October 2017
OPEN
US benchmarks opened their accounts firmly in the red on Thursday with the Dow Jones tanking almost 85 points.
The index is down 85 at 23,072, while the Nasdaq is down over 57 at 6,566. The broader based S&P500 is down almost 11 at 2,550.
In oil, US crude is lagging with West Texas Intermediate down 1,48% to stand at US$51.27.
One of the top risers was Adobe Systems Inc (NYSE:ADBE), which saw shares shed 9.22% to US$167.02 after it annouced fiscal 2018 revenue and earnings targets, which were slightly above Wall Street expectations.
Adobe said it expects revenue of about US$8.7bn for fiscal 2018, a 20% increase over fiscal 2017 sales, and adjusted earnings of $5.50 a share for the year.
On the flipside, United Continental Holdings (NYSE:UAL) lost 5.38% to US$64.33 as it reported quarterly earnings and revenue, which beat analysts expectations, despite severe business disruptions from a series of hurricanes that hit southeast Texas, Florida and parts of the Caribbean.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares plunged nearly 3% on reports that it would be cutting production of its iPhone 8 due to a lack of demand.