On The Fly: Top stock stories for Tuesday - InvestingChannel

On The Fly: Top stock stories for Tuesday

Stocks opened in negative territory and remained there throughout the morning, before a late day rebound lifted the Nasdaq and S&P back into the green and the Dow far off its lows. Investors were awaiting the results from Apple (AAPL), which has recently seen its iPhone estimates cut at many research firms amid signs of weaker demand than previously expected. However, after topping expectations on both the top and bottom line, Apple shares are rising about 4% in afterhours trading following the iPhone giant’s report. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the final Markit manufacturing PMI for April was in-line with the flash reading at 56.5. The ISM manufacturing index fell 2.0 points to 57.3 in April, which was below expectations for a reading of 58.5. Construction spending was weak for March, falling 1.7%, though there was a large upward revision to February. On the trade front, the White House has permanently exempted Argentina, Brazil, and Australia from the steel and aluminum tariffs and extended the exemption by 30 days for the EU, Canada, and Mexico. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Pfizer (PFE) fell 3% after the drugmaker reported earnings that were slightly better than expected, revenues that were a bit worse than expected and backed its prior full-year guidance. Additionally, the drugmaker said it is taking a split “off the table for the foreseeable future” as it has not received an “acceptable offer” for its Consumer Healthcare business. Drugmaking peer Merck (MRK) similarly reported slightly better than expected profits on sales that were somewhat below the consensus forecast and narrowed its full-year profit forecast, sending its shares down 1.5%… Aetna (AET) posted better than expected earnings and revenue, with chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini stating that its core businesses performed well in the quarter and that its Medicare growth strategy remains on track… Under Armour (UAA) shares rose 1.5% after the company reported a break-even quarter on an adjusted basis but also guided to lower profits for the full-year than were expected… Meanwhile, at its F8 conference, Facebook (FB) announced a number of new products and services, including a Clear History function that will enable users to “see the websites and apps that send us information when you use them, delete this information from your account, and turn off our ability to store it associated with your account going forward.” In addition, Facebook announced plans to launch a new dating feature on its service for non-friends. The news sent Match Group (MTCH) shares plunging, as the owner of Match and Tinder closed with a 22% decline. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Karyopharm (KPTI), which rose 11% after it reported “positive” top-line results from the Phase 2b STORM study. Also higher were NutriSystem (NTRI) and Tenet (THC), which gained 18% and 19%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was KLX Inc. (KLXI), which fell 9% after it agreed to sell its Aerospace Solutions Group business to Boeing (BA) and to spin-off to KLX shareholders its Energy Services Group business. Also lower were Commscope (COMM) and Seagate (STX), which fell 28% and 6%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: The Dow fell 64.10, or 0.27%, to 24,099.05, the Nasdaq gained 64.44, or 0.91%, to 7,130.70, and the S&P 500 advanced 6.75, or 0.25%, to 2,654.80.