Stock Market News for January 13, 2015 – Zacks Investment Research
Markets ended in the red zone for the second-consecutive day on Monday as oil price slide continued to dent investor sentiment. Moreover, dismal earnings outlook also dragged down benchmarks yesterday. However, some merger and acquisition news limited day’s losses. More than 75% of the Dow components ended in negative territory on Monday.
For a look at the issues currently facing the markets, make sure to read today’s Ahead of Wall Street article
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined more than 0.5% to close at 17,640.84. The Standard & Poor 500 (S&P 500) lost 0.8% to close at 2,028.26. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 4,664.71; declining more than 0.8%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 11.7% to settle at 19.60. A total of about 3.47 billion shares were traded on NYSE on Monday. Decliners outpaced advancing stocks on the NYSE. For 61% stocks that declined, 36% advanced.
On Monday, the price of WTI crude oil plunged almost 5% to $46.07 per barrel, witnessing its lowest level since 2009. Moreover, the price of Brent crude oil dropped 5.7% to $47.43 a barrel yesterday. Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS – Analyst Report) reduced its three-month outlook for the price of WTI crude oil from $70 per barrel to $41 a barrel. Also, the company downgraded its outlook for the price of Brent crude oil to $42 per barrel from $80 a barrel. Major oil suppliers showed no sign of reducing oil production, which in turn had a negative impact on the energy prices.
Slump in oil prices dragged down the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) on Monday. The sector declined 2.9% yesterday and was the worst performing sector among the S&P 500 sectors. Key energy stocks including Schlumberger Limited (SLB – Analyst Report), Halliburton Company (HAL – Analyst Report), Chevron Corporation (CVX – Analyst Report) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) lost 3.9%, 3.2%, 2.2% and 1.9%, respectively. Eight out of the 10 S&P 500 sectors registered losses on Monday.
Separately, shares of Tiffany & Co. (TIF) plunged 14% after predicting fiscal year earnings per share between $4.15 and $4.20, down from the previously guided range of $4.20 to $4.30 per share. The company reported that their worldwide sales during November and December declined $1.02 billion or 1% year-over-year. Also, SanDisk Corp.’s (SNDK – Analyst Report) shares tumbled 13.9% after reporting preliminary fourth quarter revenues of $1.73 billion, missing its own guidance of $1.8-1.85 billion. Both Tiffany and SanDisk were the biggest losers among the S&P 500 sectors.
However, Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s (LULU – Analyst Report) shares gained 6.8% after the company forecasted fourth quarter earnings per share between 71 cents and 73 cents, up from its earlier predicted range of 65-69 cents. The company also lifted its fourth quarter sales outlook to the range of $595-600 million from $570-585 million.
However, Foundation Medicine, Inc.’s (FMI – Snapshot Report) shares surged 95.3% after Swiss company Roche Holding declared that the company acquired 56.3% stake in Foundation Medicine for around $1.2 billion or $50 per share. Separately, shares of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NPSP – Analyst Report) jumped 8.2% after Shire plc (SHPG – Analyst Report) announced that it will acquire the company at $46 per share, which is a 9% premium of Friday’s closing price. The total value of the deal will be around $5.2 billion.
Separately, Alcoa Inc. (AA – Analyst Report) unofficially kicked off fourth quarter earnings season on Monday after announcing quarterly earnings results after the closing bell.
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Stock Market News for January 13, 2015 – Zacks Investment Research
