Stock Market News For April 28, 2017

The Nasdaq finished at a record high on Thursday after technology shares experienced gains even as the Dow and the S&P 500 also moved higher. Meanwhile, a notable fall in energy shares and lack of details in President Donald Trump’s tax plan unveiled on Wednesday pared some gains for the broader market.

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) gained 6.24 points to close at 20,981.33. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to close at 2,388.77. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4% to a record close of 6,048.94 after reaching to an intraday high of 6,050.46 . The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) declined 3.8% to 10.44. A total of around 7.1 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 6.5 billion shares. Advancers were equivalent to declining stocks on the NYSE.

Earnings Season

Strong performance by Amazon, Microsoft, Comcast, Paypal, Intuit, Apple and Facebook shares had a positive impact on the investor confidence which ultimately helped Nasdaq to finish at a record high.

Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) advanced 1% following the release of its better-than-expected quarterly results, with both earnings and revenues exceeding estimates. The company reported revenues of $35.7 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $35.39 billion. Moreover, the company reported earnings of $1.48 per share in the reported quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.03.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) posted a $0.04 beat with its fiscal Q3 earnings coming in at $0.73 per share. Sales in the quarter amounted to $23.56 billion, just a shade higher than the Zacks consensus was looking for. Shares of the company advanced 0.7% following its earnings release.

Meanwhile, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) reported better-than-expected results in first-quarter 2017. The company reported revenues of $20.46 billion, an increase of 8.9% compared the level in the period last year. Moreover, the company reported earnings of $0.53 per share in the reported quarter, which increased by more than 23% a year earlier. The company’s impressive results were driven by growth in its NBCUniversal division.

Shares of Paypal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) gained 6.2% following the release of its first quarter fiscal 2017 financial results. The company reported earnings of $0.44 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.41 per share. The company saw revenue figures of $2.975 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.934 billion. The impressive performance is attributable to increase in payment processing volumes and user growth.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) released its second-quarter of fiscal 2017 results. Earnings came at $0.05 per share compared with the year-ago figure of $0.11 per share. Shares of the company advanced 8.5%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) gained 0.1% following news that the company has started to work on its own peer-to-peer mobile payment and debit card services. The company is in discussions with Visa to build its own pre-paid debit cards that is expected to be tied to the undeclared peer-to-peer service.

Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) shares surged 0.8% after, the company’s monthly active users reached to all-time high of 1.86 billion in the latest quarter, an increase of 17% year over year. Daily active users also increased 18% year over year.

Oil Prices Hit lowest level in Month

Oil prices declined amid fall in gasoline futures and increase in value of dollar. WTI crude prices fell by $0.65, or 1.3%, to $48.97 a barrel, marking its lowest level in about a month. Fall in oil prices dragged down energy shares, which ultimately had an adverse impact on the broader market.

Meanwhile, investors digested the tax-reform package announced on Wednesday. However, investors were disappointed as they had expected more details about the tax-reform package from Trump administration.

Economic Data

As per the Labor Department, Initial jobless claims increased by 14,000 to 257,000 in the week ending April 22. The figure saw an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level. However, the four week moving average was recorded at 242,250, a decrease of 500 from the previous week's revised average.

On the other hand, as per the U.S. Census Bureau, new orders for manufactured durable goods in March increased by 0.7% to $238.7 billion against the consensus estimate of 1.3.

Stocks that made Headlines

Leggett Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Reiterates View

Leggett & Platt Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) posted first-quarter 2017 results, wherein earnings topped estimates while sales came in line. (Read More)

V.F. Corp. Posts In-Line Q1 Earnings, Guides 2017

V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) released first-quarter 2017 results, wherein the company’s quarterly adjusted earnings came in at 55 cents a share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate and down 9.8% year over year. (Read More)

Barclays (LON:BARC) Q1 Earnings Improve on Higher Fee Income

Barclays PLC’s (NYSE:BCS) first-quarter 2017 net income from continuing operations was £1.21 billion ($1.50 billion), which more than doubled from £545 million recorded in the prior-year quarter. (Read More)

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