logo-loader

U.S. benchmarks end the week flat, TMX exchange halts trading after technical issue

Last updated: 12:45 27 Apr 2018 EDT, First published: 16:18 27 Apr 2018 EDT

Nasdaq
  • Dow Jones and S&P 500 down slightly

  • Technical issue halts trading on all TMX exchanges

  • Amazon shares ended on a high note following strong earnings

  • Exxon and Sony were the day's top decliners

The U.S. indices ended the week on a mixed note, with the Nasdaq ending the day flat.

The Nasdaq saw a slight gain by the closing bell but was pulled down by tech stocks.

The Dow and the S&P 500 were down slightly by the end of the day.

All TMX exchanges, including the Toronto Stock Exchange, halted trading this afternoon due to technical issues.

Expedia Group Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) was one of the top gainers of the day, jumping 8.2% to US$115.07 after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results. While the online travel company reported US$0.46 loss per share, an increased number of bookings helped it to beat revenue forecasts.

Shares of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) were also on the rise, up 3.6% to US$1572.62 after its first-quarter earnings crushed Wall Street estimates. The e-commerce giant reported US$3.27 per share on revenue of US$51.04bn, flying past estimates of US$1.26 EPS on revenue of US$49.78bn.

Exxon Mobile Corp (NYSE:XOM) was one of the top decliners of the day after reporting lower-than-expected first-quarter earnings, missing Wall Street earnings expectations. Shares of the oil giant fell 3.8% to US$77.79 by the end of the day.

 

Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE) was also a top decliner, falling more than 9.3% to US$45.50 after reporting its fiscal 2018 results. While the tech company saw improvements in sales and revenue, its outlook for the following fiscal year disappointed investors.

Afternoon update:

It has been a subdued day so far for US stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 56.8 points, or 0.2%, to 24,265.5, with more than half of those losses coming from Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) – down 3.4% to US$78.09 – after it disappointed with its first-quarter earnings.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq is also struggling on Friday, down 12.8 points, or 0.2%, to 7,105.9. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was the main laggard, slipping 1.5% to US$161.77, ahead of its fiscal second-quarter numbers on Tuesday.

Things were slightly better on the S&P 500 index, which is hovering around yesterday’s close at 2,669.2. Trouble-hit credit check giant Expedia Group Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) – up 8.2% to US$115 – was helping the index to keep its head above water after it reported better-than-expected earnings.

US economic growth slows in 1Q

US economic growth slowed to an annualized rate of 2.3% in the first quarter of 2018.

That is down from the 2.9% seen in the final quarter of 2017, but slightly better than the 2.9% growth economists had predicted.

Cautious consumer spending, which makes up more than two-thirds of economic activity, was blamed for the slowdown as it eased to 1.1% in the first three months of 2018, despite President Trump’s tax cuts.

 

That’s the weakest pace for almost five years and follows a 4% growth surge in the fourth quarter of last year.

 

Morning report:

US indices kicked off the end of the week in positive territory as U.S. companies’ earnings reports continued to push stocks higher.

Shortly after the bell, the Dow Jones was up 14 points at 24,337

The S&P 500 added 7 points at 2,674

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 47 points at 7,166

Up in Toronto, the TSX stayed flat at 15,638

SVB Financial Group was on the list of early winners as the bank’s shares climbed 16.9% after strong 1Q results and the news that its price target has been raised to US$327 by a Piper Jaffray analyst.

Expedia fared well as well, rising 7.7% after the travel group whizzed past market expectations for the first quarter, with US$2.5bn in revenue.

Investors also applauded a dazzling 1Q show by Amazon.com, pushing up its shares by 4.9% to US$1,592 a day after the online retailer said its sales rose to US$51bn in the first quarter.

Charter Communications, the cable group, meanwhile, endured a walloping and reported a 9% drop after the group reported a net first-quarter loss of 122,000 residential video customers.

Also on the roll call of fallers was Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which dropped 6.5% as investors seemed spooked ahead of the biotech group's first-quarter results on May 3rd.

The yield on ten-year Treasuries dropped 3 basis points to trade at 2.97%, sending a signal that investors are less worried about borrowing costs.

The US dollar, meanwhile, rose slightly against the pound and the euro due to disappointing economic growth figures coming out of France and Spain. The euro inched down 0.2% to US$1.2085 while the pound slipped 1 per cent to US$1.3780.

ARway.ai announces multiple new SaaS developer contracts in both the United...

ARway.ai (CSE:ARWY, OTCQB:ARWYF) Chief Executive Officer Evan Gappelberg joined Steve Darling from Proactive to announce multiple new SaaS developer sign-ups for its augmented reality experience platform, focusing on AR indoor navigation. These partnerships represent significant milestones in...

18 minutes ago