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 Central European stock markets
jumped on Thursday after the Federal Reserve forecast that it
would hold rates through 2020, which pushed money into equities
and weakened the dollar.
The Fed announcement late on Wednesday, which followed its
decision to leave rates unchanged, sent the dollar to its
weakest since early August.
Stocks in the eastern corner of the European Union gained,
led by a 1.5% jump in Warsaw, while Prague's blue-c
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These are the stocks posting the largest moves before the bell, including Delta, Southwest, GE, Lululemon, Kroger, and more.
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 Shares of Bausch Health Companies gained 1.6% in premarket trading as J.P. Morgan analysts upgraded the stock Wednesday morning from overweight to neutral, saying that "fundamentals for Bausch [are] looking increasingly solid." They said that the company is well-positioned for future growth and is moving past its legacy issues, which had included kickback convictions for former executives from Bausch (then called Valeant) and its pharmacy partner Philidor and allegations of price gouging. Going forward, J.P. Morgan analysts say that there may be additional value for Bausch to separate its eye-care business, which makes up 55% of its revenue. The company's lack of participation in the generics and the opioid markets are now considered positive, as generic drugs face price erosion and many opioid makers are fighting legal battles. "We see BHC's business as fundamentally better-positioned than specialty pharma peers," they wrote. Bausch's stock is up 58.8% year-to-date, compared to the S&P 500 , which has gained 25%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Asbury Automotive Group Inc. said Thursday it has reached an agreement to acquire assets of Park Place Dealerships in an all-cash deal valued at $1 billion. Park Place has a portfolio of luxury dealerships that will increase the car retailer's geographic mix to 36% of revenue coming from the Texas market and about 50% of revenue coming from luxury brands. The deal is expected to add about $2 billion in annualized revenue and to close in the first quarter of 2020. "Their portfolio of stores comes with a strong base of loyal clients and 2,100 long-term team members throughout the high growth Dallas/Fort Worth market," Asbury Chief Executive David Hult said in a statement. "We are also excited to grow our presence in Austin, Texas with a Jaguar/Land Rover open point, which is another high growth luxury market." The deal is expected to boost 2020 EPS by $1.00 to $1.25, excluding the impact of transaction costs. The company expects to book pretax costs of 5 cents a share to 10 cents a share in the fourth quarter. Asbury shares were not active premarket, but have gained 72% in 2019, while the S&P 500 has gained 25%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Ebay Inc. said Thursday that it has launched an app to buy and sell vehicles directly from users' mobile devices. The new app, eBay Motors, uses machine learning to buy and sell new, used, rare and collectible vehicles. It's available for Android devices and the Apple iPhone. Ebay stock is up 24.4% for the year to date while the S&P 500 index is up 25.3%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Credit Suisse analyst Matthew Cabral wrote Thursday that Apple Inc.'s November iPhone sell-in dropped 35.4% in China last month, citing third-party data. The stock is off 0.9% in premarket trading. "We recognize monthly data can be volatile and the shift in launch timing versus last year is likely skewing year-over-year compares; however, the drop in November marks the second straight double digit decline (-10.3% year over year in October) and total shipments in China since the launch of the iPhone 11 family are now down 7.4% year over year (September to November)," he wrote. Cabral said the popularity of Apple's cheaper iPhone 11 model in China "likely adds further pressure" to Apple's China sales. "In addition, the looming Dec 15th deadline for 15% tariffs imposed on the vast majority of Apple's portfolio (including iPhone, iPad, and Mac) remains a potential overhang," he wrote. "Our (and we believe investors') base case continues to factor in a favorable resolution (i.e., no tariffs); however, we think Apple would have a difficult time pushing through tariff-related price increases to US consumers (~35% of CY18 iPhone units, per Gartner) without a commensurate impact on demand." Cabral rates the stock at neutral with a $221 target price. Apple shares have risen 72% so far this year, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average has increased 20%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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* Pound traders lock in profits before British election
result
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 European stocks rose on Thursday in their first opportunity to react to the U.S. Federal Reserve decision, with key events on the horizon including a European Central Bank decision and the U.K. election.
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 We are still in an overall bull market and many stocks that smart money investors were piling into surged through the end of November. Among them, Facebook and Microsoft ranked among the top 3 picks and these stocks gained 54% and 51% respectively. Hedge funds' top 3 stock picks returned 41.7% this year and beat […]
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