Stock market news: August 28, 2019 – Yahoo Finance

Stock News

Posted on August 28, 2019

U.S. stocks pared losses and Treasury yields pared some losses, with investors awaiting further developments in the U.S.-China trade war.

Energy stocks led advances, with these tracking a rally domestic crude oil prices (CL=F), after the EIA reported a greater-than-expected, 10 million-barrel weekly decline in U.S. crude inventories. Meanwhile, overseas, European equities and sterling slid as political concerns mounted.

Here were the main moves in the market, as of 11:19 a.m. ET:

S&P 500 (^GSPC): +0.28%, or 8.05 points
Dow (^DJI): +0.43%, or 111.83 points
Nasdaq (^IXIC): -0.02%, or 1.88 points
10-year U.S. Treasury yield (^TNX): -2.7 bps to 1.463%
30-year U.S. Treasury yield (^TYX): -3.7 bps to 1.93%

London’s FTSE 250 (^FTMC) was off more than 0.5%, and the pound plunged after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed he planned to suspend parliament just days after Members of Parliament (MPs) return from a summer recess, in a move to try and narrow the available window of time available for dissenters to try and block a no-deal Brexit. The formal reopening of parliament is set to take place October 14.

Formally known as prorogation, the controversial move increases the likelihood of the U.K. crashing out of the European Union (EU) by the October 31 deadline without a deal – an outcome many economists have said would spell disaster for the British economy. The pound (GBPUSD=X) dropped to below 1.22 per dollar overnight following initial reports of Johnson’s plan from BBC, before paring some losses.

Government debt in both Europe and the U.S. was bid higher Wednesday morning, as concerns over growth in global economy mounted.

Ahead of the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange, the yield on the U.S. 10-year bond fell 4.8 basis points below that of the 2-year note, diving further into an inversion. The 30-year yield dropped below 2% to an all-time low of 1.905%, falling below U.S. government debt with a 3-month duration.

Tiffany (TIF) reported stronger-than-expected earnings results for its fiscal second quarter, while sales fell short of estimates amid ongoing softness in purchases by foreign tourists visiting Tiffany’s key domestic locations. Tiffany posted earnings of $1.12 per share, or 7 cents a share ahead of expectations, on revenue of $1.05 billion, slightly short of the $1.06 billion expected.

The company reported a comparable same-store sales decline of 3% in constant currency for the quarter, versus expectations for just a 1.5% decrease. However, comp sales in Asia Pacific unexpectedly rose 1%, versus a decline of nearly the same magnitude expected.

The sign of a Tiffany & Co. store is pictured in Pasadena, California, U.S., November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

“With the tough comparison to last year’s strong performance in the first half behind us, and in spite of the headwinds of weak demand from foreign tourists, currency exchange rate pressures and continuing business disruptions in Hong Kong, we are actively managing what is in our control and positioning our brand to win – accelerating new product introductions and keeping a visible profile,” Tiffany CEO Alessandro Bogliolo said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the newest high-growth startup revealed its financial results ahead of a planned public debut.

Indoor fitness company Peloton filed its prospectus Tuesday afternoon ahead of an initial public offering (IPO), and plans to list under the ticker “PTON.”

As with many high-profile, highly valued tech “unicorns” including Uber (UBER), Lyft (LYFT) and the soon-to-be-public We Company, the Peloton reported surging sales, coupled with yawning losses.

The digital indoor workout firm posted $915 million in revenue for its most recent full fiscal year ended June 30, more than double its sales for last year. However, net losses surged to $195.6 million during the same period, yawning from net losses of just $47.9 million in the year prior. Connected fitness subscribers, or those paying for memberships, more than doubled during the year to 511,000, while overall Peloton account-holders total 1.4 million.

Peloton was valued in private markets at $4 billion in August 2018.