Stock Market News Live: Stocks close lower after reports China tariffs will remain until after 2020 election – Yahoo Finance

Stock News

Posted on January 14, 2020

The three major indices were mixed Tuesday as investors looked to an onslaught of corporate earnings and economic data later in the week.

Here’s where the major indices had settled as of 4:06 p.m. ET:

The U.S. Department of Labor is considering revoking news media outlets’ access allowing them to prepare stories about significant economic data in advance, Bloomberg reported Tuesday afternoon, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

As part of current practice, journalists receive data in a secured room without internet access or their personal belongings between a half-hour to an hour in advance of the official data releases to provide time for write-ups.

If put into effect, these reported changes would upend this system, creating a delay between the data releases and analyses provided by news outlets for data including the monthly jobs report.

The short-term funding market, which has been under pressure since late last year, is getting more love from the Federal Reserve until mid-February. The Fed said on Tuesday it would conduct repurchase agreement operations through until at least Feb. 13, but it would trimthe amount to $30 billion from $35 billion.

Amazon told third-party sellers Tuesday that they could resume shipping with FedEx Ground for Prime shipments, The Wall Street Journal reports. Amazon had banned use of the service in December, citing a decline in the quality of service.

Amazon will continue to not use FedEx for its own deliveries since the companies ended their relationship last summer.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer provided the following joint emailed statement to Yahoo Finance, when asked about media reports stating that tariffs would remain on Chinese imports through the 2020 elections.

Despite a “phase-one” trade deal reached and poised to be signed by the U.S. and China, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will remain in place for at least 10 months — after the 2020 presidential election in the U.S. — Bloomberg reports.

After the 10 months, any reduction in tariffs will be dependent on China’s compliance with the phase-one deal, according to Bloomberg.

Here’s where markets stood as of 1:58 p.m. ET:

Kansas City Fed President Esther George said she felt keeping rates on hold for now remained “appropriate.” However, she suggested that unwinding 2019’s three interest rate cuts may be warranted if geopolitical and trade risks fade.

George’s comments came in prepared remarks for a speech at the regional bank’s headquarters in Kansas City on Tuesday.

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12:19 p.m. ET: All three major indices turn green

The Dow held firmly in positive territory intraday Tuesday while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were little changed.

The 30-stock index jumped back over the 29,000 level, boosted by gains in shares of JPMorgan and Disney.

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 12:19 p.m. ET:

S&P 500 (^GSPC): -0.01% or -0.05 points to 3,288.08
Dow (^DJI): +0.38% or +109.04 points to 29,016.09
Nasdaq (^IXIC): -0.00% or -0.11 points to 9,273.72
Crude oil (CL=F): +0.67% or +$0.39 to $58.47 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): -0.48% or -$7.50 to $1,543.20 per ounce

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11:15 a.m. ET: Tame CPI masks surging health inflation

December’s relatively muted inflation data hid some pockets of inflation — notably in health care. As JPMorgan economist Daniel Silver points out:

Medical care inflation also had another strong month in the CPI report, rising 0.6% in December, and included a record-large 2.1% surge in prescription drug prices. The medical care CPI increased 4.6% oya in December, but inflation has been much softer in the related PCE price measures (generally less than 2% in recent years through November), and this difference has contributed to core CPI inflation outpacing core PCE inflation lately.

Year over year, changes in prescription drug prices

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10:54 a.m. ET: Investors cheer ‘King Dimon’ after JPM’s big Q4

IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. - Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase, discusses Future of Work at JPMorgan Chase event on Monday, March 18, 2019 in New York. (Adam Hunger/AP Images for JPMorgan Chase & Co. ) — IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. – Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase, discusses Future of Work at JPMorgan Chase event on Monday, March 18, 2019 in New York. (Adam Hunger/AP Images for JPMorgan Chase & Co. )

JPMorgan’s (JPM) stock is up 2%, testing session highs after a blowout fourth quarter capped a record year for the bank — boosted by big gains in fixed income (FICC) trading and consumer credit.

Noting that JPM “kicked off earnings season with a bang,” OANDA’s senior market analyst Edward Moya applauded the leadership of CEO Jamie Dimon (Wall Street’s longest-serving bank chief):

“JP Morgan posted a stunning FICC trading gain, over a billion dollars higher than analysts’ expectation. First quarter guidance was strong regarding net interest income and shares for the largest US bank were sharply higher. JP Morgan remains best of breed in banking and Dimon should feel like the king of FICC trading.”

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10:45 a.m. ET: More bad news for Boeing

FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 16, 2019 file photo, a Boeing worker walks in view of a 737 MAX jet in Renton, Wash. Shares of Boeing fell before the opening bell on a report that the company may cut production of its troubled 737 MAX or even end production all together. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) — FILE – In this Monday, Dec. 16, 2019 file photo, a Boeing worker walks in view of a 737 MAX jet in Renton, Wash. Shares of Boeing fell before the opening bell on a report that the company may cut production of its troubled 737 MAX or even end production all together. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

The embattled aerospace giant posted its worst annual net orders in decades on Tuesday, as the 737 MAX fiasco drove plane deliveries to their lowest in 11 years.

Allowing for cancellations and changes to earlier orders, Chicago-based Boeing said it had received just 54 new orders for planes in 2019 and delivered less than half as many as a year earlier. As a result, it lost the top spot to Airbus, its European rival, for the first time in eight years.

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10:43 a.m. ET: Microsoft stock unfazed after Amazon files lawsuit challenging Pentagon contract

A court filing Monday showed Amazon (AMZN) was seeking to temporarily block Microsoft (MSFT) from working on a $10 billion cloud contract the Department of Defense awarded the computer software company last year.

Amazon was previously seen as a front-runner to land to contract, and claimed it lost out on the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract due to improper political interference from President Donald Trump.

The temporary restraining order would prevent Microsoft from working as part of the contract until a federal court issues a decision on the JEDI deal on February 11.

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10:21 a.m. ET: Beyond Meat shares jump nearly 10%

Shares of Beyond Meat (BYND) were up by almost 10% about an hour into Tuesday’s session, extending gains from pre-market trading after reports the plant-based meat substitute-maker was considering expanding into China.

Xinhua, China’s state-run news outlet, reported that Beyond was considering tapping the mainland China market this year, citing an interview with the company’s executive chairman Seth Goldman on the sidelines of Retail’s Big Show 2020.

Trading was halted for Beyond’s stock a few minutes before 10 a.m. ET due to heightened volatility, but resumed shortly thereafter.

The high-flying, newly public company saw its stock surge to as high as $239.71 a share last year and are now trading around $125 apiece. The stock is up more than 60% for the 2020 calendar year to date.

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9:35 a.m. ET: Stocks tick lower around market open

The three major indices opened slightly to the downside Tuesday morning as corporate earnings results began rolling in.

JPMorgan led advances in the 30-stock Dow after posting record revenue and net income in the fourth quarter.

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 9:35 a.m. ET:

S&P 500 (^GSPC): -0.13% or -4.24 points to 3,283.89
Dow (^DJI): +0.02% or +7.2 points to 28,914.25
Nasdaq (^IXIC): -0.11% or -10.39 points to 9,262.19
Crude oil (CL=F): +0.67% or +$0.39 to $58.47 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): -0.44% or -6.8 to 1,543.80 per ounce

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8:30 a.m. ET: Inflation tame in December

Consumer prices rose by a modest 0.2% in December, Labor Department data showed on Tuesday, moderating slightly from the prior month and half the pace of October’s jump. The data should comfort the Federal Reserve as it looks to keep rates on hold to encourage growth.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, CPI rose 0.1% month on month, or slightly below expectations for a 0.2% increase. But over last year, this core measure of underlying price changes matched expectations, rising 2.3%.

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8:30 a.m. ET: A tale of two banks: Wells Fargo and Citigroup

JPMorgan’s record Q4 sets the tone for Tuesday’s trading, Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C) brought up the rear — with starkly different results. Citi saw profits surge 15% during the waning months of 2019 as credit and an eye-popping 49% spike in fixed-income trading activity bolstered the bottom line. Yet Wells Fargo suffered a startling 55% profit slump, hurt by the hangover of low rates and regulatory scandals.

WFC’s stock swooned by over 2%, while Citi’s edged higher in pre-market action.

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7:50 a.m. ET: Delta profits from Boeing’s 737 MAX woes

An airport worker guides a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319-100 plane on the tarmac at LAX in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

At least one beneficiary has emerged from Boeing’s ongoing mess with its flagship plane. Airline giant Delta (DAL) posted fourth quarter profits that beat Wall Street’s estimates — citing an influx of customers that fled rivals because of canceled flights stemming from the 737 MAX’s grounding. The stock surged over 4% in pre-market action from Monday’s close.

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7:45 a.m. ET: JPMorgan shares rise after big Q4 earnings beat

Shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) jumped more than 1.5% in early trading after the largest U.S. bank by assets reported much stronger than expected fourth-quarter results.

Here were the key figures versus the expectations, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg.

Revenue (adjusted): $29.2 billion vs $27.9 billion expected.
Earnings per share (adjusted): $2.57 vs $2.36 per share expected

CEO Jamie Dimon highlighted a more constructive geopolitical and macroeconomic backdrop as helping buoy the bank to record revenue and net income in the fourth quarter.

“While we face a continued high level of complex geopolitical issues, global growth stabilized, albeit at a lower level, and resolution of some trade issues helped support client and market activity towards the end of the year,” Dimon said in a statement. “The U.S. consumer continues to be in a strong position and we see the benefits of this across our consumer businesses.”

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7:36 a.m. ET: Stock futures hug the flatline as earnings kick off

U.S. stocks futures drifted Tuesday morning as investors digested an early set of corporate earnings results, mostly from major financial institutions.

Contracts on the S&P 500 hovered near Monday’s record levels, boosted by optimism surrounding U.S.-China relations after the Trump administration dropped China from a watchlist for currency manipulation.

Here were the main moves during the pre-market session, as of 7:36 a.m. ET: