Analytics, News, and Forecasts for CFD Markets: stock news — 21-02-2017.

Major U.S. stock-indexes hit record intraday highs on Tuesday amid gains across sectors as strong earnings from top retailers underscored the strength of the U.S. economy. One in every six stocks on the S&P 500 hit a new 52-week high as a rally sparked by President Donald Trump's promise of tax reforms shows no sign of fading despite concerns around valuations.

Most of Dow stocks in positive area (23 of 30). Top loser - Caterpillar Inc. (CAT, -0.73%). Top gainer - Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT, +2.91%).

Most of S&P sectors are also in positive area. Top loser - Services (-1.1%). Top gainer - Basic Materials (+1.1%).

At the moment:

Dow 20691.00 +103.00 +0.50%

S&P 500 2359.00 +11.00 +0.47%

Nasdaq 100 5339.25 +13.50 +0.25%

Oil 54.60 +0.82 +1.52%

Gold 1238.80 -0.30 -0.02%

U.S. 10yr 2.42 -0.00

U.S. stock-index futures advanced as oil prices rose and investors cheered better-than-expected quarterly reports from top U.S. retailers.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 19,381.44 +130.36 +0.68%

Hang Seng 23,963.63 -182.45 -0.76%

Shanghai 3,253.25 +13.29 +0.41%

FTSE 7,278.95 -20.91 -0.29%

CAC 4,880.08 +15.09 +0.31%

DAX 11,895.12 +67.50 +0.57%

Crude $54.42 (+1.91%)

Gold $1,228.80 (-0.83%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Upgrades:

Verizon (VZ) upgraded to Buy at MoffettNathanson

Downgrades:

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank

Other:

Apple (AAPL) target raised to $154 from $150 at Morgan Stanley

Deere (DE) target raised to $109 at RBC Capital Mkts

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; target $16

Home Depot reported Q4 FY 2017 earnings of $1.44 per share (versus $1.17 in Q4 FY 2016), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $1.34.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $22.207 bln (+5.8% y/y), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $21.810 bln.

The company also issued in-line guidance for FY 2018, projecting EPS of $7.13 (versus analysts' consensus estimate of $7.17) and revenues growth of ~4.6% to ~$98.95 bln (analysts' consensus estimate of $98.32 bln).

In addition, the company's board of directors declared a 29 percent increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.89 per share and authorized a $15 bln share repurchase program, replacing its previous authorization.

HD rose to $145.48 (+1.73%) in pre-market trading.

Wal-Mart reported Q4 of fiscal year (FY) 2017 earnings of $1.30 per share (versus $1.49 in Q4 FY 2016), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $1.29.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $129.750 bln (+0.8% y/y), generally in-line with analysts' consensus estimate of $130.217 bln.

The company also issued in-line guidance for Q1 and the full FY 2018. It projected Q1 EPS of $0.90-1.00 versus analysts' consensus estimate of $0.96. For FY 2018 the company guided EPS of $4.20-4.40 (up from $4.15-4.35 in October of last year) analysts' consensus estimate of $4.32.

Walmart approved an annual cash dividend for FY 2018 of $2.04 per share, up 2 percent from the $2.00 per share paid for the last FY.

WMT rose to $71.82 (+3.53%) in pre-market trading.

European stocks scored modest gains Monday, helped by jumps for Royal Bank of Scotland, Rolls-Royce and furniture seller Steinhoff International. Investors also tracked a tightening French presidential race, as well as progress made on debt-laden Greece's bailout at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers.

Asian stocks held ground on Tuesday though Chinese equities surged to a fresh two-month high as domestic funds piled into financial counters on expectations the world's second biggest economy may have turned a corner. With U.S. markets closed for the Presidents Holiday on Monday, Asian markets have had few global cues off which to trade.