Market Pulse: JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Infosys, Crumbs Bake, Gold stocks

Crumbs Bake Shop

12/04/2013 15:26

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April 12 (Reuters) - Some U.S. stocks on the move on Friday:

WALL ST ADDS TO LOSSES AFTER SENTIMENT DATA

U.S. stocks extended losses in morning trading after data showed American consumer sentiment fell in April to its lowest in nine months.

The Dow Jones industrial average  .DJI  fell 43.13 points or 0.29 percent, to 14,822.01, the S&P 500  .SPX  lost 7.1 points or 0.45 percent, to 1,586.27 and the Nasdaq Composite  .IXIC  dropped 11.43 points or 0.35 percent, to 3,288.72.  .N

** JPMORGAN CHASE & CO  JPM.N , $49.14, down 0.4 pct (1002 ET)

JPMorgan Chase posted higher first-quarter profit on Friday as it spent less money on litigation, but most of its major businesses turned in tepid performances, and the bank's overall revenue declined.  ID:nL2N0CZ0CT

** CRUMBS BAKE SHOP INC  CRMB.O , $2.00, down 33 pct (0957 ET)

The cupcake specialty store chain's fourth-quarter loss widened and net sales fell 2 percent, as Hurricane Sandy hit the the critical Halloween selling season. The company lowered its sales forecast for 2013 to about $57 million from its earlier estimate of $73 million.

"The Company's projected sales are predicated on continued weakness at street-level stores offset by positive contributions from newer mall-based stores and kiosks," Crumbs said. ID:nASB00RKW   ID:nBwvcBgFa

** RITE AID CORP  RAD.N , $2.27, up 7.5 percent (0938 ET)

Raymond James upgraded its rating on the third-largest U.S. drugstore chain's stock to "outperform" from "market perform," saying the company poised to reap the benefits of its recent refinancing and is on track to generate meaningful free cash flow.

Shares of Rite Aid rose to their highest in more than three years to $2.31 in early trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

** BARRICK GOLD CORP  ABX.N   ABX.TO , $23.57, down 4 pct (1004 ET)

** IAMGOLD CORP  IAG.N   IMG.TO , $5.93, down 4 pct (1006 ET)

** YAMANA GOLD INC  AUY.N   YRI.TO , $13.60, down 4 pct (0949 ET)

** GOLDCORP INC  GG.N   G.TO  , $30.54; down 2 pct (0949 ET)

** ALAMOS GOLD INC  AGI.N   AGI.TO ; $11.71, down 4 pct (0948 ET)

** HARMONY GOLD MINING LTD  HMY.N   HARJ.J  , $5.73, down 5 pct (0947 ET)

Spot gold on Friday toppled to its lowest since last May, giving way as the dollar rose with residual pressure from a draft plan revealed earlier this week for Cyprus to sell gold as part of its bailout.

Selling accelerated as gold broke through key chart support at $1,530 an ounce. Spot gold  XAU=  hit a low of $1,528.14 an ounce, its weakest since May 16.  ID:nL5N0CZ20U

** WELLS FARGO & CO  WFC.N , $36.89, down 2 pct (1002 ET)

The No. 4 U.S. bank by assets reported a higher-than-expected 23 percent rise in first-quarter profit on Friday, but its mortgage business showed further signs of slowing and net interest margins continued to shrink.

ID:nL3N0CZ88O

** BLACKBERRY  BB.TO   BBRY.O , $13.77, up 2 pct (1002 ET)

The Canadian company said on Friday it would ask securities regulators in Canada and the United States to probe a report about retail return rates for its new Z10 smartphone that it called "false and misleading." The company said return rates were at or below its forecasts and in line with industry norms.

ID:nL2N0CZ0KC

** FOREST OIL CORP  FST.N , $4.95, down 1.4 pct (1001 ET)

** SCHLUMBERGER LTD  SLB.N , $75.82, down 2 pct (1001 ET)

Forest oil said Schlumberger, the oilfield services sector leader, will pick  a 50 percent working interest in the oil and gas producer's Eagle Ford shale acreage by paying $90 million towards future drilling costs.

** INFOSYS LTD  INFY.N , $43.78, down 20 pct (1000 ET)

** COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORP  CTSH.O , $74.39, down 4 pct (1000 ET)

** WIPRO LTD  WIT.N , $8.71, down 5 pct (1000 ET)

Infosys forecast full-year sales growth that missed analysts' expectations by a margin of  to 50 percent, dimming investor hopes that India's No.2 software services company

INFY.NS  will soon start reaping the benefits of its strategic revamp.  ID:nL3N0CZ0SS

** EVERTEC INC  EVTC.N , $21.44, up 7 pct (1023 ET)

Shares of Evertec Inc rose as much as 10 percent in their market debut, valuing the payment processor at $1.75 billion a day after it priced its IPO at the top end of the expected price range.  ID:nL3N0CZ5P5

** M&T BANK CORP  MTB.N , $101.24, down 3.5 pct (0959 ET)

** HUDSON CITY BANCORP INC  HCBK.O , $8.32, down 5 pct (0959 ET)

The two banks said on Friday it may take more time than expected for the U.S. Federal Reserve to rule on M&T's proposed $3.7 billion purchase of its smaller rival because of concerns over M&T's anti-money laundering program.  ID:nL2N0CZ0NU

** NETFLIX INC  NFLX.O , $174.88, up 1 pct (0959 ET)

The company's Chief Executive Reed Hastings quickly took advantage of new federal rules on using social media to disclose information, posting on Facebook Thursday that members of the subscription service watched 4 billion hours of video in the past three months.  ID:nL2N0CY1RY

Earlier on Thursday, the company announced a multi-year agreement with toy maker Hasbro  HAS.O  for children's programming.

** ARCH COAL INC  ACI.N , $5.55, down 1 pct (0956 ET)

** PEABODY ENERGY CORP  BTU.N , $20.67, down 1 pct (0956 ET)

** CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INC  CLF.N , $19.70, down 1 pct (0958 ET)

** ALPHA NATURAL RESOURCES INC  ANR.N , $8.08, down 1 pct (0958 ET)

Australian thermal coal benchmark prices recovered slightly to around $89 per tonne this week as Japanese utilities struck a deal with global miner Xstrata  XTA.L  for their annual coal contract.

Australia's Newcastle spot index  GCLNWCWIDX  rose to $88.90 per tonne on Wednesday,  from $86.71 per tonne a week earlier, data from online trading platform globalCOAL showed. ID:nL3N0CZ3OD

** MANNKIND CORP  MNKD.O , $3.97, down 8 pct (0956 ET)

An article on the Seeking Alpha website said the medical device maker's diabetes therapy will not be approved by health regulators as it is likely to have lesser efficacy when compared to a placebo. (http://link.reuters.com/rew37t)

The therapy, called Afrezza, is intended for the treatment of adult patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The therapy consists of a powder loaded into a cartridge which is used as an inhaler.

** MASTERCARD INC  MA.N , $533.16, down 1.5 pct (0955 ET)

** VISA INC  V.N , $166.33, down 0.7 pct (0955 ET)

Brokerage Sterne Agee graded both the payment processors' stocks to "neutral" from "buy." MasterCard is expected to face tough competition from Visa due to its margins, Sterne Agee analyst Greg Smith wrote in a note to clients. He also said that regulatory and political risks could have a greater impact on the share price of Visa.

** XENOPORT INC  XNPT.O , $7.08, down 3 pct (0950 ET)

The pharmaceutical company said its marketing partner, GlaxoSmithKline  GSK.L , experienced delays in production of XenoPort's restless leg syndrome drug, Horizant, which resulted in the drug being out of stock.

XenoPort said it expects Horizant to be available in pharmacies in June. The company is also evaluating the impact, if any, on the company's financial expectations for Horizant. ID:nBw7dqqmca

** CALLAWAY GOLF CO  ELY.N , $6.46, down 8 pct (0949 ET)

Raymond James graded the golf equipment retailer to "market perform" from "outperform," citing the sudden and significant devaluation of the Japanese Yen, and to a lesser extent similar challenges with the British Pound.

Callaway generated 48 percent of revenues from the United States, while Japan and Europe represented 19 percent and 14 percent of total revenues, as of end of 2012.

** ASHLAND INC  ASH.N , $84.95, up 8 pct (0949 ET)

Activist hedge fund Jana Partners LLC picked  a 7.4 percent stake in Ashland, saying the chemicals maker's stock was "undervalued." Jana Partners said Ashland's current value represents "an attractive investment opportunity," according to a regulatory filing.  ID:nL3N0CYCQ6

** J.C. PENNEY CO INC  JCP.N , $14.58, down 2 pct (0947 ET)

** BLACKSTONE GRO LP  BX.N , $21.20, up 0.5 pct (0948 ET)

Troubled Penny has hired Blackstone's financial advisory arm to explore how best to position the firm financially, three sources said on Thursday, while key investor William Ackman said shareholders were willing to put  more capital.  ID:nL3N0CZ0N8

** WALTER ENERGY INC  WLT.TO   WLT.N , $24.95, up 4 pct (0947 ET)

The coal miner, which is locked in a proxy fight with an activist hedge fund, said on Thursday that its first-quarter performance had improved from that of the fourth quarter of 2012.  ID:nL2N0CY24A

** HARRIS CORP  HRS.N , $44.67, down 4 pct (0946 ET)

The satellite operator estimated third-quarter results below analysts' expectations and cut its forecast for the year ended June 29 on government budget uncertainty and the likelihood of "key international tactical radio orders" being delayed. Harris is scheduled to report third-quarter results on April 30.

The company also said it is restructuring its operations such as workforce reduction, facility consolidation, and prepayment of debt mainly in the fourth quarter, resulting in pre-tax charges of between $65 million and $115 million.

ID:nBwrZYkba

** IXIA INC  XXIA.O , $18.31, down 2 pct (0934 ET)

The company, which makes telecom network testing products, estimated first-quarter revenue below its previous forecast, as $4.15 million that the company expected to recognize in the first quarter has now been recognized in prior periods that were restated. The company now expects first-quarter revenue of $121 million to $123 million.  ID:nBw116575a

** HOME DEPOT INC  HD.N , $72.66, up 1 pct (0933 ET)

Jefferies & Co graded the home-improvement chain's stock to "buy" from "hold," saying it has a bullish view on sales for the near and intermediate terms. "Our recent checks continue to come back favorable, so while it may be chilly outside, we think weather will not impede Home Depot's ability to post strong comparable-store sales in Q1," Jefferies analyst Daniel Binder wrote in a note.

** BANK OF AMERICA CORP  BAC.N , $12.12. down 1.3 pct (0933 ET)

** CITIGROUP INC  C.N ,  $44.28, down 1 pct (0932 ET)

** GOLDMAN SACHS GRO INC  GS.N , $148.33, down 0.5 pct (0932 ET)

** MORGAN STANLEY  MS.N , $22.18, down 0.4 pct (0931 ET)

At least three Wall Street analysts this week have written reports about the possibility of the biggest banks breaking themselves  to boost profitability, signaling that investors may be more willing to embrace an idea that is still toxic to some lawmakers in Washington.  ID:nL2N0CY25R

** J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT SERVICES INC  JBHT.O , $72.71, down 2 pct (0931 ET)

The U.S. trucker's first-quarter profit missed analysts' estimates, hurt by higher costs at two of its businesses that contribute about 30 percent of the company's total revenue.

ID:nBw4NB4fCa

At least three brokerages raised their target price on the stock on Friday. "The earnings miss confirms our thesis that the company will continue to see solid top-line trends, but will likely continue to do so at the expense of pricing and margins," Amit Daryanani, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a research note published on Friday.

(Compiled by Aditi Shrivastava in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)

((Aditi.Shrivastava@thomsonreuters.com)(within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5783)(Reuters Messaging: aditi.shrivastava.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: MARKETS USA STOCKS/PULSE