The Economy
No Changes For 401(k) Plans, Says Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday morning that there will be “no change” to the 401(k) retirement savings program as the White House drafts up plans for a tax overhaul to boost the economy. A deduction in the plan’s contribution limit was previously brought up in discussions with the Congress as a way to generate lost revenues from possible tax cuts.
Trump Close To Naming Fed Chair
President Trump has also said that he is closing to naming the next Federal Reserve chair, a decision that could be finalized by November 3. Wall Street analysts believe that Federal Reserve Governor Jay Powell will likely be selected for this position.
Nicaragua To Join Paris Climate Agreement
Nicaragua has become the latest country to join the Paris climate agreement, leaving the U.S. and Syria as the only nations outside the global pact.
The Markets
U.S. Market Opens At Record Highs
The U.S. stock market continued its upward momentum from last week, opening at record highs on Monday, October 23, as we enter a busy week of earnings releases, including those from tech giants like Amazon (NASDAQ:$AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:$GOOG).
However, the market retreated from the record highs at the end of the day: the Dow Jones fell 54.67 points, the S&P 500 lost 10.23 points and the Nasdaq dropped 42.23 points at market close.
Japanese Market Climbs After Shinzo Abe’s Election Win
The Japanese stock market continued to climb higher on Monday following a convincing win by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition over the weekend. The Nikkei 225 index closed higher for a 15th straight session at 21,696.65.
The election result also lifted the U.S. dollar to a three-month high versus the yen and caused a dip in the spot gold price.
Oil Holds Steady On Tighter Market
The oil market held steady on Monday, supported by supply concerns in Iraq and a slowdown in U.S. drilling rates. Brent crude settled at $57.37 a barrel, down 38 cents. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended the session at $51.90 a barrel, up six cents.
Top Active Stocks
General Electric (NYSE:$GE) saw its ratings reduced by Morgan Stanley and UBS, due to concerns regarding a possible dividend cut by the company and the fact that the company missed its earnings for the first time in two years last week. General Electric’s shares were down by 6.88%, the biggest drop in six years.
Disk-drive maker Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:$STX) saw its shares jump by over 13% on Monday following its fiscal Q1 earnings release, which beat estimates by a large margin and surprised both investors and analysts. Following the earnings call, the company also announced that it has entered a long-term supply agreement with Toshiba.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:$CSCO) announced on Monday that it plans to buy communications software company BroadSoft Inc (NASDAQ:$BSFT) for a reported price of $1.9 billion, in a move aimed to strengthen Cisco’s service provider revenue. BroadSoft would be Cisco’s seventh acquisition this year, and the second largest after its $3.7 billion deal to buy AppDynamics.
Toymaker Hasbro Inc (NASDAQ:$HAS)’s shares plunged more than 8% on Monday following its Q3 earnings release. Despite beating profit and revenue expectations for the quarter, the company provided a downbeat outlook for Q4 due concerns regarding the Toys ‘R’ Us bankruptcy, as Toys ‘R’ Us accounts for 9% of Hasbro’s inventory.
Hasbro’s results also had a negative impact on rival toy manufacturer Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:$MAT), whose shares declined by 3.19% on Monday. The company is also scheduled to release its earnings this week.
VF Corp (NYSE:$VFC), the maker of Timberland, North Face and other branded apparel, also released its quarterly results on Monday, beating expectations in both earnings and revenue. The company has also raised its full-year forecast and increased its dividend by 10%. The company’s shares were up by 5.38% for the day.
Arconic Inc (NYSE:$ARNC)’s shares were down by almost 10% following its Q3 earnings release, which saw the company fell short on its earnings, due in large part to an accounting-related charge and the impact of higher raw material costs. In other news, the company has named former General Electric executive Chip Blankenship as its CEO.
Featured Image: depositphotos/ littleny
