Stocks have been retreating for days after the S&P 500 and Dow reached record heights last week. They’ve been hurt by rising Treasury yields in the bond market that make investors less willing to pay a premium for stocks, the prices of which in many cases have risen more rapidly than corporate profits.
Capri Holdings lost about half its value overnight after a U.S. District judge halted the merger between the makers of Coach and Michael Kors handbags, saying the tie-up with Tapestry would reduce competition and hurt consumers. The ruling came six months after the FTC sued to block Tapestry's $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri.
Capri shares dove more than 47% after hours, to about $21.88 per share. Tapestry shares climbed more than 15% to $51.25.
Decker Outdoors jumped more than 13.2% after the maker of Ugg and Hoka footwear blew past Wall Street's sales and profit expectations.
Newell Brands climbed nearly 12% after the owner of Graco and Rubbermaid beat profit targets as its margins improved. The company also raised its full-year outlook.
In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX was flat and France's CAC 40 lost 0.3%. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower.
Russia's central bank on Friday raised its key interest rate by two percentage points to a record-high 21%. Moscow is trying to combat growing inflation sparked by military spending after its invasion of Ukraine. The war has strained the nation's capacity to produce goods and services, and driven up workers' wages.
Russia’s economy continues to show growth as a result of continuing oil export revenues and government spending on goods, including for the military. The new interest rate is the highest in Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.
In Asia, Japan's benchmark declined as investors awaited the outcome of an election on Sunday.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who took office just weeks ago, called the snap general election to drum up support as the ruling Liberal Democrats grapple with a political funding scandal. For once, the LDP could be facing a major setback that could bring some changes to the economic outlook, analysts said.
“Polls suggest that Japan's ruling party, the LDP, could lose its Lower House majority on Sunday for the first time since its brief stint out of power ended in 2012,” Mark Williams of Capital Economics said in a commentary.
If the ruling party fails to secure enough support for a ruling coalition with the Komeito, its longtime partner, “things would look different,” he said.
The recent political shifts have added to uncertainty for markets, complicating the Bank of Japan's efforts to shift away from long-standing near-zero interest rates.
Core inflation in Japan’s capital was 1.8% in October, lower than the central bank’s 2% target for the first time in five months, the government reported. That reinforced expectations that the central bank will keep its key interest rate unchanged at a policy meeting next week.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.6% to 37,913.92, while the Japanese yen fell against the U.S. dollar. On Friday, the dollar was trading at 151.99 yen, up from 151.89 yen.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.5% to 20,590.15, and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.6% to 3,299.70.
China’s central bank kept its medium-term lending rate unchanged at 2%. It also issued 700 billion yuan ($98.3 billion) in one-year medium-term lending facility loans to financial institutions, according to the bank’s statement.
South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.1% to 2,583.27 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed less than 0.1% to 8,211.30. Taiwan’s Taiex increased 0.7%.
Benchmark U.S. crude picked up 55 cents to $70.74 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 52 cents to $74.55 a barrel.
The euro held firm at $1.0828.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP