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Stock market news live updates: Stocks rebound as China's economy lags – Yahoo Canada Finance

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U.S. stocks clawed back from a downbeat start to the trading week Monday as Wall Street looked to extend a summer rally that saw equity markets log their longest winning streak in 10 months in Friday’s session.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% after the benchmark index marked its fourth straight week of gains, officially recouping half of its bear market losses this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 110 points, or roughly 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4%.

Shares of Disney (DIS) jumped 2.7% after Daniel Loeb’s Third Point revealed a new stake in the company and urged CEO Bob Chapek in a letter to make a series of changes, including integrating Hulu directly into the Disney+ DTC platform and acquiring Comcast’s remaining minority stake before the early 2024 deadline. The letter also recommended ESPN be spun off to shareholders to help its parent company pay off debt.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business conditions index, a measure of the state’s manufacturing activity, posted its second largest drop since 2001, with declines in orders and shipments reflecting a dramatic drop in demand. The gauge fell more than 42 points to -31.3, the second-worst drop in more than two decades after April 2020’s print. The reading came in weaker than the lowest economist estimate, according to Bloomberg data. Readings below zero indicate a contraction.

Elsewhere in economic data, the National Association of Home Buyers/Wells Fargo homebuilder sentiment index also disappointed — falling by 6 points to 49 in August. The reading came in lower than Bloomberg’s most downbeat economist forecast and below the breakeven measure of 50 for the first time since May 2020.

Traders work on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 8, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Investors have cheered on the summer’s rally after a series of better-than-expected economic releases renewed optimism on Wall Street. But some strategists remain skeptical of the market rebound as risks associated with inflation and monetary tightening persist.

“The macro, policy and earnings set-up is much less favorable for equities today,” Morgan Stanley’s Michael J. Wilson wrote in a note. “The risk/reward is unattractive and this bear market remains incomplete.”

China’s President Xi Jinping leaves the podium after speaking upon his arrival via high-speed rail, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the former British colony’s handover to Chinese rule, in Hong Kong, China June 30, 2022. Selim Chtayti/Pool via REUTERS

Overseas, data out of China on Monday showed a slowdown in economic activity across the board last month. The world’s second largest economy saw retail sales, industrial output and investment all come in lower than economists expected in July.

China’s central bank also unexpectedly cut its key interest rate in an effort to turn lagging economic growth around as President Xi Jinping seeks re-election.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese officials are arranging plans for a face-to-face meeting between Xi Jinping and President Biden in Southeast Asia this fall — a trip that would mark their first in-person meeting since Biden was inaugurated.

Oil futures tumbled over concerns about demand in China and the prospect for higher exports out of Iran. U.S. West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude oil each fell roughly 4.5% to $87.97 and $93.66 per gallon, respectively.

Back in the U.S., investors look ahead to a busy week for retail, with the Commerce Department set to release its key monthly report on retail sales Wednesday and earnings due out from Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), the Home Depot (HD) and other consumer giants.

Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc

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Japan’s SoftBank returns to profit after gains at Vision Fund and other investments

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TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.

Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.

Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).

SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.

The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.

WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.

SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.

SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.

SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.

The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on X:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Trump campaign promises unlikely to harm entrepreneurship: Shopify CFO

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Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.

“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.

“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”

Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.

On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.

If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.

These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.

If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.

However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.

He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.

“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.

Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.

The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.

Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.

Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.

Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.

Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.

Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”

In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.

“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP)

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RioCan cuts nearly 10 per cent staff in efficiency push as condo market slows

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TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.

The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.

The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.

RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.

The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.

RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN)

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