The stock market treads water as it waist for the Federal Reserve to announce a decision regarding interest rates. The Federal Open Market Committee meeting will release the news at 2 p.m. eastern along with a policy statement.
The S&P 500 is down 2 points to 1,992, The Dow Jones Composite was down by 40 points to 16,699 and the Nasdaq was dropping 7 points to 4,881.
In Europe, stocks were mostly flat. The French media company Altice confirmed it is buying Cablevision for $1.7 billion or $34.90 a share, which is a 22 percent premium to Wednesday closing price. Cablevision jumped 15 percent to trade at $33.03 causing other media companies to move higher.
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The Chinese Shanghai Composite continues to entertain market watchers with its volatility. Asian markets had been trading higher for most of the day, but then in the last hour selling gained speed and the market closed down by 2.1 percent. U.S. startup Lyft is forming an alliance with China’s ride hailing service Didi Kuaidi in order to compete with Uber.
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In today’s economic news, housing starts missed expectations with the Northeast leading the way with a drop of 34 percent. Initial jobless claims fell to 264,000, nearing its lowest level since 1973. So, it makes sense to see 70’s inspired clothes on the runways at New York Fashion Week.
Hanesbrands was upgraded to a buy from a neutral by Goldman Sachs. The company reaffirmed its guidance last week at the Goldman Sachs retailing conference. The analyst cited the company’s pricing power and its merger and acquisition strategy. Hanesbrnads was moving higher by 1.8 percent to $30.81.
In other rating news, a new MKM Partners report on the retail sector listed L Brands, Lululemon, Gap Stores and TJX as buy rated names. MKM started L Brands with a $107 price target and cited its speed to market initiative and global dominance. MKM also noted that VS Direct could double in 5 years , helped by international business.
Lululemon was its most controversial buy rating with a $69 price target. MKM believes the company is on a comeback and could see increasing margins. MKM is bullish on TJX Companies second half. They expect to see upside to the comps and have given the stock an $83 price target.
The Gap received a price target of $40 and suggested that it could be a bumpy ride near term, but that catalysts do exist. MKM admitted that it was a low bar for a turnaround at The Gap, but believe the company will use the successes at Old Navy to drive improvement elsewhere.