U.S. markets are in positive territory on Monday, ahead of a report released by the University of Michigan which showed an improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in March.
Shares of Cheetah Mobile Inc. (CMCM, Financial) rose on the heels of the company reporting its financial results for the fourth quarter. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of RMB 7.27, or $1.12, on revenue of RMB 1.39 billion (US$213.3 million), an increase of 8.9% from the prior-year quarter. The stronger-than-expected growth was due to record-high mobile revenues, which increased by 17.8% year-over-year.
Further, the gross profit increased by 14.3% year-over-year and 16.5% quarter-over-quarter to RMB926.4 million, $142.4 million. The gross margin reached 66.8%, higher than the 63.6% in the same trimester last year.
Gainers
• Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA, Financial)
• Helmerich and Payne Inc.”‹ (HP, Financial)
• Micron Technology Inc. (MU, Financial)
• Deere & Co. ”‹(DE, Financial)
Losers
• Viacom Inc. (VIAB, Financial)
• Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY, Financial)
• CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF, Financial)
• NRG Energy Inc. (NRG, Financial)
Global Markets
The main European stock markets closed lower. The U.K.'s FTSE lost 1.49%, France's CAC retreated 0.76%, Germany's Dax fell 1.17% and Spain's Ibex slid 0.65%.
In Asia, India’s BSE Sensex lost 0.76% and Japan's Nikkei retreated 0.90%, but China´s SSE Composite gained 0.29% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 0.04%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
