U.S. stock markets were trading with little change on Thursday morning on news that the interest rate will remain unchanged, at a range of 1.75% to 2%, until September.
Shares of Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL, Financial) fell onThursday morning after the company posted first-quarter earnings per share of 44 cents on revenue of $2.33 billion, reflecting a 6.4% year-over-over growth. The company fell short of earnings estimates by 1 cent and revenue expectations by $60 million.
"We were particularly pleased with the bottom-line performance from Refrigerated Foods as our experienced team grew our value-added profits while navigating through volatile markets," Chairman, President and CEO Jim Snee said. "Our balanced business model helped mitigate higher freight costs and a difficult commodity environment.”
The operating margin was 13.1%, down from 14.4% in the previous year. Capital expenditures were $87 million, up from $39 million last year. Capital expenditures for the year are expected to be $425 million.
For fiscal 2018, the company expects net sales between $9.7 billion and $10.1 billion and earnings per share in the range of $1.81 to $1.95.
Gainers
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD, Financial)
- Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW, Financial)
- Honeywell International Inc. (HON, Financial)
- Iqvia Holdings Inc. (IQV, Financial)
Losers
- L Brands Inc. ”‹(LB, Financial)
- Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL, Financial)
- Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX, Financial)
- Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG, Financial)
- Viacom Inc. (VIAB, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded in the red.The U.K.'s FTSE 100 retreated 0.09%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.09%, Germany's Dax fell 0.02% and Spain's Ibex 35 lost 0.11%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.22%, India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.13%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.49% and China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.37%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
