Stock market news today, Nov. 4: Stocks are kicking off this Monday on a positive note. Investors will keep an eye on Friday's jobs report that could deliver clues on when the U.S. Federal Reserve will taper its bond-buying program.
In other economic indicators, factory orders for September were roughly in line with expectations.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is up about 0.17% at 1,764 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.1% to 15,629 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index (INDEX Nasdaq: .IXIC) is up 0.2% at 3,929.
Meanwhile, crude oil is trading up a bit today, with light crude oil for December delivery up about 0.2% near $94.79. And gold is up about 1% near $1,320 an ounce. Silver is down very slightly.
BlackBerry Shakeup Sends Shares Crashing
Among the companies in stock market news today, BlackBerry Ltd. (Nasdaq: BBRY) shares are plunging, down as much as 19% today amid a management shakeup that has Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Thorsten Heins departing and a takeover plan abandoned.
BlackBerry says it will replace Heins and accept a $1 billion investment from institutional investors, namely Fairfax Financial Holdings. It's appointed John Chen as executive chair of its board and dubbed him interim CEO.
IPO News Today: Twitter Increases Launch Price
While BlackBerry is struggling, Twitter is already finding ample success in its initial public offering as banks are saying the stock is set for oversubscription before orders have even begun, Bloomberg reports.
Twitter initially filed to sell its 70 million shares for $17 to $20 each, but today it says it has raised that price range to $23 to $25 per share. The micro-blogging site is expected to price the share on Nov. 6 and start trading the next day.
Earnings News Today: Kellogg, Sysco
Among the companies reporting earnings today, Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) is up 3% as it reports better than expected third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) and in-line revenue. The company also provided its EPS guidance for 2013, which possibly limits gains for the stock.
Earnings rose 2.2% year over year to $0.95, beating the Capital IQ consensus of $0.89. Net sales were $3.7 billion, in line with analysts' estimate. Year-ago net sales were also $3.7 billion. For 2013, Kellogg expects 2013 earnings to be at the lower end of its previous guidance of $3.75-$3.84 per share.
And, food distributor SYSCO Corp. (NYSE: SYY) is up almost 4% today after reporting first-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates. Its revenues were on par with the Street view.
Adjusted EPS was $0.56, lower than $0.58 in the prior year period but above the Capital IQ consensus of $0.48. Sales rose 5.7% year over year to $11.7 billion, in line with consensus estimate.
Finally, CME Group Inc. (Nasdaq: CME), a global derivatives marketplace, is down more than 2% today as it reports revenues of $715 million up from $683.2 million a year ago and operating income of $401 million for the third quarter. Its earnings were $0.75 per share, just above the $0.73 per share the Street expected.
J.C. Penney Climbs on Analyst Action
In analyst action news today, shares of J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) are up about 3% today, adding to Friday's 10% gain, after ITG Research upgraded its third-quarter sales forecast to a dip of 0.4% from 0.6%. The stock is still near the low of its 52-week range of $6.24 to $24.57, but has achieved gains the past three sessions.
Today's top story: Time to Buy These "Out of Print" Assets