By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Wednesday, March 4. Please refresh for updates.
General Electric (NYSE:) stock 1.8% after the company upheld its forecast for cash flow this year, despite an expected short-term hit from the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The company still said it expects the outbreak to cut its first-quarter cash flow by between $300 million and $500 million.
Nordstrom (NYSE:) stock fell 8.0% to a seven-month low after issuing disappointing guidance for the year ahead.
The retailer’s earnings per share also fell some 3% short of forecasts in the all-important holiday quarter, while revenue also disappointed slightly.
Also on Tuesday, the company had said Erik Nordstrom (NYSE:) will take over as sole CEO of the company, ending a period in which he shared that office with his brothers.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock fell 3.3% after missing consensus forecasts for sales and profit in the last quarter, a reflection of a sharp drop in demand for servers from its corporate client base.
Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:) stock fell 2.5% to its lowest since October after reporting a mixed fourth quarter. Earnings per share were some 3.5% ahead of expectations at $1.79, but revenue of $6.39 billion was $70 million shy.
Apple (NASDAQ:) stock rose 2.1% amid reports a gradual revival of economic activity in China, where its iPhones are manufactured, and where around 20% of them are bought.
Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:) stock rose 4.8% after the apparel retailer issued a full-year outlook slightly brighter than Wall Street expected.
The company’s adjusted earnings per share also beat expectations by around 6% in the fourth quarter, even though they fell from a year earlier.
The retailer didn’t directly estimate the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak but noted that its dependence on China for manufacturing was in any case scheduled to fall from 36% to 22% in the current fiscal year.