U.S. markets were fairly flat in premarket trading Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrials each up just 0.1% before the opening bell. Meanwhile, crude oil prices continued their four-day climb, rising 0.6% to $46.02 a barrel, based on U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate.
Home Depot (HD) rolled out second-quarter earnings before the opening bell, posting earnings of $1.97 per share for the period, topping consensus estimates by a penny, while sales of $26.5 billion were roughly in line with expectation. Home Depot shares were up about 1% in premarket trading.
Sales of the Atlanta-based supplies retailer rose nearly 7% year over year, while same-store sales were up 4.7% over the period, with revenue increasing 5.4% in the U.S for the quarter. Home Depot also reaffirmed its sales growth guidance for the year at just over 6%, while same-store-sales growth will likely rise about 5%.
"We had a solid quarter, achieving the highest quarterly sales and net earnings results in company history as housing continues to be a tailwind for our business," CEO Craig Menear said in a Tuesday statement.
American International Group (AIG) announced plans to sell mortgage insurance unit United Guaranty for roughly $3.4 billion, noting Arch Capital has agreed to pay $2.2 billion in cash, $250 million in perpetual preferred stock, and $975 million in convertible preferred stock.
The move is part of AIG's efforts to streamline its organization. In January, the New York-based AIG announced plans to spin off United Guaranty amid pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn, who has called for AIG to split into three more manageable insurance divisions.
"We believe this transaction maximizes UGC's value while further streamlining our organization," CEO Peter Hancock said in a Monday statement. "It puts us in a stronger position to invest in the talent and technology essential to being our clients' most valued insurer, while we continue to deliver on the promise made by AIG's Board and management to return $25 billion to our shareholders by the end of 2017."
Hain Celestial ( HAIN) shares plummeted by about 27% before the opening bell after the organic food maker announced it will delay its annual earnings report with the Securities and Exchange Commission because of accounting issues. Hain added it does not expect to reach prior earnings and sales guidance set for its fiscal year ended June 30.
