(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks were mildly higher on Tuesday after stronger-than expected retail sales data lifted sentiment.
Below we highlight few stocks showing unusual moves.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:
C): Shares of Citigroup plunged over 5% in midday trade following media reports that the bank has approached the Treasury Department last weekend to initiate talks over selling the 34 percent stake that the government acquired as part of its rescue program. The US Treasury injected $45 billion into the firm and also agreed to share losses on a substantial chunk of the bank's troubled assets. The government currently holds about 7.69 billion of the 22.88 billion outstanding common shares of Citigroup. As part of the plan, Citi is expected to issue new company shares while the Treasury Department would sell a portion of its holdings, the Wall Street Journal said. The government acquired its shares of Citi at a price of about $3.25 per share. The government would end up booking a profit of $9.77 billion, if it were to sell its stake based on Monday's closing price of $4.52.The newspaper said in a report published Monday on its Web site that executives expect an offering could be made in the fourth quarter. Citigroup declined to comment on the matter. The Treasury Department was not immediately available for comment.
Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ:
SCHW): Shares of the online broker were hit hard this morning after the company said that it expects declining yields on its money market funds to result in it waiving about $80 million of client fees in the third quarter. It also said said low interest rates and their effect on portfolio yields could cut up to 4% off net interest income, compared to the prior quarter. Separately, an online survey released today by Charles Schwab Corp. showed that independent advisers are attracting clients from large brokerage firms. Almost 90 percent of the independent registered investment advisers surveyed said they gained assets in the last six months and 45 percent of the assets moved came from so-called full- fledged service brokerage firms, unchanged from a prior poll in January. The primary reason for cited for the shift is loss of trust in previous firms. Shares of the company were down 3% on Tuesday.
Teradyne Inc. (NYSE:
TER): Shares of the company surged up over 11% after it was raised to outperform from perform by Oppenheimer analyst Gary Hsueh, citing a key new contract and cost cutting measures. The firm said that the recent deal to provide equipment to Qualcomm Inc.
