Schlumberger shares rise on large job cuts

Schlumberger shares climbed after the US-listed oil services company announced a cut of 11,000 jobs to shield profits due to sharply lower crude oil prices over the past nine months.

The Houston, Texas-based company said the reduction in head count would occur across its global workforce as "result of the severe fall in activity in North America" along with weaker activity overseas.

Last quarter the company announced plans to cut 9,000 positions and has trimmed its employee ranks by 15 per cent from its peak at the end of September.

The deeper retrenchment came alongside an almost 39 per cent drop in first-quarter profits to $975m or 76 cents a share, from $1.6bn or $1.21 a share in the year ago period. Revenues fell 9 per cent to $10.25bn.

The quarterly results fell short of analysts expectations of 89 cents a share and revenues of $10.4bn. Adjusting for one-time items however the company reported earnings of $1.06 a share, ahead of forecasts.

"Costs fell in line with revenue due to rapid reductions in variable costs, improved execution, and the acceleration of the company's internal efficiency initiatives," Michael Lamotte, an analyst with Guggenheim, said.

Schlumberger expects 2015 exploration and production spending to fall 15 per cent this year.

Shares of Schlumberger, which declined 6 per cent in the past year, climbed nearly 3 per cent to $94.89.

Mattel shares gained 3 per cent, after the toy maker behind Barbie, reported a drop in first-quarter net income and sales that on an adjusted basis, were better than expected.

Mattel reported a loss of $58.2m or 17 cents a share, on sales that declined 2 per cent to $922.7m. Analysts on Wall Street had forecast a loss of 9 cents a share, on sales of $900.5m. But, on an adjusted basis the El Segundo, California-based company reported a loss of 8 cents a share, narrower than estimates for a 10 cent loss.

American Express shares fell nearly 5 per cent to $77.12, after the US credit card issuer blamed the strong US dollar for a drop in first-quarter sales.

Amex reported profits of $1.5bn or $1.48 a share, on sales of $7.95bn. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.37 a share, on sales of $8.2bn.

The company said that it also "felt the impact from ending our relationship with Costco Canada, which expired at year end".

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices fell 14 per cent to $2.46, after the US chipmaker reported a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss and sales amid a challenging backdrop for personal computers.

The Sunnyvale, California-based company reported a loss of $180m or 23 cents a share, on sales that declined 26 per cent to $1.03bn.

Wall Street analysts were looking for a loss of 9 cents a share, on sales of $1.05bn. Adjusting for one time items, the company reported a loss of 9 cents a share, were also wider than expectations for a 5 cent loss.

Financials and consumer discretionary stocks were among the biggest decliners on the benchmark S&P 500.

The S&P 500 declined 1 per cent to 2,081.96, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.5 per cent to 17,835.65. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5 per cent to 4,933.20.

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