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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris on Thursday said President Donald Trump was leading “the most pro-business administration since the founding fathers.” In comments after a meeting between manufacturers and the president, The Dow CEO said the “language of business” is being spoken at the White House. He said that manufacturing jobs will be brought back to the U.S. as a result of the tax policy and regulatory reforms under discussion.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Home Depot Inc. edged up less than 0.1% in midday trade Thursday, but bucked the selloff in the broader retail sector, after Morgan Stanley moved to a bullish rating on the home improvement retailer. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF shed 1.2% in midday trade. Analyst Simeon Gutman upgraded Home Depot to overweight, after being at equal weight since June 2014. He boosted his stock price target to $165, which was 14% above current levels, from $150. Gutman said he has greater confidence in the growth of the home improvement industry, given research that suggests the housing recovery is till in the ‘middle innings’ and the belief that any negative impact from rising interest rates in the near term are being overestimated. He said Home Depot’s stock had performed well in previous rising-rate environments. And even in the most aggressive tightening periods, Gutman said it took about two years to hurt spending on home improvement. Home Depot’s stock has rallied 11% over the past three months, while the SPDR retail ETF has lost 6.9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

The stocks of the manufacturing companies which were meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday were trading mostly lower. The drop comes amid reports that an infrastructure spending plan may be delayed until next year, and tax reform pushed back until at least the summer. United States Steel Corp. led the decliners, falling 6.7% in mid-morning trade. Caterpillar Inc. fell 2.4%, and Emerson Electric Co. fell 1.7%. Under Armour Inc. , Lockheed Martin Corp. and Corning Inc. were all down 0.7%. GE was down 0.5%, Whirlpool Corp. was down 0.4% and Dow Chemical Co. was down 0.3%. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shares were trading down 0.7%. Goldman and Caterpillar combined were shaving about 30 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Trump introduced Goldman’s ex-COO Gary Cohn, now National Economic Council director, to the group as “Gary from Goldman.” The only two stocks to gain were Johnson & Johnson and International Paper Co. , which were both up less than 1%.

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From:: Stock Market News

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. shares rose 2.5% Thursday, after UBS upgraded the stock to buy from neutral and reiterated their view that the stock is a high quality laggard for 2017. The maker of fragrances used in foods as well as fabric care and household cleaning products has seen its price-earnings ratio fall to 21 times from 24 times before the November presidential election, when risk-off stocks were in favor, said UBS. That has meant it is now trading at a discount to peers versus a premium pre-election. “Underperformance reflects exaggerated risks on FX (80% of sales ex-U.S.), possible emerging market slowdown (50% of sales), & possible margin pressures from rising oil, vanilla & citrus,” UBS analysts wrote in a note. “We are upgrading to Buy as the current valuation provides upside as we believe investor concerns are overdone.” Shares have gained about 22% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained about 23%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Oil futures remained higher Thursday after spiking to a session high following a smaller-than-expected rise in weekly U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 97 cents, or 1.8%, at $54.56 a barrel after trading as high as $54.94 after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude supplies rose 600,000 barrels in the week ended Feb. 17. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast, on average, a 3.4 million barrel rise. Data from the American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, late Wednesday had shown an 884,000-barrel decline in inventories.

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From:: Stock Market News