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Micron Technology Inc. announced plans for layoffs Thursday along with a disappointing earnings report, sending the company’s stock down in late trading. The chipmaker reported a net loss of $97 million, or 9 cents a share, on sales of $2.9 billion for its third fiscal quarter; after adjustments, the company claimed a loss of 8 cents a share. According to FactSet, analysts on average expected an adjusted loss of 4 cents a share on sales of $2.96 billion. “We continue to face challenging market conditions,” Micron Chief Executive Mark Durcan said in Thursday’s announcement, which included mention of a global workforce reduction. Neither the news release nor a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission detailed how many jobs will be cut, but Micron did say its cost-reduction plan was expected to save the company more than $300 million in the 2017 fiscal year, roughly $80 million per fiscal quarter. The move is expected to incur charges of about $70 million, according to the SEC filing. Micron shares declined more than 8% in after-hours action, following a 4.3% gain in the regular session.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks logged their third day in a row of post-Brexit gains, bolstered by the expectation that some of the world’s largest central banks will further expand their monetary stimulus efforts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 235.31 points, or 1.3%, to 17,929.99, bringing it within 90 points of its pre-Brexit highs. The S&P 500 climbed 28.09 points, or 1.4%, to 2,098.86, within 20 points of its pre-vote highs. The Nasdaq Composite gained 63.43 points, or 1.3%, to 4,842.67, within 70 points of its highs pre-Brexit. Both the S&P and the Dow finished the second quarter with small gains of 1.2% and 1.7%, while the Nasdaq posted a slight drop of 0.5%. Both the S&P and Dow are positive for the year, while the Nasdaq is in the red.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Mobileye NV soared 10.5% on Thursday after reports surfaced that the company may have secured a deal with BMW and Intel Corp. to build out driverless capabilities in the German auto manufacturer’s luxury cars. Mobileye’s stock was on track for its highest close since Nov. 6, trading around $46.34 Thursday afternoon, versus $46.75 in November. The stock move helped catapult Mobileye’s stock, giving its shares a 25.5% gain over the last three months, versus a 1.5% gain for the S&P 500. They’ve underperformed on the year, however, falling 12.6% from 12 months ago, versus a 1.6% increase for the index. Shares of Intel rose 2.5% to $32.73 in afternoon trade. The companies announced plans late Wednesday to hold a joint press conference on Friday at 10 a.m. ET. Analysts have said that they expect it to include an autonomous driving initiative.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 219 points in afternoon trade Thursday, putting it on track to stretch its streak of 200-point gains to three sessions. That would be the longest such stretch since it bounced off its two-year closing low of 15,660.18 on Feb. 11: The Dow surged 313.66 points on Feb. 12, 222.57 points on Feb. 16 and 257.42 points on Feb. 17. This week, the Dow shot up 269.48 points on Tuesday and 284.96 points on Wednesday. After the last streak, the stock slipped about 62 points over the next two days, but then ran up 228.67 points on Feb. 22. The Dow is currently still 97 points away from its pre-Bexit close of 18,011.07.

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From:: Stock Market News

Oil futures finished lower on Thursday after a two-session rally, but prices posted gains for the quarter and year to date as recent global output disruptions and strong U.S. demand for gasoline helped to cut down the glut of crude supplies. August WTI crude fell $1.55, or 3.1%, for the session to settle at $48.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained about 26.1% for the second quarter, and trades roughly 30.5% higher year to date, according to data from FactSet.

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From:: Stock Market News

Hershey Co. said its board of directors “unanimously rejected” Mondelez International Inc.’s buyout bid, and said in a statement that “it provided no basis for further discussion between Mondelez and the company.” The company said the board came to its decision after evaluating the bid, after receiving input from management and its outside financial and legal advisors. Hershey confirmed that Mondelez offered to pay $107 for each Hershey share, through a mix of cash and stock. The bid also included other non-monetary considerations, Hershey said. Hershey’s stock rose 15% in afternoon trade prior to a trading halt, which put it on track for a record close. It was up as much as 21% earlier in the session.

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The dollar fell to its weakest level against the Mexican peso in a week after the Bank of Mexico delivered a larger-than-expected interest-rate hike. The greenback tumbled to 18.20 pesos after the central bank raised its benchmark rate by half a percentage point to 4.25%. By comparison, the greenback bought 18.51 pesos late Wednesday in New York. The central bank said it raised rates to prevent the weak peso from affecting its inflation expectations. The central bank currently sees inflation ending the year slightly above its target rate of 3%. Expectations that the Federal Reserve would soon move to raise interest rates have helped the dollar gain 5.5% against its Mexican rival so far this year, though the U.S. currency has trimmed its gains somewhat in recent weeks as investors dialed back their expectations for the pace of rate hikes. Of 26 analysts polled by Bloomberg, 9 expected no change at Thursday’s meeting, 12 expected a quarter percentage-point hike, and 5 expected a half a percentage point hike.

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold futures settled lower on Thursday, but still gained nearly 25% year to date, as investors continue to navigate financial volatility sparked by the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union. Gold for August delivery fell $6.30, or 0.5%, for the session to settle at $1,320.60 an ounce, pulling back after finishing at a nearly two-year high a day earlier. Futures prices were up about 6.9% for the second quarter, and have climbed roughly 24.6% year to date, according to FactSet data.

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From:: Stock Market News