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Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries rose by 140,000 barrels a day in April from a month earlier, to 32.52 million barrels a day, according to a S&P Global Platts survey released Wednesday. Platts attributed the increase to higher output from Iran and Iraq, which lifted production by 150,000 barrels a day each. “Iran and Iraq’s hefty production increases fly in the face of the failed Doha production freeze talks,” Paul Hickin, associate editorial director of S&P Global Platts, said in a statement. “The question is how much higher can and will they go before production plateaus, because that would make a resurrection of a freeze plan at the June OPEC meeting more plausible.”

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From:: Stock Market News

General Motors Co. stock got an upgrade to equalweight from underweight by analysts at Morgan Stanley, who cited the shares’ recent metrics in relation to peers as a “temporary peak in profit heading into a unsustainable and difficult future.” GM could pursue changes in its core business that would impact share price significantly, the Morgan Stanley analysts said. That would include seeking alternatives for its Cadillac division and forming a separate auto technology and transport entity, they said. Shares of GM are flat on Wednesday, and are down 1.4% so far this month, underperforming the S&P 500 index , which is up 0.5% in the same period.

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From:: Stock Market News

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd.’s stock tumbled 12% to a 2 1/2-month low in morning trade Wednesday, weighed down by disappointing results from, and the subsequent plunge in the share price of, Fossil Group Inc. . Analyst Ike Boruchow at Wells Fargo Securities said he estimates that Fossil’s legacy licensed portfolio suffered a year-over-year decline in the mid-teens percentage range during the latest quarter, which he believes “bodes quite poorly” for Michael Kors given that Kors’ brand accounts for roughly half of Fossil’s licensed business. Kors’ stock was still up 9.4% year to date, but was down 30% over the past year. The S&P 500 has slipped 1.4% over the past 12 months.

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From:: Stock Market News

The retail sector was getting hammered Wednesday, after Office Depot Inc. and Staples Inc. called off their merger and several retailers reported disappointing results. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF dropped 3.4% to a seven-week low, with 95 of its 97 components losing ground. The biggest loser was Office Depot’s stock, which plunged 39% to a three-year low on volume that was already about seven times the full-day average. Staples shares cratered 17%. The third-biggest decliner was Macy’s Inc.’s stock , which tumbled 11% to a near four-year low on more than triple the average volume after the department store chain slashed its earnings outlook, citing continued weakness in consumer spending for apparel and related categories. Elsewhere, Fossil Group Inc.’s stock plummeted 29% after a profit and sales miss, which also weighed on Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. shares , which slumped 12%. Shares of Ascena Retail Group Inc. , the parent of apparel retailers including Dress Barn Inc., Ann Inc. and Charming Shoppes Inc., shed 7.6%. The top gainer in the retail sector ETF was the nemesis of brick-and-mortar retailers, Amazon.com Inc., which shares rose 1.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Oil futures turned higher on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 3.4 million-barrel decline in crude-oil supplies for the week ended May 6. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday had reported a 3.45 million-barrel increase, while analysts polled S&P Global Platts expected a 300,000-barrel increase. Gasoline supplies fell by 1.2 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles were down 1.6 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. June crude was at $45.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 46 cents, or 1%. Prices traded lower at $44.22 before the data.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Oil futures turned higher on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 3.4 million-barrel decline in crude-oil supplies for the week ended May 6. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday had reported a 3.45 million-barrel increase, while analysts polled S&P Global Platts expected a 300,000-barrel increase. Gasoline supplies fell by 1.2 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles were down 1.6 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. June crude was at $45.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 46 cents, or 1%. Prices traded lower at $44.22 before the data.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News