Oil futures end higher as wildfires cut Canadian output

Oil futures ended higher Thursday, lifted as a wildfire in Alberta knocked at least 500,000 barrels of Canadian production offline. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 54 cents, or 1.2%, to close at $44.32 a barrel.

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Gold books loss ahead of Friday jobs report looms

Gold futures succumbed to a rebound in the U.S. dollar to end lower Thursday, a day ahead of a closely watched jobs report, which could influence the path of the yellow metal. Gold had spent much of the session in positive territory, trading as high as $1,288.40 an ounce, before legging lower only a few minutes before it settled on Comex. June gold finished $2.10, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,272.30 an ounce. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index , a gauge of the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.6% in most recent trade Thursday afternoon. A stronger buck can dull the allure of dollar-priced metals, making them more expensive to buyers using other currencies. An earlier rise in gold prices had been attributed to bargain-hunting ahead of Friday’s closely watched nonfarm-payrolls report set to be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The U.S. is expected to add 205,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate is forecast to tick lower to 4.9% from 5%.

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Apple’s stock heads toward lowest close in almost 2 years

Apple Inc.’s stock may have snapped a long losing streak this week, but that hasn’t stopped bears from selling, as it fell 0.8% in afternoon trade Thursday toward the lowest close since June 27, 2014. The stock is on track to suffer the 13th loss in 15 sessions–it has tumbled 17% during that stretch–since it closed at a four-month high of $112.10 on April 14. Included in that string of losses was an eight-session losing streak, the longest such stretch since the eight-day streak ending July 28, 1998. In comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost about 287 points, or 1.6%, since April 14, while the Nasdaq 100 Index has shed 5.5%.

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Kraft Heinz rallies as first-quarter earnings beat expectations

Kraft Heinz Co. late Wednesday reported its first-quarter earnings rose to $896 million, or 73 cents a share, from $276 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier, calculated as if the two companies had been combined during the earlier period. On an adjusted basis, it also earned 73 cents a share. Revenue grew to $6.57 billion versus $2.48 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 63 cents a share and revenue of $6.5 billion. Kraft Heinz was formed via a merger of H.J. Heinz Co. and Kraft Foods Group Inc. in July and is in the process of reducing its annual spending by $1.5 billion by the end of 2017. Kraft rallied 5% to $84 a share on Thursday after it had risen 5% in Wednesday’s after-hours trading.

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Matson’s stock plunge turns Dow transports negative

Matson Inc.’s stock tumbled 12% to a 16-month low in morning trade Thursday, enough to pull the Dow Jones Transportation Average down into negative territory, on the heels of the shipping company’s disappointing first-quarter report and outlook. The price decline of $4.72 was shaving off about 28 points from the Dow transports index, which was down just 12 points. That compares to the 23-point gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Late Wednesday, Matson reported earnings and revenue that missed expectations, and said it expected full-year 2016 ocean transportation earnings to be 15% to 20% below last year. The stock, which was trading at the lowest level since Jan. 8, 2015, has now plunged 23% year to date, while the Dow transports has lost 5.5% and the Dow industrials have gained 1.4%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Matson’s stock plunge turns Dow transports negative

Matson Inc.’s stock tumbled 12% to a 16-month low in morning trade Thursday, enough to pull the Dow Jones Transportation Average down into negative territory, on the heels of the shipping company’s disappointing first-quarter report and outlook. The price decline of $4.72 was shaving off about 28 points from the Dow transports index, which was down just 12 points. That compares to the 23-point gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Late Wednesday, Matson reported earnings and revenue that missed expectations, and said it expected full-year 2016 ocean transportation earnings to be 15% to 20% below last year. The stock, which was trading at the lowest level since Jan. 8, 2015, has now plunged 23% year to date, while the Dow transports has lost 5.5% and the Dow industrials have gained 1.4%.

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