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PulteGroup Inc. shares ticked higher in the extended session Tuesday after independent board member James Grosfeld resigned from the homebuilder’s board. Pulte shares advanced 1% to $18 after hours. In a letter attached to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Grosfeld said he resigned because since March 22, “I have been excluded from a number of subsequent Board meetings, and therefore see no useful purpose of remaining on the Board.” Grosfeld, who is also an independent board member on BlackRock Inc. board, owns 1.7 million shares, or a 0.5% stake, of Pulte, according to FactSet data. The development follows a letter from founder Bill Pulte on Monday, blasting Chief Executive Richard Dugas for destroying value in the company. Over the past 12 months, Pulte shares have fallen 20%.

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From:: Stock Market News

CSX Corp. on Tuesday reported earnings in line with expectations but a 14% dip in revenues that the railway blamed on lower shipping volumes. The company said it earned $356 million, or 37 cents a share, in the first quarter, down from $442 million, or 45 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the quarter was down 14% to $2.62 billion, from $3 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report earnings of 37 cents a share on sales of $2.68 billion. Revenue for 2016 will decline “as a result of coal headwinds combined with other market fundamentals,” the company said in a statement. Shares of CSX rose 0.2% in late trading Tuesday after ending the regular trading session up 1.9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Oil futures rallied above $42 a barrel Tuesday to settle at their highest level of the year, buoyed by a report that said Saudi Arabia and Russia have reached a deal to freeze production ahead of a meeting of major oil producers this weekend. Adding further support, the Energy Information Administration raised its oil-price forecasts and cut its U.S. output expectations for this year and next. May WTI crude rose $1.81, or 4.5%, to settle at $42.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest for a most-active contract this year.

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold futures turned higher Tuesday to register modest gains but that was enough to mark the best stretch for the yellow metal in about two months. June gold closed $2.90, or 0.2%, higher at $1,290.90 an ounce. Tuesday’s gain marks four straight sessions of climbing prices–its longest stretch of advances since the period ended Feb. 9, when gold gained for five sessions in a row, according to FactSet data. Gold prices shrugged off a rally in stocks and crude oil to rise as metal’s traders focused on weak corporate quarterly results and a bleak outlook for global growth offered by the International Monetary Fund. Late Monday, Alcoa Inc. reported better-than-expected first-quarter results but delivered a poor outlook for earnings. On Tuesday, the IMF lowered its estimate for global growth, cutting its estimate to 3.2% in 2016 from 3.4%. The IMF also cut its growth estimate for the U.S. to 2.4% in 2016 from an earlier estimate of 2.6%. Stephen Kalayjian, chief market technician, at trading tech firm Knowvera, described that environment as perfect for gold, which is viewed as a safe-harbor asset for investors in times of global uncertainty. “I think there are a lot of positives for gold, right now,” he said.

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