Author: admin

Shares of Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc surged 26% Thursday, after the company reported positive early results for a cancer treatment. Adaptimmune is a developer of T-cell therapy to treat cancer and reported three partial responses and one stable disease in the first four patients to be dosed with its with NY-ESO SPEAR T-cells in a second solid tumor: myxoid/ round cell liposarcoma (MRCLS). The patients tolerated the treatment well and GlaxoSmithKline plc has exercised its option to license and commercialize the therapy. “We are encouraged by the initial responses seen in the first patients with MRCLS treated with NY-ESO SPEAR T-cells, as it validates the potential of our platform to treat a broad range of tumors, including those that are known to be unresponsive to current immunotherapies,” said Rafael Amado, Adaptimmune’s Chief Medical Officer, in a statement. MRCLS is a soft tissue sarcoma that usually arises in the extremities before spreading to the bones, abdomen, pelvis and other soft tissues. About 2,000 patients in the U.S. and Europe are diagnosed each year with a peak occurrence in patients aged 30 to 50 years old. In a separate earnings report, the company said it has enough funding to last through early 2020. The company reported a loss per share for the fourth quarter of 5 cents, wider than the 4 cents reported a year ago, and better than the 26 cents loss consensus of FactSet analysts. Shares have gained 143% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Uber Technologies is negotiating a deal with Toyota Motor Co. about installing its self-driving systems in Toyotas minivans, according toa report in the Nikkei Asian Review on Thursday. Toyota executives met with Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi this week, the report said. On Wednesday, Uber’s competitor Lyft Inc. announced a deal with auto-parts supplier Magna International Inc. to develop hardware and software for self-driving vehicles, and the companies plan on kits that can be installed in existing cars.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average turned firmly higher late-morning on Thursday as the average as one of its most influential components turned positive. The Dow was up 270 points, or 1.1%, at 25,026, as Boeing’s shares [: BA] pared some of its worst levels, and was most recently up 0.7% or $2.26. A $1 move in anyone one of the Dow’s components equates to 6.89 swing in the equity gauge. The industrial giant had encountered struggles on the back of sharpened fears that recently introduced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could spark a trade war, which in turn could whack multinationals like Boeing. Boeing’s shares have declined about 7% so far this week and are threatening to post the worst weekly loss in abut two years, according to FactSet data. Boeing is one of a few global companies that might face retaliatory responses from trade partners, notably China, market participants worry. Share climbs in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. were helping to buoy the Dow. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index was up 0.4% at 2,760, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.3% at 7,519.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average turned firmly higher late-morning on Thursday as the average tried to shake off weakness in one of its most influential components. The Dow was up 200 points, or 0.8%, at 24,955, even as Boeing’s shares [: BA] were cutting about 20 points from the benchmark, down 0.8% or $2.50. A $1 move in anyone one of the Dow’s components equates to 6.89 swing in the equity gauge. The industrial giant has encountered struggles on the back of sharpened fears that recently introduced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could spark a trade war, which in turn could whack multinationals like Boeing. Boeing’s shares have declined 7.6% so far this week and are threatening to post the worst weekly loss in abut two years, according to FactSet data. Boeing is one of number of companies that might face retaliatory responses from trade partners, notably China, market participants worry. Shares of the industrial giant were off its lows of the session, however. Share climbs in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. were helping to more than offset Boeing’s slump. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index was up 0.3% at 2,757, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.2% at 7,513.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson on Thursday announced new measures meant to protect HUD’s financial integrity and “correct lax internal processes and controls,” according to a HUD statement. Carson called the department’s current financial controls “outdated” and said the newly-appointed chief financial officer, Irving Dennis, would lean an internal task force to combat “waste, fraud and abuse.” Carson himself is under scrutiny for spending lavishly to upgrade office furniture even while accepting deep cuts to his department’s budget that will reduce aid to poor Americans. CNN reported Wednesday that Carson and his wife, Candy, had directed the furniture spending, contradicting his earlier statements that he had no knowledge of it happening. A watchdog group has already urged the HUD inspector general to investigate Carson for allowing family members to participate in formal agency events, after which they were awarded contracts by participants.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The Trump administration on Thursday announced sanctions on 19 Russians and five entities for interfering with the 2016 U.S. elections. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the sanctions were “part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia.” The Treasury said one entity, the Internet Research Agency, created fake online personas that posed as legitimate U.S. persons and reached millions of people online. The sanctions freeze the designated persons’ U.S. assets and prohibit Americans from doing business with them.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that domestic supplies of natural gas fell by 93 billion cubic feet for the week ended March 9. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts had forecast a decrease of 100 billion, while the five-year average withdrawal is 97 billion. Total stocks now stand at 1.532 trillion cubic feet, down 718 billion cubic feet from a year ago, and 296 billion below the five-year average, the government said. April natural gas was down 3.2 cents, or 1.2%, at $2.699 per million British thermal units, down from $2.728 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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The bank deregulation bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday has a 20% chance of failing, an analyst said. That’s if the House amends the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act in ways Senate Democratic supporters of the bill reject or by simply delaying the process and causing the Senate to run out of time before it can vote on the bill again, said KBW analyst Brian Gardner in a note to clients. Mid-sized banks including PNC Financial , Regions Financial and SunTrust , as well as custodian banks including State Street , are among the beneficiaries of the legislation.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News