Category: Stock Market News

With the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 238 points in afternoon trade Wednesday, and over 1,000 points amid a 4-session win streak, market internal data is suggesting panic-like buying that hasn’t been seen in 15 months. The NYSE Arms Index, a volume weighted breadth measure, fell to 0.447 in afternoon trade. The Arms Index tends to decline below 1.000 when the broader market rises, as the intensity of buyers of advancing stocks increases relative to the intensity of sellers of declining stocks. The number of advancing stocks on the NYSE outnumbered decliners 2,046 to 889, or by a 2.3-to-1 margin, while advancing volume exceeded declining volume 476.4 million shares to 92.4 million shares, or by a 5.2-to-1 margin. Many see Arms readings below 0.500 as implying panic-like activity. The last sub-.500 reading was Jan. 26, at 0.490, when the Dow peaked at 26,616.71. The current reading is the lowest seen since Nov. 9, 2016 when the Dow rallied 257 points; on Nov. 10, the Dow jumped another 218 points.

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Oil futures rebounded from early losses, ending sharply higher after a smaller-than-expected rise in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.41, or 2.4%, to settle at $60.60 a barrel after earlier trading as low as $58.20. Oil bounced back from earlier weakness after the Energy Information Administration said crude stockpiles rose 1.8 million barrels last week. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast, on average, a 2.6 million barrel rise.

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The Russell 2000 index of small-capitalization stocks rallied on Wednesday, jumping more than 1% as concerns appeared to ebb over the impact of inflation in the economy. The index rose 1.2%, putting it on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain since Jan. 19. The gains came as investors shook off January consumer-price data showing the fastest monthly rise in five months. However, the year-over-year increase in core CPI was unchanged from December at 1.8%, a level that’s slightly lower than the Fed’s 2% target rate. The Russell was among the hardest hit by recent data showing an acceleration in wage growth, which raised concerns that inflation could be returning to the economy, and that the Federal Reserve might become more aggressive in raising interest rates in order to combat the impact of this. It tumbled more than 11% from an all-time intraday high hit on Jan. 24, and a recent intraday low reached on Friday. The Russell has recovered more than 5% off that session low. At current levels, the Russell remains down 1.6% for 2018. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% while the S&P 500 was up 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.5%.

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Gold prices rallied Wednesday, settling at its highest in nearly 3 weeks, as inflation data came in stronger than expected. April gold rose $27.60, or 2.1%, to settle at $1,358 an ounce. The consumer-price index climbed 0.5% in January, the biggest increase in five months, sparking demand for gold as a hedge against rising prices.

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The Japanese yen rallied to a 15-month high against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, breaking through a closely watched technical and psychological level at ¥107 for the first time since November of 2016. Wednesday’s move highlights a relatively rapid strengthening for the Japanese currency, after the dollar-yen pair crossed a key level at ¥108, about 24 hours ago. Currency strategists have interpreted the yen’s moves as a sign that volatility from recent stock-market gyrations is spilling over in to the currency market. Japan’s currency is considered a haven during times of uncertainty and risk aversion, explaining its attractiveness to investors who are still determining whether the recovery in equities is here to stay. Moreover, Japanese market participants, who are the biggest holders of dollar-denominated debt, have liquidated their holdings amid the selloff and repatriated those assets in to yen, analysts said. That currency repatriation has weighed on the greenback against its Japanese counterpart. Earlier on Wednesday, data also showed that Japan has had the longest economic growth spell in 28 years, last recording an annualized 0.5% bump in the fourth quarter of 2017, which also helped the yen higher. One dollar last bought ¥107.07, down 0.7% since Tuesday, after hitting a session low of ¥106.72 earlier. The dollar-yen pair is on track for a weekly drop of 1.9%, its biggest since early Sept. 2015, according to FactSet.

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Genesco Inc. shares surged 9.2% in Wednesday trading after the company announced plans to sell the Lids Sports Group business. Genesco’s board determined after a strategic review that it should focus on footwear while Lids specializes in hats and team sports fan shops. Genesco sells wholesale footwear through the Johnston & Murphy and Trask brands and licenses shoes from other brands. Nashville-based Genesco has more than 2,725 retail stores and leased departments in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland and Germany under the names Journeys, Lids, and other chains. Genesco’s board has created a four-person committee to lead the sale process, though the company says there’s no assurance that there will be a resulting sale or other alternative. Genesco shares are up more than 50% for the last three months, but down 40.4% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 14.4% for the last 12 months.

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Shares of Universal Display Corp. are up 9.4% in midday trading Wednesday after the company said that it had reached new long-term supply and licensing agreements with Samsung Display Co. Ltd. The arrangement, which continues through 2022, states that Universal Display will continue supplying OLED materials and technology to Samsung Display. The agreements could be extended for two more years beyond the 2022 expiration, Universal Display said in a release. “Collaborating for over eighteen years, Samsung Display has been at the forefront of the OLED revolution with its vibrant, colorful, and brilliant displays. SDC’s ground-breaking innovation and manufacturing leadership are paving new pathways of growth in the display industry, including the advent of new form factors,” Universal Display CEO Steven Abramson said in the release. “As Samsung continues expanding its OLED product roadmap and investments, we look forward to supporting its advancements with our highly-efficient, high-performing proprietary OLED technologies and UniversalPHOLED materials.” Universal Display shares have gained 138% in the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 is up 15%.

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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Wednesday proposed that his agency approve a SpaceX application to provide broadband services in the U.S. and globally using satellite technologies. The aerospace company, owned by Tesla Inc. Chief Executive and founder Elon Musk, is planning to launch a rocket over the weekend to test plans to offer satellite-based broadband internet. “To bridge America’s digital divide, we’ll have to use innovative technologies,” Chairman Pai said in a statement. “SpaceX’s application — along with those of other satellite companies seeking licenses or access to the U.S. market for non-geostationary satellite orbit systems — involves one such innovation.” He went on to say that the technology could help reach rural Americans and those in hard-to-reach places, and if the rest of the commission votes to approve the application, it would be the first approval given to an American-based company providing broadband services using new generation of orbit satellite technologies.

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Shares of medical device company Motus GI Holdings fell about 8% in their trading debut Wednesday, after the company priced its initial public offering at the low end of its $5 to $7 range. The Israeli company sold 3.5 million shares to raise $18.5 million. The company was originally planning to offer 4.3 million shares but reduced the size of the deal ahead of pricing. Few companies have braved the IPO market this week, given the recent volatility and a traditional seasonal lull as financials are updated. Motus was down 39 cents at $4.61 midmorning, trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “MOTS.” Piper Jaffray and Oppenheimer were joint bookrunners on the deal. The S&P 500 was up 0.4%.

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Wall Street firms cut their forecasts for U.S. economic growth in the first quarter of 2018 after a disappointing decline in retail sales in January. Morgan Stanley chopped its estimate for gross domestic product to 2.9% from 3.3%. Barclays and IHS trimmed their GDP estimates to 2.3% from 2.5%. And Bank of America Merrill Lynch lowered its target to 2% from 2.3%. Sales at U.S. retailers fell 0.2% in January, the biggest drop in almost a year.

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