Category: Stock Market News

Gold futures wavered in electronic trading late Thursday from their settlement level after the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s September meeting showed that officials from the central bank said a “reasonable argument” could be made for either an interest-rate increase or holding rates steady in September. December gold was last at $1,254.80 an ounce in electronic trading, up from the $1,253.80 settlement. Prices, however, also traded below the settlement in the wake of the FOMC minutes.

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Wheat futures climbed Wednesday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its forecast on U.S. wheat production for the 2016/2017 crop year by 11 million bushels. However, it also raised its projection for U.S. ending stocks by 38 million bushels, noting that reduced supplies are “more than offset by lower projected use.” December wheat rose 1.3% to $4.12 1/2 per bushel in Chicago. Futures prices haven’t settled at a level that high since late August, according to FactSet data. November soybeans traded at $9.67 a bushel, up 1.3%. It hasn’t settled at a level that high in over a week. December corn rose 0.4% to $3.47 a bushel.

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Twilio Inc. released a third-quarter earnings and revenue forecast, which will be its first report as a public company, in a filing Tuesday. Twilio said it expected total revenue of $70.25 million to $71.25 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared to revenue of $44.3 million in the year-earlier period. It expects an adjusted loss per share of four cents to five cents, compared to an adjusted loss per share of seven cents in the year-earlier period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet are expecting a net loss per share of eight cents and revenue of $65.2 million. Twilio shares were up less than 1% Wednesday. Shares have gained 37% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s loss of 1%.

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Tesla Motors Inc. and SolarCity Corp. set their shareholder meeting to vote on their deal for Nov. 17, the companies said in a statement Wednesday. “Over the next few weeks, Tesla will share important updates regarding our strategic plan,” including an Oct. 28 event that will unveil a solar roof product to be used along Tesla’s stationary batteries and “will show the kinds of products that the combined company will be able to create,” Tesla said. On Nov. 1, Tesla will provide additional financial information about its plans for the combined company, it said. Tesla shares ticked slightly higher after the announcement but lost some steam as the session progressed.

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Amazon.com Inc.’s price target was raised to $1,000 from $835 at Cantor Fitzgerald on Wednesday, adding to a growing list of analysts to reach that threshold. Among the other firms with a price target of at least $1,000 according to FactSet are Evercore ISI, which has a price target of $1,015, RBC Capital Markets, and Bernstein Research. A number of others have a price target of $900 or more, including Jefferies ($950), Cowen & Company ($960), and Oppenheimer ($941). Cantor Fitzgerald based its increase on the strength of e-commerce and the momentum of Amazon Web Services (AWS). E-commerce revenue growth is accelerating, Cantor Fitzgerald’s note said, quoting comScore data showing a 15% year-over-year increase. “As the largest e-commerce company, Amazon is disproportionately benefitting from this trend, with year-over-year revenue growth in retail sales accelerating to 29% in the second quarter of 2016 versus 26% in the first quarter of 2016 and 19% in the fourth quarter of 2015.” Amazon is forecast to grow its e-commerce sales this holiday season, and, according to the note, even with Jet.com, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is “unlikely to make much of an impact on Amazon in the near term.” Amazon shares are up 0.3% in Wednesday trading, and 51.5% for the past year. The S&P 500 Index is up 6.1% for the last 12 months.

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Spending on security-related hardware, software and services is expected to grow more than twice the rate of overall IT spending growth over the next four years as companies grapple with heightened cyber-security risks, according to industry data company IDC. Spending is expected to increase an average 8.3% annually over the next four years, surpassing $100 billion by 2020 from $73 billion this year. The biggest spenders are expected to come from the banking and discrete manufacturing industries, as well as the federal and central government, according to IDC.

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U.S. stocks opened marginally higher Wednesday, as markets attempted to recover from the previous day’s steep losses that were partly due to slumping oil prices. Investors are waiting for the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, which may confirm expectations for a December rate hike. The S&P 500 was up 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2,138. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 18,128. The Nasdaq Composite began the session unchanged at 5,247.

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Vera Bradley Inc. said Wednesday that it is investigating a payment card breach that may have affected cards used at the retailer’s stores between July 25, 2016 and Sept. 23, 2016. The company said law enforcement alerted the company on Sept. 15, after which Vera Bradley enlisted help from a computer security firm. Online transactions were not affected. The findings show there was unauthorized access to the company’s payment processing system, in which a program was installed that looked for payment card data, including cardholder name, expiration date, card number and internal verification codes. “There is no indication that other customer information was at risk,” Vera Bradley said in a statement, adding that the incident has been stopped. Vera Bradley shares are inactive in premarket trading, but down 7.7% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 4.5% for the calendar year to date.

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Shares of Apple Inc. rose 0.4% in premarket trade Wednesday, which puts them on course to post a seventh-straight gain, as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s troubles with its smartphones and tablets continued to provide a boost. Apple’s stock, which closed Tuesday at a 10-month high, has run up 3.4% in the past six sessions. The last time it rose for seven-straight days was the seven-session stretch ending Feb. 18, 2015, when it rose 8.2% during the streak. Pacific Crest analysts said Samsung halting production of Note 7s should provide “an incremental tailwind to Apple.” While it is unlikely to have a material impact on total iPhone volume, the Note 7 issues are likely to affect the Samsung brand overall, “which could impact the purchasing decisions for a much larger set of smartphone buyers.” Apple’s stock has run up 19% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has slipped 1.2%.

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The worst case scenario has happened with the discontinuation of Samsung’s [S: KR:005930] Note7 devices and J.P. Morgan analysts say the company’s upcoming earnings and the overall brand value will take big hits. On the earnings front, the analysts estimate the recall expenses at ‎₩2.5 trillion (won) and the opportunity loss of close to 15 million devices at ‎₩11 trillion. Samsung cut its third quarter profit outlook Wednesday. The greater impact could be to the brand, they say, as getting consumers back on its side could take some time. This could give Apple Inc. an opportunity to capture some of the consumers in the near term, they say. In the meantime, they expect the negative sentiment to weigh on the stock. The next catalyst could be an announcement of a shareholder return policy on October 27, but without a major change they expect the stock to move sideways until the next device is unveiled. Shares of Samsung have lost 10% week to date, compared to the S&P 500’s drop of 1%.

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