Category: Stock Market News

Oil futures rose on Friday, rebounding after a four-session decline as a slowdown in U.S. job growth lowered the likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase at the central bank meeting later this month. That could lead to weakness in the dollar and buoy dollar-denominated prices for oil. Russian President Vladimir Putin also called on oil producers to reach a deal to cap output. October WTI crude rose $1.28, or 3%, to settle at $44.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It still lost 6.7% for the week, according to FactSet data.

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Gold futures settled higher on Friday as the slow pace of U.S. job growth in August dulled the prospects for a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase at a meeting later this month. Prices for the yellow metal finished the week with a slight gain of less than 0.1%. December gold rose $9.60, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,326.70 an ounce on Comex.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Friday released documents from the Hillary Clinton email investigation. The bureau said it did so in the interest of transparency as well as numerous Freedom of Information Act requests. The FBI recommended that Clinton not be prosecuted over her handling of classified information on her personal email server while secretary of state. The documents are now online.

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Oil futures pared some of their gains Friday after data from Baker Hughes revealed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil edged up by 1 to 407 rigs in the latest week. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, rose by 8 to 497, Baker Hughes said. October crude was at $44.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.19, or 2.8%, from Thursday’s settlement. It traded around $44.46 before the rig data.

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Shares of Carnival Corp. sank more than 4% in early trade on Friday after the company’s stock was downgraded to underweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley. August is usually an active month for booking cruises, Morgan Stanley analyst Jamie Rollo wrote in a note to clients, but trends this August were negative. At a panel of U.S. travel agents, they noted booking momentum for the rest of 2016 and 2017 seems to have slowed. “Almost universally, the panel mentioned falling rates, growing promotions and rising agent incentives, which given sluggish volumes likely indicate general demand weakness rather than operators attempting to build a base of business,” Rollo wrote. And for the first time, agents mentioned the Zika virus–there’s been a relatively small outbreak in Miami–as having an impact, but cruise lines have denied the affect. Carnival shares are down nearly 15% in the year to date and down 6% in the last 12 months, underperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up nearly 7% in the year and up more than 12% over the last 12 months.

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U.S. stocks posted gains in early trade Friday after weaker-than-expected August jobs data was seen cooling prospects for a September rate increase by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 rose 10.18 points, or 0.5%, to 2,181.04 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 102.59 points, or 0.6%, to 18,521.89. The Nasdaq Composite rose 25.71 points, or 0.5%, to 5,252.92.

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The dollar weakened Friday against its main rivals after the Labor Department said the U.S. economy created 151,000 jobs in August, moderately undershooting economists’ expectations. The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1231 after the data, compared with $1.1195 late Thursday. The dollar fell 0.1% to 103.17 yen, compared with 103.25 yen. The pound gained 0.3% to $1.3308, compared with $1.3271. Friday’s number drew extra scrutiny from economists and investors as many expect it to be a key factor in the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hike calculus. Last week, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said the U.S. economy was close to full employment, and that the Fed could still raise rates twice before the end of 2016, if the data hold.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stock-market index futures climbed after the closely watched jobs report came in weaker than Wall Street’s consensus estimates, making an interest-rate hike a less likely scenario for the Federal Reserve at its next meeting in September. The U.S. economy added 151,000 positions in August, while the unemployment rate stayed at 4.9%. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63 points, or 0.4%, at 18,455, while those for the S&P 500 index gained 7.45 points, or 0.3%, at 2,174. Nasdaq-100 futures rose 20.75 points, or 0.4%, at 4,798. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected 170,000 jobs to be added to the U.S. economy in August, while the broader-market consensus is for about 180,00 jobs, according to FactSet.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. added 151,000 jobs in August, slowing sharply from earlier in the summer and probably pushing an expected increase in U.S. interest rates toward the end of the year. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted 170,000 gain in new nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9%. A broader measure of unemployment known as U6 was flat at 9.7%, the government said Friday. Average hourly wages rose 0.1% to $25.73. Hourly pay increased 2.4% from August 2015 to August 2016, also a bit weaker than expected. Total employment gains for July and June, meanwhile, were barely changed. The government said 275,000 new jobs were created in July instead of 255,000. But June’s gain was cut to 271,000 from 292,000.

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KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc. , the company formerly majority owned by controversial biotech investor Martin Shkreli, said Friday it has filed its outstanding 10-Q and 10-K for 2015. The filings “mark an important step towards the achievement of one of the company’s key near-term goals of regaining compliance with periodic reporting requirements of the SEC and to seek relisting on a national securities exchange,” the company said in a statement. The company emerged from bankruptcy on June 30 with a new management team and new pricing strategy. It fired Shkreli from his role of CEO late last year, after he was arrested on charges of securities fraud relating to another company. KaloBios specializes in drugs to treat rare diseases. Shares, which trade over the counter, were not yet active in premarket trade.

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