Category: Stock Market News

Shares of privately-run prison stocks plummeted Thursday following a report that the Justice Department plans to phase out its use of the facilities. Shares of Corrections Corp. of America dropped 40% to $16.51 and shares of GEO Group Inc. plunged 42% to $18.82 after several trading halts. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates announced in a memo Thursday that officials should decline to renew private prison contracts or reduce their scope, according to The Washington Post.

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Sprint Corp. has become the latest telecom company to offer a new unlimited talk, text and data plan. On Thursday, the company announced the new package, which includes unlimited talk, text, streaming video, gaming and music as well as nationwide 4G LTE data, for two lines for $100 a month. Additional lines can be added for $30 a month, while a single line can be purchased for $60. A family of four, for example, would cost $160. In a press release, Sprint said the package beats similar unlimited offers announced this week by T-Mobile US and AT&T , though they’re all actually very similar. T-Mobile’s offering, announced earlier Thursday, includes unlimited talk, text and high-speed data for $40 a line for a family of four, or $160 in total. On Wednesday, AT&T announced new mobile plans that exclude overage charges for exceeding data caps. Shares of Sprint rose 0.5% in morning trade, though they’ve risen nearly 70% in the past three months, versus a 7% increase for the S&P 500 .

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Natural-gas futures extended their gains on Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of the commodity rose 22 billion cubic feet for the week ended August 12. That was below the average rise of 28 billion cubic feet expected by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts. Total stocks now stand at 3.339 trillion cubic feet, up 327 billion cubic feet from a year ago and 405 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. September natural gas climbed 3.3 cents, or 1.3%, from Wednesday’s settlement to $2.652 per million British thermal units. It traded at $2.638 before the data.

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Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares dropped 21.3% in early morning trade Thursday after the company said that the Food and Drug Administration failed to accept its new drug. The drug, AndexXa, is intended to induce clotting in cases of life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding. The FDA asked for additional data and information about Portola’s marketing plan, according to the company. AndexXa is geared toward patients treated with an anticoagulant, direct or indirect Factor Xa inhibitor, for which the company said there is no FDA-approved antidote. Portola shares dropped 26.9% over the last three months, compared with a 6.6% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Uber Technologies Inc. said Thursday that it had acquired Otto, a self-driving truck startup and that Otto’s co-founder, Anthony Levandowski, would lead Uber’s self-driving efforts. In a blog post Thursday, Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber, said Levandowski would report to him and lead the company’s self-driving work in San Francisco, Palo Alto and Pittsburgh. Uber also said Thursday that it was partnering with Volvo [SE: VOLVA] [SE: VOLVB] to develop self-driving technology. “Volvo has consistently been a leader when it comes to safety,” Kalanick wrote. “And partnership is crucial to our self-driving strategy because Uber has no experience making cars.”

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U.S. stocks on Thursday opened little-changed, as a weekly report offered signs that the labor market remains healthy, and a reading of manufacturing in the Philadelphia region proved upbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 18,582, the S&P 500 index held steady at 2,183, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was near break-even at 5,232. Jobless claims last week fell by 4,000 to 262,000, representing a one-month low, while so-called Philly Fed data turned positive. The muted moves for stocks come a day after minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee showed a divide at the central bank about when to resuming hiking interest rates. Elsewhere, shares of Wal-Mart were climbing after its second-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations, while Cisco Systems Inc. shares declined after the company said it planned to cut 5,500 jobs. Looking ahead, the market is awaiting clarity from Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, who will speak at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Aug. 26.

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Shares of Caterpillar Inc. slumped 1.4% in morning trade Thursday, after the industrial machine and equipment maker reported the declines in retail sales of machines in the last month accelerated from the previous month. Total retail sales of machines for the three-month rolling period ending July fell 19%, after declining 12% for the period ending June. Sales of machines in resources industries declined 42%, after falling 30% in June, while the pace of declines of construction industries sales increased to 10% from 6%. In North American, total retail sales of machines dropped 20% after falling 12% the month before. Meanwhile, total energy and transportation retail sales declined 24%, after falling 26% in June. The stock, which closed Wednesday at a 13-month high, has climbed 23% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 6.6%.

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Best Buy Co. Inc. announced Thursday that it will host a 50-hour anniversary sale to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company, which opened its first store on Aug. 22, 1966. The sale starts at 10 p.m. CT Thursday and ends at 11:59 p.m. CT on Saturday, Aug. 20. Most deals will be available in stores and online, and discounts will span across categories including computers, televisions, and mobile phones. Best Buy offers free two-day shipping on orders of $35 or more. Best Buy shares are inactive in premarket trading, but up 9.4% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 6.8% for the year to date.

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T-Mobile US said Thursday it is launching a new service with unlimited talk, text and high-speed smartphone data. The new product, called T-Mobile ONE will be priced at $40 a line for a family of four. “The era of the data plan is over,” Chief Executive John Legere said in a statement. A T&T Inc. said Wednesday that it will launch new data plans that end data overage charges for wireless customers on August 21. T-Mobile shares were not active in premarket trade, but are up 19% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained about 7%.

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Toro Co. reported Thursday fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat expectations but sales that missed, and announced a 2-for-1 stock split. The stock split announcement, which will go into effect on Sept. 16, comes three days after the stock’s record close of $94.88 on Monday. For the quarter ended July 29, the lawn care equipment maker said earnings rose $55.8 million, or $1.00 a share, from $53.3 million, or 94 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet earnings-per-share consensus was 99 cents. Revenue fell to $601.0 million from $609.6 million, missing the FactSet consensus of $623.1 million, as professional and residential segment sales both missed expectations. The company narrowed its full-year EPS outlook to a range of $3.95 to $4.00 from $3.90 to $4.00. “We performed well despite sluggish sales in certain regions that experienced challenging weather conditions,” said Chief Executive Michael Hoffman. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has soared 28% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.8%.

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