Category: Stock Market News

Amazon.com Inc. is looking to muscle in on Apple Inc.’s and Spotify AB’s territory by launching a standalone streaming-music service by subscription, according to a late Friday Reuters report citing people close to the matter. The $9.99-a-month service is expected to launch in the late summer or early fall, Reuters said. Amazon, which already offers limited streaming music to its Prime subscribers, did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Amazon shares rose less than 0.1% to $718.26 after hours.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks closed lower Friday, with only blue chips holding onto slight gains for the week, as anxiety over a possible exit of the U.K. from the European Union and a drop in oil prices weighed on markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 119.85 points, or 0.7%, to close at 17,865.34, for a weekly gain of 0.3%. The S&P 500 Index declined 19.41 points, or 0.9%, to finish at 2,096.07, for a loss of 0.2% on the week. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 64.07 points, or 1.3%, to close at 4,894.55, for a weekly loss of 1%. Oil futures slipped back below $50 a barrel, settling down 3% at $49.07.

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Oil futures fell on Friday to settle back below $50 a barrel, as a second-straight weekly rise in the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil raised concerns about growing production. July WTI crude settled at $49.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down $1.49, or 3%, for the session. Prices still finished higher for the week as global supply disruptions pulled prices past $51 a barrel Wednesday to their highest level in nearly 11 months.

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The pound plunged to its weakest level against the dollar in eight weeks on Friday after a new poll showed rising support for a vote to leave the European Union. The poll, conducted by the Independent, a British newspaper, showed 55% of U.K. voters intend to vote “leave” at the June 23 referendum. The British currency traded as low as $1.4180 after the poll was published, its weakest level since April 18. It traded at $1.4329 earlier in the session. The pound has fallen sharply this week as a spate of recent polls showed rising support for the “leave” vote. The British currency has shed nearly 2% of its value relative to the dollar so far this week.

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Gold futures settled higher on Friday to tally a weekly gain of 2.7%, as weakness in U.S. equities and uncertainty ahead of the Brexit vote later this month helped lift the metal’s safe-haven investment appeal. Gold for August delivery settled at $1,275.90 an ounce, up $3.20, or 0.3%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold futures settled higher on Friday to tally a weekly gain of 2.7%, as weakness in U.S. equities and uncertainty ahead of the Brexit vote later this month helped lift the metal’s safe-haven investment appeal. Gold for August delivery settled at $1,275.90 an ounce, up $3.20, or 0.3%.

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Oil futures held on to sharp losses Friday after a Baker Hughes report showed that rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. rose by 3 to 328, marking the second straight weekly rise in active drilling rigs. Last week, the rig count rose by 9 rigs. West Texas Intermediate crude futures trading for July delivery maintained steep losses, and were most recently down 2.7% at $49.22 a barrel. Brent oil , its international counterpart, was off 2.4% at $50.71 a barrel. Active gas rigs rose by 3 to 85, according to Baker Hughes. Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group, said he was heartened by the report after last week’s jump in rigs. Market participants use the report to gauge whether U.S. producers are revving up oil-production activity, which could drive down the price oil. “It shows the market is stabilizing, but it wasn’t as [large of an increase] as some feared,” he said.

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Gawker Media LLC, bruised after losing a costly legal battle with professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a filing. The digital publisher was sued by Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, for violating his privacy by posting a clip of him having sex with the ex-wife of a friend. A jury awarded the wrestler $140 million in damages. Gawker had hired an investment banker to explore its options, including a possible sale, The Wall Street Journal reported. The filing was made with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

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Soybean futures rallied Friday to trade at their highest levels in nearly two years as the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut domestic supply estimates for the crop. Soybeans are expected to end the 2015/2016 crop year with stocks of 370 million bushels, down 30 million from last month’s estimate, the USDA said. Ending stocks for the 2016/2017 crop year were also cut by 45 million to 260 million bushels. July soybeans traded at $11.845 a bushel, up 8.5 cents, or 0.7%. Prices haven’t traded or settled at a level this high since late June 2014, according to FactSet data.

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Shares of Atkore International Group were trading at $16.29 Friday morning, above the company’s $16 initial public offering price. CD&R Allied Holdings, a stockholder in the company, sold 12 million shares to raise about $192 million. Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Securities and J.P. Morgan acted as the lead underwriters.

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