Category: Stock Market News

PNC Financial Services became the latest company to say it will pay special bonuses to the bulk of its employees, among other workforce investments, after the tax bill was signed into law Friday. The financial services company said it will provide a $1,000 cash payment in the first quarter of 2018 to about 47,500 employees, or the about 90% of its workforce who are below a certain compensation band. In addition, PNC said it would raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour by the end of 2018, provide an additional $1,500 for employees in the defined benefit pension plan and make a $200 million contribution to the PNC Foundation, which supports early childhood education. “The Board’s decision to recognize our employees and support our communities is reflective of our commitment to PNC’s success,” said Chief Executive William Demchak. The stock slipped 0.3% in midday trade. It has rallied 25% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 20%.

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The largest exchange-traded fund to track the U.S. energy sector rallied on Friday, extending a recent upward trend that was poised to give the fund its best weekly percentage gain since April 2016. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF rose 0.4% on Friday, bringing its week-to-date rise to 5%. That’s by far the biggest weekly advance of any of the primary S&P 500 sector funds; the S&P 500 is up 0.2% this week, although that represents its fifth straight weekly advance. The strength in energy has come alongside a rebound in the price of crude oil. Crude is up 1.9% this week, on track to snap a three-week streak of declines. Among the biggest gainers on the day, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. rose 2.3%, Hess Corp. was up 1.5%, and Devon Energy Corp. added 1.2%. Pioneer Natural Resources Co. was up 2.6% on the day.

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Amazon.com Inc. has acquired smart-home startup Blink, a young rival to Alphabet Inc.’s Nest, amid a growing fight with the Google parent company. “We’ll continue to operate under the Amazon umbrella selling and supporting the same great products you know and love,” Blink said in a blog post on its website. Amazon and Google recently engaged in a public spat over their competing television-streaming offerings, with Alphabet cutting off YouTube support for some Amazon devices. Blink sells connected security cameras, which Nest moved into this year, and could boost Amazon’s attempt to offer smart-home products that include the ability to allow Amazon delivery workers to enter a person’s home when they are not there. Amazon and Alphabet shares were down about 0.3% early in Friday’s trading session, while indexes like the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 0.2%.

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President Donald Trump on Friday signed the Republican tax overhaul into law, enacting the most significant remake of the U.S. tax code in more than three decades. The $1.5 trillion tax cut permanently slashes the corporate rate to 21% while temporarily cutting individual rates. Among many other provisions, it also nearly doubles the standard deduction and eliminates the personal exemption. No Democrats voted for the bill in either the House or Senate. Trump also signed a bill to keep the government running through Jan. 19.

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Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. sank 5.2% in active trade Friday, enough to pace the S&P 500 decliners, as they were pulled down by the chip maker’s connection to cryptocurrencies, which were plunging in morning trade. Volume topped 21.5 million shares, making the stock the most actively traded on major U.S. exchanges. Also linked to cryptocurrencies, shares of fellow graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp. slid 1.7%. The companies’ graphics processing units are used for mining digital currencies. But on Friday, bitcoin futures plummeted over 20% to $12,213. Separately, shares of Square Inc. slumped 3.1%. The company said last month that it was allowing a “small number” of users of its mobile money-transfer service, Square Cash, to buy bitcoin from its app. AMD’s stock has lost 9% year to date, Nvidia shares have rallied 80% and Square’s stock has soared 155%. In comparison, the PHLX Semiconductor Index has climbed 40% and the S&P 500 has gained 20%.

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Nike Inc. stock tumbled 4.5% in morning trade Friday, enough to push the Dow Jones Industrial Average into negative territory, after the athletic apparel and accessories maker reported fiscal second-quarter results. The stock’s price decline of $2.93 was shaving about 20 points off the Dow’s price, which was down 9 points. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 inched up less than 0.1%. Nike’s stock was the biggest decliner among the Dow’s 30 components, 18 of which were gaining ground.

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U.S. stock-market indexes opened marginally lower on Friday but were still on track to post modest weekly gains. The S&P 500 was flat at 2,684.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average began the session off 20 points, or 0.1%, at 24,770. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index traded at 6,956, 9 points, or 0.1%, below its previous close. Among the worst performers on Wall Street shares of Celgene were down sharply after reporting disappointing Phase III data on Revlimid.

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The bitcoin rout deepened Friday, with the digital currency extending its decline to trade below $12,000 for the first time since early December. A single bitcoin fetched $11,767.05, according to Coindesk, a drop of 24.4% on the day. Bitcoin had traded just shy of $20,000 early this week. Bitcoin futures followed suit, with CME Group’s January contract down its daily limit of 20% at $12,265, while the Cboe January contract fell 19.7% to $12,280.

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Instinet analysts led by Mark Kalinowski say Papa John’s International Inc.’s announcement that Chief Executive John Schnatter will step down from his position shows that the fourth-quarter has been a “rough” one for the company following comments Schnatter made blaming the NFL for poor sales. Instinet cut its price target to $58 from $65, though it maintains its neutral rating, and lowered their fourth-quarter earnings per share estimate to 69 cents from 71 cents. “Given the weakened momentum in the business, and also given what we believe is a better understanding of 2018 as a year of investment for the company, we also reduce our 2018 EPS projection by 25 cents to $2.75,” analysts wrote. Chief Operating Officer Steve Ritchie will succeed Schnatter, who will stay on as chairman. The company hasn’t decided whether Schnatter will also continue as the company spokesperson, according to a statement from Ritchie. The company is expected to announce fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 27. Papa John’s shares are down 32.2% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 18.7% for the period.

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RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. said Friday net income will be reduced by about $40 million after the tax bill is enacted, because the insurance and reinsurance provider plans to write down a portion of its deferred tax asset. The write-down plan is a result of the drop in the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, effective Jan. 1. Other than the write down, the company said it expects the economic impact of the tax bill to the company will be “minimal,” but added that uncertainty regarding the impact of the bill remains. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 7.8% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF has gained 11% and the S&P 500 has climbed 20%.

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