Category: Stock Market News

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Wednesday showed that domestic crude supplies fell by 1.8 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 22. That’s contrary to the forecast for a rise of 1.3 million barrels by analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts. The American Petroleum Institute had reported late Tuesday a fall of 761,000 barrels, according to sources. Gasoline stockpiles were up 1.1 million barrels for the week after three consecutive weeks of declines, while distillate stockpiles fell 800,000 barrels, according to the EIA. November crude rose 28 cents, or 0.5%, to $52.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded at $52.04 before the supply data.

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The city of Hartford, Conn., is on the brink of defaulting on its debt, S&P Global Ratings said late Tuesday. S&P lowered the city’s rating to double-C from B-minus, a steep four-notch downgrade. And it is keeping the city’s rating on negative credit watch. “The downgrade to ‘CC’ reflects our opinion that a default, a distressed exchange, or redemption appears to be a virtual certainty,” said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Victor Medeiros. S&P says Hartford’s budgetary performance has been weak for several years, the management environment remains constrained due to structurally imbalanced budget and that bankruptcy risk remains. City officials earlier this month warned of a potential bankruptcy filing in 60 days pending help for its fiscal emergency. Hartford is the capital of Connecticut, which itself is seen as a vulnerable credit risk, according to muni-market analysts. The state has yet to pass a budget for the current fiscal year that would close a two-year $3.5 billion spending gap.

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Shares of Micron Technology Inc. shot up 8.1% in very active trade to a record high early Wednesday, as a host of Wall Street analysts raised their price targets in the wake of better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results. Volume ballooned to over 33 million shares less than an hour after the open, enough to make the stock the most actively traded on major U.S. exchanges, and already above the full-day average of 28.4 million shares. Of the 32 analysts surveyed by FactSet, 17 boosted their price targets to life the average target to $48.54, which is 31% above current levels, compared with a target of $43.28 at the end of August. J.P. Morgan analyst Harlan Sur raised the target to $50 from $40, saying demand is expected to remain strong into next year on “robust” datacenter spending, a server upgrade cycle, the ramp of Apple Inc.’s next-generation iPhone, continued strong PC gaming and increasing content in automobiles. The stock has soared 17% over the past three months, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index has climbed 9% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.5%.

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U.S. stock benchmarks opened higher Wednesday, as the market appeared to steady after four straight declines for the Dow. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 75 points, or 0.3%, higher at 22,356. If the Dow slips a fifth session in a row, it would mark its longest string since March, according to FactSet data. The S&P 500 index was up about 10 points, or 0.4%, at 2,505, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was 38 points, or 0.6%, higher at 6,419. In individual stocks, shares of Nike were off 4% after the athletic-apparel giant late Tuesday posted disappointing quarterly results. Shares of the Dow component were exacting a roughly 16 point toll on the price-weighted benchmark. Investors are waiting a major Republican announcement on tax reform, which could influence trading.

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Delta Air Lines Inc. said Wednesday it will begin offering free texting in flight, beginning Oct. 1. The company said it will become the first “global carrier,” which it described as a U.S.-based airline operating trans-oceanic flights, to offer free mobile messaging. Passengers will be able to access free texting through its Wi-Fi portal page. The stock, which was inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 8.2% over the past three months, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has shed 6.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 4.6%.

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German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble is set to become to the next president of the German Bundestag, or parliament, in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s next administration, according to regional reports. Schäuble, who has long been a critic of the European Central Bank’s loose monetary policy, was previously expected to take on a finance-related role in the European Union.

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La-Z-Boy Inc. said Wednesday that its Chief Financial Officer Louis Riccio Jr. will retire June 2018. Riccio joined La-Z-Boy in early 2000 after the acquisition of LADD Furniture Inc. and was appointed CFO in 2006. La-Z-Boy has launched a national search for a successor that will continue through the transition period. La-Z-Boy share are unchanged in premarket trading and down 15.6% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 11.5% for 2017 so far.

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Therapix Biosciences Ltd. shares surged 5.8% in premarket trade Wednesday after the company said preclinical trial results looking at the company’s THC drug candidate in mice found that very low doses of THC “could potentially provide a safe and effective treatment for cognitive decline in aging humans,” according to Professor Yosef Sarne of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, who designed and conducted the study. Company shares closed at $5.49 on Tuesday. Therapix Biosciences’ drug candidate, THX-ULD01, is an ultra-low dose THC drug; very low doses of THC — the hallucinogenic in cannabis — are “devoid of any psychotropic effect,” Sarne said. In the preclinical trial, the positive effect of THC lasted seven weeks, the company said. The company plans to follow the preclinical trial up with human trials. Therapix Biosciences shares have plummeted 18.7% over the last three months, compared with a 3.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

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A Dallas jury on Tuesday ordered JPMorgan Chase & Co.[s:JPM] to pay more than $4 billion in damages for mismanaging the estate of a former executive for American Airlines [s:AAL]. The bank was hired by the family of Max Hopper in 2010 to administer his estate, which totaled more than $19 million, but had no last will and testament. The jury found that instead the bank committed fraud, breached its fiduciary duty, and broke a fee agreement. It took years to release assets, the jury was told, and in some cases stock options expired. The bank also ignored requests from Hopper’s widow to sell certain stocks, and paid legal fees out of the estate’s proceeds. “The nation’s largest bank horribly mistreated me and this verdict provides protection to others from being mistreated by banks that think they’re too powerful to be held accountable,” Jo Hopper said in a statement. The bank has said it believes the verdict will be overturned. JPMorgan’s stock has gained 8.6% for the year to date, compared to 11.5% for the S&P 500[s:SPX].

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday that it is relaunching its Parent’s Choice baby brand. The roll out of items has been ongoing, and will continue through January 2018. Parent’s Choice began 20 years ago with just baby formula and will grow to 275 items. Key to the line will be a premium diaper, available in select stores and on online, and a line of bedding including 53 pieces. The bedding collection will all be priced $40 or less, with many items less than $13. Baby is a category of focus for rival Target Corp. which has launched lines like PillowFort and Cloud Island in recent months. Wal-Mart shares are nearly flat in premarket trading and up almost 15% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 11.5% for 2017 so far and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 12.8% for the period.

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