Oil ends higher for the session to tally a gain of more than 5% for the week

Oil prices climbed Friday to finish near a two-week high, buoyed by reports of a setback for Nigerian crude supplies and a recent forecast for higher oil demand this year. For the week, the price for U.S. benchmark oil rose roughly 5.2%. August West Texas Intermediate crude rose 46 cents, or 1%, to settle at $46.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange for the session.

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Gold marks highest settlement of the month, up 1.5% for the week

Gold prices climbed Friday to mark their highest finish since June 30 as weak U.S. economic data dulled prospects for another interest-rate hike this year. Prices finished the week up roughly 1.5%, after posting five-straight weeks of losses, according to data from FactSet, tracking the most-active contracts. August gold added $10.20, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,227.50 an ounce.

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Baker Hughes data shows U.S. oil-rig count edged up this week

Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil edged higher by two to 765 rigs this week. That follows a weekly rise of seven rigs. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, was unchanged at 952, according to Baker Hughes. August West Texas Intermediate crude rose 47 cents, or 1%, to $46.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, little changed from the $46.57 level it traded at before the data.

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Nutanix shares soar as analyst calls it ‘a once-in-a-decade’ opportunity

Shares of Nutanix Inc. were soaring 9% Friday afternoon after Goldman Sachs added the stock to their conviction list, saying it has an estimated 53% return potential to their $31 price target. Goldman Sachs calls Nutanix, a hyperconverged infrastructure company, a “once-in-a-decade tech infrastructure story,” as they see strong adoption of the technology among chief information officers. According to their June survey, 18% of CIOs expected to move to hyperconverged systems in the next two years, with Nutanix as the leader in the field. Additionally, they see Nutanix on a path for long-term double-digit growth, high gross margins and large operating leverage. In the shorter-term, Nutanix should benefit from changed accounting rules that will move its software revenues, which are currently deferred, to its profit and loss statement. “We estimate that the new accounting methodology could increase FY18/FY19 revenues by 12%/13%,”wrote Simona Jankowski, the lead analyst on the note. There is also the possibility of Nutanix as an acquisition target, given its unique position in the space and its 17% year-to-date stock drop. The analysts have a buy rating and $31 price target on the stock. Shares of Nutanix have gained 26% in the past month, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 1%.

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AMD’s stock bounces; options traders prep for volatile post-earnings move

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. rallied 1.5% in active Friday morning trade, as it bounced after the previous session’s 5.3% tumble. MKM Partners derivatives strategist Jim Strugger said in a note to clients that AMD was among the S&P 500 stocks with the largest implied one-day post-earnings moves, and more than the historical average. The options market is pricing the stock to move 11.7% in either direction the day after second-quarter results are released, compared with a historical average of 10.4%. AMD is scheduled to report results on July 25, after the closing bell. AMD’s stock has been rather volatile of late, without making much progress. The average one-day move for the stock over the past five months has been 2.8%, while the stock has gained 3.5%. In comparison, the PHLX Semiconductor Index has rallied 14% the past five months and the S&P 500 has gained 4.8%.

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Snap shares fall after a downgrade to market perform

Shares of Snap Inc. were falling 1.6% Friday morning after the stock was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Cowen Research. John Blackledge, lead analyst on the note, downgraded the stock based on increased competition for advertising dollars from Facebook Inc. as well as Pinterest. Snap’s advertising dollars are also hurt by seasonality in the business and a slower-than-expected ramp up of Snap’s direct response and self-serve products. Snap’s direct response and self-serve advertising products will likely not be meaningful until the second half of 2017 or early 2018, he wrote. This is the second downgrade of Snap this week, after Morgan Stanley analysts also reported delays in Snap’s ad products and increased competition from Instagram Stories. However, Snap also saw an upgrade from Stifel analysts who said competitive threats were not as bad as feared. Blackledge cut his price target to $17, which was Snap’s issue price at its initial public offering, from $21. Snap has a relatively large social audience and could expand its base and monetization efforts overseas, but as it stands Blackledge said its current strategy is “not a slam dunk.” Shares of Snap have lost 13.7% in past month, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.5%.

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Snap shares fall after a downgrade to market perform

Shares of Snap Inc. were falling 1.6% Friday morning after the stock was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Cowen Research. John Blackledge, lead analyst on the note, downgraded the stock based on increased competition for advertising dollars from Facebook Inc. as well as Pinterest. Snap’s advertising dollars are also hurt by seasonality in the business and a slower-than-expected ramp up of Snap’s direct response and self-serve products. Snap’s direct response and self-serve advertising products will likely not be meaningful until the second half of 2017 or early 2018, he wrote. This is the second downgrade of Snap this week, after Morgan Stanley analysts also reported delays in Snap’s ad products and increased competition from Instagram Stories. However, Snap also saw an upgrade from Stifel analysts who said competitive threats were not as bad as feared. Blackledge cut his price target to $17, which was Snap’s issue price at its initial public offering, from $21. Snap has a relatively large social audience and could expand its base and monetization efforts overseas, but as it stands Blackledge said its current strategy is “not a slam dunk.” Shares of Snap have lost 13.7% in past month, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.5%.

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Goldman, J.P. Morgan’s early stock slump cuts 40 points from Dow

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday was being pressured by sharp drops in components J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Declines in the shares of Goldman and J.P. Morgan were taxing the price-weighted Dow by nearly 40 points, with the lion’s share of pressure coming from Goldman’s share decline. The weakness in the banking sector came after J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo & Co. , Citigroup Inc. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reported second-quarter results that mostly beat Wall Street expectations but bank officials pointed to weakness in areas including trading of bonds and stocks. Still, the Dow was managing to trade flat, as gains in Boeing Co. helped to offset some of the pressure from the banks.

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U.S. stocks open flat on bank weakness, on track for week of solid gains

U.S. stocks opened flat on Friday as investors digested a mixed batch of quarterly earnings out of a trio of major banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14 points, or 0.1%, to 21,536. The S&P 500 was up by less than 1 point to 2,448. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 13 points, or 0.2%, to 6,286. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. , Citigroup Inc. , and Wells Fargo & Co. all posted results on Friday, with the three topping expectations, although Citigroup’s results also indicated a slowdown in trading revenue. Shares of J.P. Morgan fell 2.6% while Citigroup lost 1.6% and Wells shed 2.4%. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF was down 1.5%. For the week, the Dow is up 0.6% while the S&P is up 1% and the Nasdaq is up about 2.2%. In the latest economic data, the consumer price index was unchanged in June, while retail sales fell 0.2%.

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Boeing’s stock rally adds more to Dow than J.P. Morgan’s decline erases

The gain in Boeing Co.’s stock in premarket trade Friday after an analyst upgrade would add more to the price of the Dow Jones Industrial Average than the selloff in J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. shares would erase. Boeing’s stock rose $1.77, or 0.9%, ahead of the open, after J.P. Morgan upgraded the aerospace giant to overweight from neutral. The stock’s price gain would add about 12.1 points to the price of the Dow. Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan Chase’s stock slumped $1.50, or 1.6%, after the banking giant beat second-quarter profit and revenue expectations, but missed on net interest income and as trading revenue declined. That would shave about 10.3 points off the Dow. E-mini Dow futures were up 3 points in recent trade.

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