Category: Stock Market News

Corn prices fell Wednesday, set to mark their lowest settlement in the month to date, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its U.S. production outlook for the commodity. In its July report, the USDA said it expects domestic output of nearly 14.1 billion bushels for 2017/2018 crop year, up 190 million bushels from the forecast a month earlier. September corn fell 4% to $3.85 a bushel in Chicago. A settlement around this level would be the lowest since June 30, according to FactSet data.

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President Donald Trump’s choice to head the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, James Clinger, has withdrawn from consideration, a White House spokeswoman told MarketWatch. Trump announced his intent to appoint Clinger on June 16.

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Verizon Communications Inc. Chief Executive Lowell McAdam told journalists during the annual media and technology summit in Sun Valley, Idaho that “No,” the telecommunication and media company will not buy Walt Disney Co. , according to media reports. Last week the New York Post reported that rumors had been circling that Verizon was eyeing a purchase of the Mouse House empire. Analysts were quick to the denounce the report and now Verizon’s chief executive has said the company isn’t looking at a potential deal. Verizon recently completed its acquisition of Yahoo Inc.. And the narrative looming in the media industry has been that media companies would be attractive targets for tech and telecom companies. The industry has been waiting to see if Facebook Inc. , or Apple Inc. would look to acquire a media company to help their push into TV, and Verizon rival AT&T Inc. is currently in midst of a deal for Time Warner Inc. . Verizon shares have declined more than 19% in the year to date, while Disney shares are down less than 1% and the S&P 500 index is up 9% during the same period.

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Oil prices extended their earlier gains Wednesday after data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that domestic crude supplies dropped 7.6 million barrels for the week ended July 7. That topped a forecast for a decline of 2.6 million barrels by analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts, but came in a bit less than the decline of 8.1 barrels reported by the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday. Gasoline stockpiles also fell by 1.6 million barrels, but distillate stockpiles climbed by 3.1 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. August crude rose $1.29, or 2.9%, to $46.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded at $46.17 before the supply data.

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Eli Lilly & Co. said on Wednesday that as part of a settlement with generic companies over its Cialis patent, the exclusive patent is now expected to end on September 27, 2018 at the earliest, roughly a year-and-a-half earlier than the patent was going to expire. The settlement won’t affect 2017 financial guidance or mid-term expectations through the rest of the decade, the company said. The dispute centered around a patent on the unit dose of the drug. Eli Lilly defended the disputed patent as “valid” but said that “this is a royalty-bearing license agreement that provides us with more certainty regarding our U.S. exclusivity,” according to Michael Harrington, the company’s senior vice president and general counsel. Cialis treats erectile dysfunction, but the drug — tadalfil — is also sold under the name Adcirca for pulmonary arterial hypertension. Adcirca’s patent is still expected to expire on November 21, 2017 or, if the Food and Drug Administration grants the company pediatric exclusivity, on May 21, 2018, Eli Lilly said. Eli Lilly shares rose 1.8% to $83.80 in morning trade. Shares have dropped 2.9% over the last three months, compared with a 4.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co. plummeted 13% in morning trade Wednesday, putting them on track to suffer the biggest one-day selloff in 15 years, after the metalworking and maintenance services company missed fiscal third-quarter revenue expectations and provided a downbeat profit outlook. The stock was headed for the lowest close since Nov. 4, 2016. MSC reported earlier a profit for the quarter to June 3 of $62.8 million, or $1.09 a share, compared with earnings $64.8 million, or $1.05 a share, in the same period a year ago, matching the FactSet EPS consensus of $1.09. Revenue rose to $743.9 million from $727.5 million, but missed the FactSet consensus of $745.2 million. For the fourth quarter, the company expects EPS of 97 cents to $1.01, below the FactSet consensus of $1.06, and expects revenue of $732 million to $746 million, surrounding expectations of $737 million. The stock, which is headed for the biggest decline since it shed 32% on Aug. 6, 2002, has tumbled 19% year to date, while the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF has climbed 11% and the S&P 500 has gained 9.1%.

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The Bank of Canada, as expected, raised its overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.75% on Wednesday. This was the first rate hike in seven years, making the Bank of Canada the first major central bank to join the Federal Reserve in raising rates. The Bank of Canada’s decision was driven by its confidence in its outlook for faster growth in the economy. Shortly after the decision, the Canadian dollar rallied, with the U.S. dollar trading at C$1.2832, down 0.7% from C$1.2917 on Tuesday.

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The Canadian dollar rose against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, after the Bank of Canada raised interest rates, as had been expected. Against the Canadian dollar , the U.S. dollar bought C$1.2851, compared with C$1.2940 prior to the announcement. It ended late Tuesday at C$1.2917. Separately, the iShares MSCI Canada ETF , an exchange-traded fund that is one of the most popular ways for investors to get exposure to the Canadian equity market, rose 1.7%, extending its rise on the day following the announcement.

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U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, in prepared congressional testimony, said interest rate increases would be gradual and that they wouldn’t need to rise much further. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 82 points, or 0.4%, to 21,497. The S&P 500 added 10 points to 2,436, a gain of 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 46 points to 6,240, a rise of 0.8%. Stocks have been supported by low rates over the past several years, and abrupt changes to that environment could lead to volatility in equities. Also boosting stocks was the energy sector, which gained alongside a 2% jump in the price of crude oil. Among the biggest gainers, Chesapeake Energy Corp. added 1.7% while Exxon Mobil Corp. was up 0.8%.

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Back-to-school spending is expected to reach $27 billion in sales, according to the latest survey from Deloitte. More than a quarter of shoppers (28%) will shop at off-price retailers, like T.J. Maxx, a TJX Cos. chain, a 10 percentage-point rise from last year. And 28% expect to shop in department stores, down from 54% last year. Sixty percent of shoppers will head to stores in August, spending an average of $532, higher than the $458 the remaining parents who will shop in August or later expect to spend. More than half (57%) will shop in stores while 21% expect to shop online. About 29 million households will take part in the back-to-school shopping season, which is the second largest of the year. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 12% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 8.3% for the period.

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