Category: Stock Market News

Caterpillar Inc. said Wednesday it will raise its quarterly dividend by 1.3% to 78 cents a share, from 77 cents a share. The new dividend will be payable Aug. 19 to shareholders of record on July 20. Based on the current stock price, the construction and mining equipment maker’s new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 2.95%, compared with the yields for the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF of 1.90% and the aggregate yield of the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 2.29%, according to FactSet. Caterpillar’s stock, which inched up less than 0.1% in morning trade, has rallied 14.1% year to date, while the industrial ETF has climbed 10.1% and the Dow has gained 7.9%.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – U.S. business inventories fell 0.2% in April, the government said Wednesday. The inventory-to-sales ratio, an indication of demand, was unchanged at 1.37 months. At April’s sales pace, that’s how long it would take for businesses to clear their shelves.

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Aldeyra Therapeutics Inc. shares dropped 16.2% in heavy morning trade Wednesday after the company said its allergic conjunctivitis drug missed its primary endpoint in a mid-stage clinical trial. Still, the company said it planned to move the drug forward into late-stage clinical trials after speaking with regulators in the second half of 2017. Allergic conjunctivitis is a common allergic condition that includes inflammation of a membrane at the front of the eye, causing itching, excessive tears, redness and swelling. The phase 2b trial’s primary endpoint required statistically significant improvement in ocular itching and at least one point of absolute improvement on a patient-reported scale. Though those weren’t met, patients on the 0.5% ADX-102 ophthalmic solution had statistically significant reductions in ocular itching after allergen exposure, which the company said influenced its decision to push forward into late-stage trials. The response “we believe represents a novel activity profile that addresses late phase inflammation generally not affected by antihistamines,” said President and Chief Executive Todd Brady. The trial also tested a 0.1% ADX-102 ophthalmic solution, which reduced itching “generally to a lesser degree,” the company said. Aldeyra shares have dropped 19.2% to $4.22 over the last three months, compared with a 3.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

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U.S. stocks rose modestly in early trading on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary-policy update, where the central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19 points, or 0.1%, to 21,348. The S&P 500 gained 0.1%, or 2.5 points, to 2,443. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 14 points, or 0.2%, to 6,235. In the latest economic data, read on consumer prices and retail sales came in below expectations. The data pushed bond prices higher, which resulted in a sharp drop in Treasury yields. The yield for the benchmark 10-year note slumped 5.8 basis points to 2.154%, hitting its lowest level since November. Investors also digested news of a shooting in Northern Virginia, where House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and several people were injured after a gunman opened fire during a baseball practice. In company news, H&R Block Inc. rose 6.4% after posting earnings that beat expectations.

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Treasury prices early Wednesday rallied, pushing yields down dramatically, after tepid inflation data suggested that the Federal Reserve may need to adopt a more gradual pace of monetary tightening. The yield for the benchmark 10-year note slumped 8.3 basis points to 2.131%. The 2-year note lost 6.5 basis points to 1.307%, while the 30-year bond, or the long bond, fell 5.1 basis points to 2.802%. Bond yields and prices move inversely. The consumer-price index declined by 0.1% in May, the second drop in three months, while the core index only grew by 0.1%. Investors have closely eyed the CPI data as it could inform the Fed’s thinking on how fast it should raise rates. Lower inflation is bullish for bonds, because a rise in inflation can erode a bonds value. Fed officials had previously described the tepid inflation data as “transitory” to set up for June’s rate hike, but a continued decline in inflation could push back the central bank’s schedule to reduce its balance sheet. The Fed is set to deliver its updated policy decision later Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern, with a news conference slated for half-hour later led by Janet Yellen. Wall Street had widely expected a quarter-point rate hike by the central bank.

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From:: Stock Market News

Treasury prices early Wednesday rallied, pushing yields down dramatically, after tepid inflation data suggested that the Federal Reserve may need to adopt a more gradual pace of monetary tightening. The yield for the benchmark 10-year note [BX:TMUBMUSD10Y] slumped 5.8 basis points to 2.154%. The 2-year note [BX:TMUBMUSD02Y] lost 6.5 basis points to 1.311%, while the 30-year bond, or the long bond, [BX:TMUBMUSD30Y] fell 5.1 basis points to 2.820%. Bond yields and prices move inversely. The consumer-price index declined by 0.1% in May, the second drop in three months, while the core index only grew by 0.1%. Investors have closely eyed the CPI data as it could inform the Fed’s thinking on how fast it should raise rates. Lower inflation is bullish for bonds, because a rise in inflation can erode a bonds value. Fed officials had previously described the tepid inflation data as “transitory” to set up for June’s rate hike, but a continued decline in inflation could push back the central bank’s schedule to reduce its balance sheet. The Fed is set to deliver its updated policy decision later Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern, with a news conference slated for half-hour later led by Janet Yellen. Wall Street had widely expected a quarter-point rate hike by the central bank.

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The U.S. dollar turned lower against its major rivals on Wednesday, erasing an earlier gain as data came in below expectations and uncertainty rose following a shooting in Virginia that injured a Congressman. The U.S. dollar index , which measures the currency against a half-dozen rivals, fell 0.3% on the day to 96.69. Earlier, it had risen as high as 97.11. In the latest economic data, the consumer price index fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in May. The rate of inflation over the past 12 months slowed to 1.9% in May from a five-year high of 2.7% just four months ago. Separately, May retail sales fell 0.3%, their biggest drop in 16 months. Among major currency trades, the euro was at $1.1261 from $1.1207 late Tuesday, while the dollar traded at ¥109.43 from ¥110.04, a move of 0.6%.

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U.S. stock-index futures trimmed modest gains after reports that several people were injured after shots were fired at a baseball-team practice for Republican members of Congress in Northern Virginia. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and several aides were were taken to a hospital and suspect gunman is said to be in police custody. The S&P 500 futures pared gains to trade flat at 2,438.5. The Nasdaq-100 futures were up by 6.75 points, or 0.1%, to 5,765.7. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded 18 points, or 0.1%, higher at 21,300.

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Altice USA, Inc. , a broadband provider, set a price range of $27 to $31 Tuesday for its initial public offering, which would raise $1.4 billion on the high end. Altice plans to sell 12,068,966 shares itself. BC Partners will sell 20,923,330 and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board plans to sell 13,559,429 shares. BC Partners and CPPIB plan to grant underwriters a 30-day option to buy an additional 5.2 million shares. J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs & Co. are the underwriters on the offering. Altice has applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “ATUS.”

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General Electric Co. said Wednesday it will combine its GE Power and GE Energy Connections units into one business called GE Power. The industrial conglomerate named Russell Stokes, current chief executive officer of GE Energy Connections, as CEO of GE Power, effective July 3. Steve Bolze, former CEO of GE Power, will retire after 24 years at the company and 11 years in his latest role. The move follows GE’s announcement Monday that CEO Jeffrey Immelt will step down, to be replaced by John Flannery. GE’e stock, which edged up 0.4% in premarket trade, has dropped 10.0% year to date through Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 7.9%.

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