Category: Stock Market News

The market for personal computers appears to be stabilizing but still suffering from a drop-off in consumer demand, according to reports from two major analysis firms. International Data Corp. and Gartner differed on whether overall PC shipments declined or increased year-over-year, but the move was not large in either report, a change from severe declines in the past few years. IDC reported that PC shipments gained 0.6% from the first quarter of 2016, the first year-over-year increase the company has tracked since 2012. Gartner — which, unlike IDC, does not count Chromebooks in its PC studies — reported a 2.4% decline. The two reports also differed on the top PC company: Gartner reported that Lenovo Group Ltd. narrowly maintained its lead, while IDC proclaimed that HP Inc. took back the top spot for the first time since losing it to Lenovo in 2013. Gartner did say that HP had the best gains among the PC giants, increasing sales 6.5% to top Apple Inc.’s 4.5% increase. The two reports agreed that businesses are keeping the PC industry alive as consumers continue to put off PC purchases, and don’t expect that to change much. “Winners in the business segment will ultimately be the survivors in this shrinking market,” Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner, said. “Vendors who do not have a strong presence in the business market will encounter major problems, and they will be forced to exit the PC market in the next five years.” Kitagawa noted that Lenovo, HP and Dell appear to be poised well, while Apple can rely on specific verticals for survival.

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The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a decline of 1.3 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies for the week ended April 7, according to sources. The API data also showed a drop of 3.7 million barrels in gasoline supplies and a fall of 1.6 million barrels in distillates, sources said. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday morning. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast an increase of 125,000 barrels in crude inventories. May crude was at $53.40 a barrel in electronic trading, unchanged from the contract’s settlement on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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The Procter & Gamble Co. late Tuesday said its board of directors has authorized a 3% dividend increase to 68.96 cents a share payable May 15 to shareholders of record April 21. That’s the 61st straight year that the consumer products company increased its dividend. Shares rose 0.1% in late trading after ending the regular trading session up 0.4%.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 30 points in afternoon trade, but market internals suggest the broader stock market was actually rising. The number of advancing stocks was beating the number of decliners by a 1,657-to-1,244 margin on the NYSE and by a 1,505-to-1,161 score on the Nasdaq exchange. The story was very different for the Dow, which saw 22 of 30 components lose ground. Most other major market indexes also declined, with the S&P 500 down 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite shedding 0.4%. Among the few gaining market trackers, the Russell 2000 , which tracked small-capitalization stocks, climbed 0.6%.

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United Airlines Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz apologized Tuesday afternoon for the airline’s Sunday treatment of a passenger who was forcibly dragged off an overbooked United airplane by law enforcement. The incident was videotaped by another passenger and spread quickly, prompting outrage but, until Tuesday afternoon, no apology from the airline. “No one should ever be mistreated this way,” Munoz said in a statement. “I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right. It’s never too late to do the right thing.” Munoz said United plans to review its policies for overbooked flights and its partnerships with law enforcement, and that the results would be shared by the end of the month. Munoz’s initial statement after the incident was widely mocked for its use of “re-accommodate” to describe the passenger being brutally forced off the airplane. United Continental Holdings Inc. shares were down 1.5% Tuesday afternoon in heavy volume. Shares have dropped 6.1% over the last three months, compared with a 3.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Lyft Inc. confirmed Tuesday that it closed a funding round of close to $600 million that values the ride-hailing company at $7.5 billion. The Wall Street Journal had reported a funding round of $500 million at a $7.5 billion Thursday. In a blog post, Lyft said that investors in the round included existing investors Rakuten and Janus Capital and new investors Alliance Bernstein, Baillie Gifford, KKR and PSP Investments, Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board. The valuation still puts Lyft behind its rival Uber, which was last valued at $68 billion in June 2016.

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Oil futures erased early weakness to end in positive territory Tuesday, extending a win streak to six sessions after The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia told OPEC officials it wants to extend an agreement to cut crude-oil production. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose 32 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $53.40 a barrel after trading in negative territory for much of the session.

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Gold prices rallied Tuesday to finish at their highest level since November. U.S. tensions with North Korea and Russia, as well as the upcoming presidential election in France raised investment demand for gold. June gold rose $20.30, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,274.20 an ounce.

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Mylan NV shares dropped 1.9% in midday trade Tuesday after the Food and Drug Administration released a warning letter to the company about violations at a manufacturing facility in India. Until all the violations are fixed, the regulator said it “may withhold approval” of new products manufactured by Mylan. The violations stemmed from a September FDA inspection of the factory. Though Mylan had responded to the FDA’s concerns, the FDA said the responses were “inadequate.” Mylan has not thoroughly investigated discrepancies in a batch of lab results, and hasn’t set up a good quality control unit that can review production records, the FDA said. Mylan told MarketWatch that it is working closely with the FDA to address the issues in the letter. Spokeswoman Nina Devlin noted that the India facility is in good standing with other global regulatory entities, that production continues uninterrupted and that Mylan doesn’t expect it to cause any supply issues. The facility is one of 50 worldwide, Devlin said, though she would not disclose what products are manufactured there. Wells Fargo analyst David Maris continued to rate the company market perform, saying “we do not know what products, if any, are manufactured at this plant, and as such, this may have little or no immediate commercial risk.” But, “nothing is more critical for a brand or generic drug company than being able to ensure that its products are safe and effective,” he said. Mylan shares have risen 3.3% over the last three months, compared with a 3.3% rise in the S&P 500 .

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration raised its forecast on crude-oil production but lowered its outlook on prices, according to the agency’s monthly Short-term Energy Outlook report released Tuesday. The EIA forecast U.S. crude production at an average 9.9 million barrels per day in 2018, up 1.8% from the previous forecast. It sees 2017 output at 9.22 million barrels a day, up a modest 0.1% from the previous forecast. The EIA also lowered its crude-price forecast, with West Texas Intermediate crude seen at an average $52.24 a barrel, and Brent crude at $54.23 in 2017, down 2.3% and 0.7% from last month’s forecast, respectively. May West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at $53 a barrel, down 8 cents, or 0.2%, while June Brent fell 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $55.75.

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