Category: Stock Market News

Paint maker PPG Industries Inc. said Wednesday it still intends to make a public offer for all outstanding shares of anglo-dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel N.V. , urging the company to enter talks on a merger. PPG said it still believes a combination of the two companies has a “strong strategic rationale” and presents a compelling and unique opportunity for shareholders. “The resounding feedback we have received in the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S. further validates the merits of combining PPG and AkzoNobel, ” PPG Chief Executive Michael McGarry said in a statement. PPG said it is committed to addressing issues raised by Akzo Nobel, including continuing to commit to research and development and honoring employment terms and social plans. “We once again invite AkzoNobel to meet with us to learn more about our specific proposals,” said McGarry. PPG has offered to acquire Akzo Nobel for 88.72 euros a share, after sweetening an earlier offer of 83.00 euros a share. Akzo Nobel shares were trading slightly higher in London, while PPG shares were still inactive in the U.S. premarket.

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Panera Bread Co. has reached a deal to be acquired by privately held JAB for $7.5 billion, the companies said Wednesday. JAB will buy the restaurant chain for $315 a share in cash, which represents a premium of 30% to the 30-day volume-weighted average stock price as of March 31. The transaction, which is expected to close during the third quarter of 2017, will include the assumption of $340 million of net debt. Shares of Panera jumped 12% to $308 a share in heavy premarket trade.

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The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, on Tuesday said U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 1.8 million barrels last week, according to news reports. The data comes ahead of a closely watched weekly inventory report from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday morning. Analysts, on average, expect the EIA data to show a 200,000 barrel fall in inventories, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange traded at $51.13 a barrel in electronic trade, up 10 cents from its settlement Tuesday afternoon.

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New Relic Inc. shares rose slightly higher in the extended session Tuesday after the data analytics software company forecast better-than-expected results for the quarter and announced the retirement of its president. New Relic shares advanced 1.9% to $37.75 after hours. The company said it expects an adjusted loss in-line or better than its previous $7.7 million to $8.7 million forecast for the quarter on revenue of $73 million to $73.1 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss of $7.9 million on revenue of $71.1 million. New Relic also said its president, Hilarie Koplow-McAdams, will retire in mid-June

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Stocks closed slightly higher Tuesday as investors exercised caution ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and Friday’s jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 39.03 points, or 0.2%, at 20,689.24, led by gains in shares of Caterpillar Inc. and Boeing Co. . The S&P 500 index [s; spx] finished up 1.32 points, or less than 0.1%, at 2,360.16, with the energy and materials sectors leading gainers. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 3.93 points, or less than 0.1%, to close at 5,898.61.

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Payless Shoesource, the affordable family footwear retailer, announced Tuesday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to restructure its North American entities, as well as its Hong Kong-based logistics and supply chain entities. As part of the restructuring, the company will close nearly 400 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, plans to reduce its debt by 50% and will invest in areas including online expansion, product and inventory efforts, and global growth. The company has entered agreements with certain existing lenders to gain access to up to $385 million of debtor-in-possession financing. New term loan financing totaling $80 million will aid the company as it emerges from bankruptcy. Payless has about 4,400 stores in more than 30 countries, the company said. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 9.5% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 14.2% for the period.

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Oil futures ended higher Tuesday, buoyed by expectations for a decline in weekly U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 79 cents, or 1.6%, to close at $51.03 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, is expected to release weekly inventory data later Tuesday, while more closely watched figures from the Energy Information Administration are due Wednesday morning.

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Shares of Amazon.com Inc. were up 1.4% in afternoon trade Tuesday, putting them on track to reach the longest stretch of record closes in 1 1/2 years. The stock was headed for a seventh straight gain, which would be the longest win streak since the seven-day streak ending last Aug. 12. The stock was also set to close at a record high for a fifth straight session, the longest such stretch since the five-session stretch ending Oct. 29, 2015. During the current record streak, the shares have rallied 5.7%, the best five-day performance since the stock climbed 6.3% over the five sessions ending Jan. 9, 2017. Helping fuel Tuesday’s gain, a BMO Capital Markets analyst upped his share-price target to $1,200, which implied potential for a further 33% rally from current levels, citing the e-commerce giant’s burgeoning advertising business. Amazon’s stock has soared 21% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.4%.

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Gold prices settled higher for a third straight session Tuesday at levels not seen since late February ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Gold for June delivery settled up $4.40, or 0.4%, at $1,258.40 an ounce, it highest settlement since Feb. 27. Silver for May delivery settled up 11.1 cents, or 0.6%, at $18.32 an ounce, its highest settlement since Mar. 1. The U.S. Dollar Index last traded up 0.1% at 100.63.

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TG Therapeutics Inc. shares rose 2.0% in afternoon trade Tuesday after the company presented preclinical data on its anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, part of a class of immunotherapy drugs that try to use the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. The group of drugs is considered essential to any drugmaker developing an immuno-oncology portfolio. The antibody, CK-301, was found to block binding of PD-L1 to PD-1, which prevents the immune response, and its activity was similar to other anti-PD-L1s and worked similarly to Pfizer’s avelumab, according to TG Therapeutics’ presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting on Tuesday. CK-301 should begin a phase 1 clinical trial in humans this year, the company said. TG Therapeutics shares have surged 129.9% over the last three months, compared with a 3.8% rise in the S&P 500 .

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