Category: Stock Market News

Oil futures added to earlier gains on Wednesday after data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed a weekly increase in crude supplies, but also revealed bigger-than-expected declines in gasoline and distillate stockpiles for the week ended March 24. Crude inventories rose by 900,000 barrels to a weekly record 534 million barrels. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a 1.9 million-barrel climb, according to sources, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a climb of 300,000 barrels. Gasoline supplies, however, dropped 3.7 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell 2.5 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. May crude rose 63 cents, or 1.3%, to $49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading at $48.55 before the supply data.

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An incident involving a suspect hitting a Capitol Police car on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol appears to be “criminal in nature,” and not related to terrorism, a Capitol Police spokeswoman said. Washington police said earlier that a suspect was in custody after a driver hit the police car and tried to run over other officers.

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Shots were fired on Wednesday morning outside a congressional building on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, according to reports. The Washington Post cited Washington police as saying a call came in at 9:30 a.m. for shots fired. A police spokesperson told the Post no injuries were immediately reported.

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Washington police say a suspect is in custody after a driver hit a Capitol Police car and tried to run over other officers, reports said. Earlier, the Washington Post said shots were fired outside a congressional building on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. The Post cited Washington police as saying a call came in at 9:30 a.m. for shots fired. A police spokesperson told the Post no injuries were immediately reported.

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The U.S. stock market opened slightly lower on Wednesday as investors awaited a string of speeches by Federal Reserve officials. Traders are also tracking the U.K.’s invocation of Article 50, which officially starts that country’s withdrawal from the European Union. The S&P 500 opened 4 points, or 0.2%, lower at 2,354. Shares of Vertex Pharmaceutical Inc. jumped 20% as one of its drugs had completed late-stage trials. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2 points, or less than 0.1%, at 5,873. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 43 points, or 0.2% at 20,656 at the open.

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Capital One Financial Corp. was upgrade to buy from neutral at Instinet, which cited a more bullish outlook on the credit card issuer’s focus on higher-risk customers. Analyst Bill Carcache raised his stock price target to $105, which is 25% above Tuesday’s closing price of $84.17, from $97. Carcache said that Capital One has stood out as the only major card issuer that has increased its mix of subprime customers since the Great Recession, while its rivals, such as Bank of America Corp. , Citigroup Inc. , Discover Financial Services , J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Synchrony Financial , have been cutting their subprime exposure. “We’ve now reached a point in the cycle where we believe [Capital One’s] subprime bet is about to pay off, handsomely,” Carcache wrote in a note to clients. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 3.5% year to date, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF has tacked on 2.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 5.4%.

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Shares of footwear company Skechers U.S.A Inc. were down more than 5% in premarket trade on Wednesday after Susquehanna Financial Group downgraded the stock to negative from positive. Analysts at Susquehanna expect Skechers’ domestic wholesale to disappoint as the company faces ongoing challenges likely to result in less expense leverage than Wall Street anticipates. Skechers is also suffering from increased competition when it comes to retailers buying additional inventory. With Nike Inc. holding its usual demand and brands such as Adidas AG and Puma gaining traction, Skechers is being crowded out, writes lead Susquehanna analyst Sam Poser. Retailers are even planning incremental dollars to fund Under Armour Inc. , according to Poser. “While we continue to believe Skechers’ product suite has markedly improved, our proprietary checks indicate that initial sell-through and order-flow in the domestic wholesale business is trending short of expectations and will remain challenged.” Poser wrote in a note to clients. “We don’t believe upside will materialize. While we recognize international wholesale now encompasses about 40% of Skechers’ business, we believe sentiment remains closely tied to it domestic business.” Shares of Skechers are down 2.7% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index has gained nearly 15%.

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International Data Corp. (IDC) said it expects global spending on security technology to rise to $81.7 billion in 2017, up 8.2% from a year ago. Spending on security-related hardware, software and services is expected to “accelerate slightly” over the next several years, achieving a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% through 2020, with industry revenue projected to approach $105 billion. “The rapid growth of digital transformation is putting pressures on companies across all industries to proactively invest in security to protect themselves against known and unknown threats,” said Eileen Smith, a program director at IDC. She said the banking, discrete manufacturing and government industries will spend the most on security technology. Of the three security-related areas, services will be the largest area of spending, IDC says. The SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF has rallied 10% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.4%.

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Shares of Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. fell 2.8% in premarket trades Wednesday, after the doughnut retailer was downgraded to sell from neutral at Goldman Sachs. Analysts led by Karen Holthouse said unit growth risk and exposure to winter storms in the Northeast are pressures on a stock that is trading at the high end of its valuation range. “Outsized exposure to winter storms in the Northeast (55% of footprint vs. 20% for our coverage) presents some risk to 1Q17 results; however, we believe the larger challenge stems from McDonald’s McCafe and 7-11’s breakfast promotions in the quarter,” they wrote in a note. Goldman lowered its stock price target to $47 from $48 and cut its below-consensus 2017 to 2019 EPS estimates by 1%. Shares have gained 7% in the year so far, outperforming the S&P 500’s 5% gain.

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Financial services firm Cowen Group Inc. said Tuesday it has agreed a strategic partnership with China Energy Company Ltd, or CEFC, under which the Chinese company will acquire a 19.9% stake in Cowen. CEFC will pay about $100 million for the stake and will provide Cowen with debt financing of $175 million in the form of a loan. CEFC is the largest private company in Shanghai and seventh largest private company in China, according to a joint statement. CEFC will pay $18 a share for the stake, equal to a 29.5% premium over Cowen’s closing share price on March 28. CEFC will have the right to appoint three directors to the Cowen’s board, boosting the total to eleven. The equity investment and debt financing are expected to close by the end of the third quarter. Cowen shares were halted premarket for the news, but have lost 10% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 5%.

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