Category: Stock Market News

San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams said Tuesday that blockchain technology could lower costs while making record keeping easier and more efficient. Williams, who was speaking at Boise State University, also said that people increasingly understand that bitcoin won’t replace government-issued currencies like the U.S. dollar. Back in December, the Fed published a paper examining how blockchain technology could be applied in the financial industry. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen has previously said that blockchain technology could have a significant impact on the payments system.

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U.S. stocks extended their record winning streak on Tuesday, with all three equity benchmarks ending at all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 112.82 points to 20,737.83, a rise of 0.6%. The S&P 500 added 13.92 points, or 0.6%, to 2,365.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 27.37 points, or 0.5%, to 5,865.95. The day’s rally was broad, with all 11 of the S&P 500’s primary sectors ending up on the day, though defensive industries – including real estate, consumer staples, and utilities – provided the biggest boost, with all three rising at least 1%. With the day’s move, the Dow rose for an eighth straight session, while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted their ninth advance of the past 10 sessions. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot Inc. were among the strongest gainers of the day, with both climbing in the wake of strong quarterly results. Wal-Mart popped 3% while Home Depot rose 1.3%.

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s stock surged 3.2% in afternoon trade Tuesday, after the discount retail giant reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and same-store sales that beat expectations. That put the stock, which paced the gainers within the Dow Jones Industrial Average , on track to post the biggest one-day percentage gain since it soared 9.6% on May 19, 2016, after first-quarter results. The price gain of $2.21 was adding 15 points to the Dow’s price, which was up 123 points in record territory. Wal-Mart shares are also on course for a fifth-straight gain, the longest such stretch since the six-session win streak ended Oct. 31, 2016. Wal-Mart’s stock has rallied 11% over the past 12 months, while the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF has tacked on 8.3% and the S&P 500 has climbed 23%.

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Crude-oil futures on Tuesday ended sharply higher amid growing optimism about compliance to a global pact to curb crude output, but the commodity ended off its best levels as an OPEC boss talked down the prospect of an extension to the pact to shrink production. Crude-oil prices for April finished up 55 cents, or 1%, at $54.33 a barrel. Those for March , which expire Tuesday, settled up 66 cents, or 1.2%, at 54.06 a barrel. Gains for crude were supported by comments from OPEC’s Secretary-General, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, who offered encouragement about the effectiveness of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ recent agreement to cut production globally by about 2%. However, Barkindo, who spoke during a International Petroleum Week conference in London on Tuesday, however, said it was too early to begin thinking about extending that six-month agreement, which began Jan.1 another six months, to the end of 2017.

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Gold prices on Tuesday settled near break-even levels, confounding some market players as the commodity pared an earlier loss in the session, even as U.S. equities rose and the dollar strengthened. Gold futures for April delivery ended down 20 cents, or less than 0.1%, at $1,238.90 an ounce. Some market participants attributed the stronger finish for gold, which traded as low as $1,226.80 during the session, to heighten concerns about the outcome of European elections showing the rise of anti-establishment candidates like France’s far-right Marine Le Pen. Gold may have been drawing some haven bids as a result of worries about geopolitics that could prove disruptive to the eurozone and the euro . Meanwhile, the dollar, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.5% at 101.4000. A stronger dollar ordinarily is a headwind for gold and other assets priced in the currency, which can become less attractive to buyers using other monetary units.

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Wells Fargo & Co. said Tuesday it terminated “for cause” four current or former senior managers in its community banking business following an ongoing investigation into the banking giant’s sales practice scandal. The terminated managers are Claudia Russ Anderson, the former chief risk officer for the community bank; Pamela Conboy, lead regional president of Arizona; Shelley Freeman, the former Los Angeles regional president, and currently the head of consumer credit solutions; and Matthew Raphaelson, head of Community Bank strategy and initiatives. Wells Fargo said its investigation is expected to be completed before the shareholder meeting in April 2017. Wells Fargo was embroiled in a scandal last year, which led to the resignation of former Chief Executive John Stumpf, in which millions of credit-card and deposit accounts were opened without customers’ knowledge in an effort to meet sales targets. The bank’s stock, which slipped 0.2% in afternoon trade, has gained 21% over the past 12 months, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF has run up 44% and the S&P 500 has climbed 23%.

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Two-year Treasury notes auctioned by the Treasury Department on Tuesday received strong demand, largely thanks to a surge in buying from foreign investors. The yield on notes sold at the auction was half a basis point lower than their comparable 1 p.m. level, according to Treasury data, meaning that investors paid a premium for the bonds. Indirect bidders, a group that’s seen as a proxy for foreign demand, received 49.8% of the new notes, a much larger allocation than the 38.9% average from the six most recent auctions, traders said. But despite a drop in Treasury yields ahead of the auction, demand remained surprisingly robust, said Aaron Kohli, a fixed-income strategist at BMO Capital Markets. The auction’s bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of demand, was 2.82, compared with an average of 2.64 from the six most recent auctions. The yield on the two-year note rose 1.7 basis point to 1.203% in recent trade.

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Amazon.com Inc.’s stock ran up 1.4% in midday trade Tuesday toward a second-straight record close, but SunTrust Robinson Humphrey worries that it might run into relative trouble given the expected jump in costs. Amazon announced Monday that it planned to add 15,000 new full-time jobs in Europe through the end of 2017, with many of the new roles in fulfillment centers under construction in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the U.K. “We continue to invest heavily across Europe in fulfillment, customer service, cloud technology, research and development, machine learning, advanced logistics and much more,” said Xavier Garambois, vice president of Amazon EU Retail in a statement. Madhukar said the e-commerce giant looks top be actively trying to replicate its U.S. playbook in Europe. He reiterated his hold rating on the stock, saying while he likes the company’s growth, he’s mindful of the costs of that growth. For example, Amazon’s first-quarter guidance suggests margins could compress for the first time since 2014. “As such, we think Amazon likely will continue to grow at an elevated pace, but cash flows could remain depressed give its investment philosophy and intent on actively expanding [total available market],” Madhukar wrote in a note to clients. Consequently, while we believe in the long-term opportunity, we think it may be tough for Amazon to outperform peers in the near term.” The stock has soared 60% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 23%.

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Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen’s lead over her two main challengers in France’s upcoming presidential election was seen widening, according to an electoral poll published Tuesday morning, New York Time. The poll, conducted by communications firm Elabe for French TV station BFMTV and magazine L’Express, showed Le Pen’s lead in the first round of voting increasing between one-and-a-half and two percentage points since a previous poll published on Feb. 8. In addition, conservative candidate Francois Fillon overtook Emmanuel Macron, who is believed to have a better chance of beating Le Pen in the second round. A victory by Le Pen, which could portend a French exit from the European Union, is typically seen as negative for risky assets like stocks, and positive for safety plays like gold, the Japanese yen and Treasurys.

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EyeGate Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares surged nearly 50% in morning trade Tuesday after an announcement of the company’s $4 million licensing agreement with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. . The deal is for exclusive, global commercial and manufacturing rights for EyeGate’s EyeGate II Delivery System, which is an alternative to eye drops and ocular injections, and EGP-437 combination product, which is being developed for post-operative pain and inflammation in patients who’ve had ocular surgery. The deal consists of cash upfront for EyeGate, and up to $99 million in potential milestone payments and royalties on Valeant’s net sales of the product, according to an EyeGate Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Valeant had previously licensed the same product, EGP-437, from EyeGate for uveitis in 2015. EyeGate reported positive results from a early/mid-stage trial in December. Valeant shares lifted 1.3% in Tuesday morning trade. Valeant shares have dropped 11.4% over the last three months, and EyeGate shares have risen 35.3%, compared with a 7.5% rise in the S&P 500 .

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