Category: Stock Market News

The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a much bigger-than-expected increase of 14.2 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies for the week ended Feb. 3, according to sources. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a climb of 2.5 million barrels. The API data also showed a rise of 2.9 million barrels in gasoline supplies and a climb of 1.4 million barrels in distillates, sources said. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday morning. March crude was at $51.69 a barrel in electronic trading, down from the contract’s settlement of $52.17 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Priceline Group Inc. plans to buy Momondo Group, which operates Cheapflights and travel metasearch engine momondo, in an all cash deal worth $550 million. Once the deal is finalized later this year, Momondo will become a part of Priceline’s Kayak brand, according to Priceline. Shares of Priceline were unchanged in Tuesday’s extended session after closing up 0.7% to $1,598.70.

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Coherent Inc. shares rallied in the extended session Tuesday after the laser manufacturer topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly earnings. Coherent shares jumped 12% to $180 after hours. The company reported adjusted fiscal first-quarter earnings of $2.57 a share on revenue of $346.1 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated earnings of $1.81 a share.

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Microchip Technology Inc. shares were halted late Tuesday after the electronics component maker’s quarterly report and outlook topped Wall Street estimates. Microchip Technology shares were halted at $69.62 after hours. The company reported adjusted third-quarter earnings of $1.05 a share on adjusted revenue of $881.2 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated 90 cents a share on revenue of $849 million. For the fourth quarter, Microchip forecast adjusted earnings of $1.01 to $1.11 a share on adjusted revenue of $872 million to $908 million. Analysts had estimated 93 cents a share on revenue of $863.4 million.

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Oil futures extended its losses into a second session Tuesday, sending prices to their lowest finish in almost three weeks. “The long side of the oil trade has become extremely crowded recently on OPEC compliance bets,” said Tyler Richey, co-editor of The 7:00’s Report. March West Texas Intermediate crude fell 84 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $52.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the lowest finish since Jan. 19, according to FactSet data.

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Shares of K12 Inc. rallied 1% in afternoon trade Tuesday, after Vice President Pence broke a tie to confirm Betsy DeVos as the next Secretary of Education. “While somewhat of a controversial choice, we believe this appointment will be positive for the private sector (for-profit) education sector, specifically in the K-12 segment where Ms. Devos has been a strong proponent of school reform, particularly charter schools,” Analyst Jeffrey Silber at BMO Capital Markets wrote in a note to clients. “This could be a positive for K12 Inc., which helps to manage virtual charter schools.” K12’s stock has lost 8.1% since closing at a 2 1/2-year high of $20.19 on Jan. 30, but was still up 66% since the election. Among shares of other for-profit education companies, Career Education Corp.’s slipped 0.8% Tuesday but has climbed 32% since the election; DeVry Education Group Inc.’s shed 2% on Tuesday but has run up 38% since the election; and Capella Education Co.’s dropped 1.1% Tuesday, but has rallied 12% since the election. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 was little changed Tuesday, but has gained 7.2% since the election.

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration raised its forecast on crude production and prices for this year, according to the agency’s latest Short-term Energy Outlook report released Tuesday. The EIA forecast U.S. crude production at an average 9 million barrels per day in 2017, up from an estimated 8.9 million in 2016. It sees 2018 output climbing to 9.5 million barrels a day. It forecast West Texas Intermediate crude at an average $53.46 a barrel this year, up from the previous forecast for $52.50 and Brent crude at $54.54 this year, up from $53.50. “Global oil supply and demand is now expected to be largely in balance during 2017 as the gradual increase in world oil inventories that has occurred over the last few years comes to an end,” said Howard Gruenspecht, acting EIA administrator, in a statement. March West Texas Intermediate crude continued to trade lower, down $1.04, or 2%, at $51.97 a barrel. April Brent fell 87 cents, or 1.6%, to $54.85 a barrel.

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The U.K.’s minister for Brexit David Jones on Tuesday promised that members of parliament will get a vote on the final deal to leave the European Union, before it is put forward to the European parliament. Making the concession during a debate about Article 50, Jones said both the House of Lords and the House of Commons will get a vote on the Brexit arrangements. “First of all we intend that the vote will cover not only the withdrawal arrangements but also the future relationship with the European Union,” Jones said during the debate, according to U.K. media reports. “Furthermore, I can confirm that the government will bring forward a motion on the final agreement to be approved by both Houses of Parliament before it is concluded, and we expect and intend that this happen before the European parliament debates and votes on the final agreement,” he added.

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U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, as the three main benchmarks advanced toward fresh records after a series of earnings reports. The S&P 500 index climbed three points, or 0.2%, to 2,296. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65 points, or 0.3%, to 20,116. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 11 points, or 0.2%, to 5,673, touching an intraday record. Among individual stocks, Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. tumbled after the apparel seller’s third-quarter revenue and fourth-quarter guidance both fell short of expectations. General Motors Co. after the company blamed currency exchange headwinds for a sharp drop in its fourth-quarter net income. Gap Inc. rose after it said late Monday that it expects to top profit targets for 2017.

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Twitter Inc. announced the rollout of three tools Tuesday to combat abuse on the platform. Twitter has added tools that will identify people who have been suspended from Twitter and stop them from creating fake accounts, remove offensive and blocked or muted tweets from search results and minimizing by size and identifying abusive or “low quality” tweets in conversations. Twitter has come under frequent criticism for not combating abuse on the platform. Shares of Twitter were up 1% Tuesday morning. Shares of Twitter have lost less 0.5% in the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 9.9%.

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