Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Facebook soared 3% in after-hours trade Wednesday following the company’s stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings report. Facebook reported net income of $3.6 billion, or $1.21 a share, compared with $1.6 billion, or 54 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding one-time items, Facebook reported non-GAAP earnings of $1.41 a share, beating the average analyst estimates of $1.31 a share, according to FactSet. Revenue for the period rose to $8.81 billion, compared with $5.8 billion a year ago, beating the Wall Street consensus estimate of $8.5 billion. The company’s advertising revenue soared 53% year-over-year, offsetting a 12% decline in its much smaller payments and “other fees” segment, which includes the Oculus virtual-reality headset. Monthly active users, a key metric of engagement, increased 17% year-over-year to 1.86 billion. Shares of Facebook have climbed 3% in the past three months and nearly 16% in the past year. The S&P 500 has increased 18% in the past three months and 17.5% in the past year.

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Rex Tillerson was confirmed as secretary of state in the Senate on Wednesday, by a vote of 56-43. Tillerson, formerly chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp. , had faced opposition through his nomination process for his ties to Russia. But critical Republican senators decided to support him despite their reservations, paving the way for his confirmation.

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Shares of Apple Inc. soared past $130 for the first time in more than a year Wednesday, as investors reacted to the company’s stronger-than-expected holiday-earnings report. Shares traded more than 7% higher in afternoon trade, reaching as high as $130.12 in intraday trade. The last day the stock traded above the level was July 21, 2015, when it closed at $130.75. Wednesday’s gain would be the biggest percentage increase for Apple’s stock since April 2014. The buying frenzy comes after Apple surpassed top- and bottom-line fiscal fourth-quarter expectations, and after a number of analysts raised their price targets on the stock. Shares of Apple traded around $129.84 an hour before the market close, and have risen 16.5% in the past three months and 34.5% in the past year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , which includes Apple, is up 10% in three months and nearly 21% in the past year.

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Apple Inc.’s stock surge in afternoon trade Wednesday has pushed the price back above where it was when it entered the Dow Jones Industrial Average nearly two years ago. The stock closed at $127.50 on March 19, 2015, its first day as member of the so-called blue-chip barometer. Since then, the stock closed above $127.50 on just 38 of 471 trading days through Tuesday, and not since July 21, 2015. The stock was recently up $8.54, or 7%, at $129.89 after reporting earnings, or has gained $2.39, or 1.9% since joining the Dow. During that time, the Dow has rallied 1,908 points, or 11%. AT&T Inc.’s stock , which Apple replaced in the Dow, has climbed $8.85, or 27%, over the same time.

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Oil futures rose on Wednesday for a second straight session, with prices finding support from a modest weekly decline in U.S. crude production, despite a hefty 6.5 million-barrel weekly increase in crude supplies. The decline in U.S. production helped to ease concerns that the nation’s output will thwart efforts by other producers to rebalance the oil market. March West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.07, or 2%, to settle at $53.88 a barrel.

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UK members of parliament voted 498 to 114 in favor of triggering Article 50 by the end of March, starting the process by which the country will exit the European Union. The U.K. electorate voted to leave the EU in a June referendum, but the result had to be ratified by parliament after a Supreme Court ruling.

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Michael Flynn, President Trump’s national-security adviser, said Wednesday that the U.S. is “officially putting Iran on notice” following what he said were recent actions including a “provocative ballistic-missile launch.” In a statement at the daily White House briefing, Flynn did not elaborate on what “on notice” means.

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Gold futures edged a bit higher in electronic trading from their Wednesday settlement level after theU.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, as expected, but offered few clues on the central bank’s next move. April gold was at $1,209.80 an ounce in electronic trading. It had settled at $1,208.30 an ounce, down $3.10, or 0.3%, for the session.

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Shares of Mobileye NV fell 1.3% in midday trade Wednesday after the company was downgraded to equal weight from overweight at Morgan Stanley. The analysts cut their price target to $44 from $48. The downgrade came as the analysts see a big market for advanced driver assistance systems, but believe gaining share in that market requires lowering prices, which will pressure margins. They believe competition in autonomous vehicles is growing, which requires teaming up with other firms. Those partnerships may require more resources and research and development from Mobileye, they said, adding more costs. Mobileye is a “strong company,” they say, but it faces added costs ahead.
Shares of Mobileye have gained 13% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 7.7%.

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Shares of Laureate Education Inc. , a for-profit college company, slumped 8% in the company’s debut on the Nasdaq Wednesday. The company priced its offering at $14 and sold 35 million shares to raise $490 million. The company gave its underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to 5.25 million additional shares at the IPO issue price. Shares were trading at $12.91 midday Wednesday. Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley & Co and Barclays Capital were the lead underwriters on the offering.

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