Category: Stock Market News

Oil futures settled higher on Friday, supported by declines in crude output among major producers. Data released Friday from Baker Hughes, however, showed a sharp weekly rise of 29 rigs actively drilling for oil, prompting prices to pare some of their earlier gains. February West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.05, or 2%, to settle at $52.42 a barrel. The contract, which expired at the settlement, gained 0.1% for the week. March WTI crude , the new front-month contract, added $1.10, or 2.1%, to $53.22.

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Gold futures climbed Friday as weakness in the U.S. dollar and uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump’s presidency helped to lift prices by roughly 0.7% for the week. February gold rose $3.40, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,204.90 an ounce.

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Data from Baker Hughes Friday revealed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil jumped higher by 29 to 551 rigs this week. The oil rig count had edged lower last week, but rose in each of the 10 previous weeks. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, also rose by 35 to 694, according to Baker Hughes. February West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.02, or 2%, at $52.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange from Thursday’s settlement. It traded below the $52.59 it traded at before the rig data.

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The Mexican peso rallied after President Trump’s inauguration speech didn’t specifically mention Mexico. The country was a frequent target of criticism by Trump, who had pledged to build a wall along the U.S. southern border. The peso, which fell about 20% over the past 12 months, rose 1.3% on Friday, with the dollar buying 21.66 compared with 21.56 late Thursday in New York. The peso is still on track to post weekly declines against the dollar.

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U.S. stocks maintained modest gains shortly after President Donald Trump delivered his inaugural speech, reiterating his campaign slogan to “Make America Great Again”. The S&P 500 was up 6 points, or 0.3%, at 2,270. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 16 points, or 0.3% to 5,556. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 67 points or 0.4%, to 19,798. The U.S. dollar briefly weakened but was unchanged after the speech. The ICE dollar index was at 101.00

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One of President Obama’s final acts before Donald Trump was inaugurated Friday was to sign a bill into law to make sure his Presidential Innovations Fellows Program, which pulls technology entrepreneurs into government to work on specific issues, sticks around. The program was started by the White House in 2012 and partners those in technology with lawmakers and federal agencies to work on issues such as saving lives, creating jobs and supporting entrepreneurship within the government, according to the press release. In the program, fellows serve for six months to 24 months. A similar bill was introduced by the House and Senate last year, but did not make it to the President by the end of the legislative session.

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General Electric Co. and International Business Machines Corp. have something in common that makes them rare among companies that report quarterly results: both companies’ financial statements list diluted earnings per share above basic EPS, and they have for years. Of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average , Walt Disney Co. is the only other company that reports EPS in that way. Basic EPS is calculated using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period, while diluted EPS takes into account all dilutive potential common shares, such as exercised options. Therefore, diluted EPS tends to be less than basic EPS. While it’s not wrong to report diluted first, it’s usual, like listing most-recent results to the right of year-ago results. An unknowing investor might at first glance think EPS is a bit larger than the actual bottomline number. “We present EPS in a way that we think is most representative of the company for investors,” a GE spokesperson told MarketWatch. IBM was not immediately available for comment. GE’s stock fell 1.9% in midday trade Friday, after reporting fourth-quarter revenue that missed expectations, while IBM’s stock gained 1.6% after reporting better-than-expected results. GE shares have rallied 9.3% over the past 12 months, while IBM shares have run up 39% and the Dow has climbed 26%.

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Whole Foods Market Inc. said Friday that the first New York City 365 by Whole Foods store, the lower-priced version of the grocery brand, will be in Brooklyn. The opening date has yet to be determined, but it will be located in the borough’s Cultural District. The first Whole Foods store opened in Brooklyn in 2013, and a new Whole Foods Market, the 11th in New York City, will open in Midtown Manhattan on Jan. 28. The first three 365 stores opened in the Silver Lake section of Los Angeles, Bellevue, WA, and Lake Oswego, OR in 2016. Whole Foods says it has 23 365 store leases in development with the next one planned for Cedar Park, TX in April 2017. Whole Foods shares are nearly flat in Friday trading, and are up nearly 5% for the last year. The S&P 500 index is up 22.3% for the past 12 months.

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BlackRock Inc. , the world’s biggest asset manager, on Friday named former UK Chancellor George Osborne as a part-time senior adviser in a research division that focuses on economic and political events. Osborne is still a member of the UK parliament. BlackRock shares were slightly higher in midday trade, and are up 30% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 22%.

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FinTech Acquisition Corp. , a blank-check company, priced its initial public offering at $10 per share to raise $153 million. The company will offer 15.3 million units. Each unit is made up of one share of common stock and one-half of one warrant. FinTech Acquisition Corp. plans to list on the Nasdaq Capital Market, which is typically for small-cap companies, under the symbol “FNTEU” and start trading Friday.

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