Category: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — China critic Peter Navarro will run a new White House effort on trade in the Trump administration, the Financial Times reported. Navarro will head what’s called the National Trade Council that would aim to boost job creation in infrastructure and defense and work with the National Security Council, the National Economic Council and the Domestic Policy Council. The report said it would mark the first time there was an office dedicated to manufacturing inside the White House. Navarro co-authored a white paper — along with Commerce Secretary nominee Wilbur Ross — on the trade, regulatory and energy policy impact of the Trump economic plan.

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Oil prices finished lower Wednesday, halting three straight sessions of gains, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected climb in crude stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for February delivery settled down 81 cents, or 1.5%, at $52.49 a barrel. The U.S. Energy Information Administration early Wednesday indicated that domestic crude supplies grew by 2.26 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 16. Stockpiles had been expected to fall by 2.3 million barrels, according to a survey of 13 analysts and traders by The Wall Street Journal. The loss ends three straight sessions of advances for WTI oil in the wake of an agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other non-OPEC producers to curb output.

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Ironically, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock , which has contributed the most by far to the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s recent rally toward 20,000, is the biggest reason the Dow is down on Wednesday. The banker’s stock was shedding $2.10, or 0.9%, to shave about 14 points off the Dow, which was down 12 points in afternoon trade. Meanwhile, the $29.88, or 14%, Goldman’s stock has climbed since Nov. 22, when the Dow first closed above 19,000, has added about 205 points to the Dow’s 938-point gain, to come up about 38 points shy of 20K.

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Monster Beverage Corp.’s stock ran up 4.8% in afternoon trade, after the energy drinks company was upgraded at Jefferies, which cited accelerating U.S. sales trends and a more attractive valuation given its recent underperformance. Analyst Kevin Grundy raised his rating to buy from hold, and made the stock one of his top picks. Given President-elect Donald Trump’s policy promises of being tough on trade and corporate tax reform, he believes investors in the consumer products and beverage sectors should favor U.S. centric companies, to avoid potential headwinds of a stronger U.S. dollar and to have greater benefit from tax cuts. Grundy said Monster’s stock is being valued below its historical average, and there’s always a possibility that Monster’s largest shareholder, Coca-Cola Co. , may decide to buy the shares it doesn’t already own. Coke owned 17.9% of Monster’s shares outstanding, according to a Sept. 1 regulatory filing. The stock has lost 8.2% year to date, while the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF has tacked on 3.3% and the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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Gold prices on Wednesday settled near break-even levels even as the dollar retreated from a 14-year high. February gold ended down 40 cents, or less than 0.1%, at $1,333.20 an ounce. A slightly weaker dollar, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index , a gauge of the buck against six currencies, didn’t offer the precious metal a boost. The dollar index was off 0.3% at 103.01 on the day, after yesterday touching its highest levels since 2002. Typically, a weaker dollar makes gold, which is priced in the currency, more attractive to investors using other monetary units. The muted move for gold also comes as the Dow Jones Industrial Average is trying to reach a psychological milestone of 20,000. Higher levels for stocks can undercut appetite for gold, which is viewed as a haven. Gold prices have declined 3.2% so far in December while the Dow is on track to return 4.4% over the same period.

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Nokia filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc. on Wednesday in Europe and the U.S., claiming Apple has infringed on a number of its patents. In a statement, Nokia said Apple agreed to license a few of Nokia Technologies’ patents in 2011, but has declined offers by Nokia since then to license other patents whose inventions have been used in Apple mobile devices, including the iPhone and iPad, and the Mac. The lawsuits, filed in a Munich, Germany, regional court and a district court in Texas, cover technologies such as display, user interface, software, antenna, chipsets and video coding. Nokia said it’s in the process of filing further actions in other jurisdictions as well. “After several years of negotiations trying to reach agreement to cover Apple’s use of these patents, we are now taking action to defend our rights,” said Ilkka Rahnasto, head of patent business at Nokia. Shares of Apple rose 0.1% to $117.07 in afternoon trade. They’ve risen 3.1% in the past three months and 9.1% in the past year. Nokia’s shares fell 0.2% to $4.89, pushing htem down 12.5% in the past three months and 31% in the past year. By comparison, the S&P 500 has risen 5% in three months and 12% in the past year.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges on Wednesday with Braskem S.A., a U.S. listed Brazilian-based petrochemical manufacturer that it allegedly hid millions of dollars in illegal bribes paid to Brazilian government officials to win or retain business by falsifying its financial statements, violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Braskem S.A. will pay $957 million in a global settlement with the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice, and authorities in Brazil and Switzerland which includes $632 million in criminal penalties and fines. Braskem made approximately $325 million in profits through bribes paid through intermediaries and off-book accounts managed by a private company, Odebrecht S.A., that was Braskem’s largest shareholder. Odebrecht’s then CEO was also chairman of Braskem’s board of directors at the time of the alleged payments. Bribes were paid to a government official at Brazil’s state-controlled petroleum company Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. as well as Brazilian legislators and political party officials. The company must retain an independent corporate monitor for at least three years. The SEC said its investigation is continuing.

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The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission settled charges against Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., and its bank subsidiary for attempts beginning in January 2007 and continuing through March 2012 to manipulate and make false reports concerning the U.S. Dollar International Swaps and Derivatives Association Fix, a global benchmark for interest rate products. The CFTC press release said that Goldman’s alleged unlawful conduct involved multiple traders, including the head of Goldman’s Interest Rate Products Trading Group in the United States. The CFTC said that among themselves, Goldman traders described trades based on the manipulated USD ISDAFIX as being based on the “jacked price,” as opposed to the “fair price”; remarked that other Goldman traders had “gamed the fix” in order to benefit related positions; and strategized how best to extract the “higher value” of USD ISDAFIX cash settlements against customers who lacked Goldman’s insight, as a major swap dealer, into the process. Goldman initially did not cooperate with the investigation by failed to produce communications and documents that were potentially relevant to the inquiry. Goldman neither admitted nor denied the allegations. Goldman will pay a $120 million civil penalty and take specified remedial steps to improve process and controls. This is the CFTC’s third enforcement action for attempted manipulation and false reporting of ISDAFIX benchmark rates.

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InvenSense Inc.’s stock soared 17% toward a 16-month high in morning trade Wednesday, enough to be the top gainer on the NYSE, after the sensor platform maker agreed to be acquired by Japan’s TDK Corp. in a deal valued at $1.3 billion. Under terms of the deal, TDK will pay $13 for each InvenSense share, a 20% premium to Tuesday’s closing price of $10.84. The deal is expected to close in quarter ending September 2017. “This is an exciting day for InvenSense as our proposed acquisition by TDK represents what we view as a compelling win for InvenSense’s shareholders, customers and employees,” said InvenSense Chief Executive Behrooz Abdi. “TDK understands the value of InvenSense’s suite of sensor and software platforms.” The stock has run up 24% year to date, while SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF has climbed 14% and the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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Oil futures trade modestly lower Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic-crude supplies climbed, but inventories of gasoline and distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, declined in the week ended Dec. 16. Crude supplies rose 2.2 million barrels. That was contrary to the 2.3-million-barrel fall expected by analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal. EIA showed that gasoline stocks declined by 1.3 million barrels, while distillates were down 2.42 million barrels. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday in New York reported that U.S. crude inventories showed a drawdown of 4.1 million barrels in the week while gasoline stocks fell by 2 million barrels and distillates dropped by 1.5 million barrels. The two reports have often offered conflicting data. West Texas Intermediate crude-oil futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange for February delivery lost 15 cents, or 0.3%, at $53.11 a barrel.

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