Category: Uncategorized

Gold prices bounced back from earlier losses on Friday to finish modestly higher. The precious metal stretched its streak of gains to an eleventh session and tallied a weekly gain of roughly 1% as some downbeat U.S. economic data helped feed expectations for a slower Federal Reserve interest-rate hike policy. February gold rose 70 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,322.30 an ounce, marking another finish at the highest level since mid-September. The weekly gain was also gold’s fourth such rise in a row.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

A popular exchange-traded fund focused on the technology sector on Friday was set to mark its best weekly climb since late December of 2016, highlighting investors appetite for a buzzy sector that underscored equity benchmarks appetite for growth stocks and risk taking. The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF was on pace for a weekly gain of 3.6% which would represent the best weekly advance since the period ended Dec. 9, according to FactSet data. On the day the tech-focused ETF was up 0.9%, holding at an all-time high, led by gains in Xilinx Inc. , Electronic Arts. Inc. and eBay Inc. , which were all up by at least 3%. The climb for technology shares coincides with a stellar start to 2018 for the broader stock market, which has seen the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 index all hit records without one session in negative territory so far in 2018. Technology stocks helped to underpin much of the recent and persistent rally higher for Wall Street last year, with recent moves suggesting that investors remain focused on growth in light of an administration that bills itself as favorable to business, and a global economy that appears to be on firmer footing.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil was down 5 to 742 this week. The oil-rig count had seen no changes over the previous two weeks. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, also fell by 5 to 924, according to Baker Hughes. February West Texas Intermediate crude was down 55 cents, or 0.9%, from Thursday, to $61.46 a barrel, up from $61.40 shortly before the rig data.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Denali Therapeutics Inc. shares surged 3.6% in moderate morning trade Friday on news of the company’s $150 million partnership with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. on up to three therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. The agreement also makes Denali eligible for up to $90 million in other payments, and the companies will split global profits equally. Denali will be responsible for development activities and costs, while Takeda will have the option to co-develop and co-commercialize the three therapies, in which case the two companies will work together on clinical development and split costs. Takeda and Denali also plan to jointly commercialize the therapies in the U.S. and China, with Takeda taking on commercial activities exclusively in all other markets. Denali, which is focused on neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was founded by several executives formerly at Genentech — which is now a subsidiary of Roche — and the biotech completed its initial public offering in early December. Denali shares have surged 6.3% over the week-to-date to $16.63, compared with a 2.2% rise in the S&P 500 and a 1.4% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said Friday he thinks the central bank will only raise interest rates twice this year, one fewer than the central bank’s median forecast of three moves. In a speech at the American Economic Association meeting in Philadelphia, Harker said the central bank will be in “monitoring mode” this year. “There is a lot to watch generally, and much of it, in some form or another, is new territory,” Harker said. The Philadelphia Fed president said he expects growth a little below 2.5% this year. He forecast that inflation will rise above the Fed’s 2% target in 2019. “If soft inflation persists, it may pose a significant problem,” he said. Harker is not a voting member of the Fed’s interest-rate policy committee this year.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – U.S. factory orders rose 1.3% in November to mark the fourth straight increase, reflecting strong demand for manufactured goods. That was a touch better than the 1.1% forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch. Orders for October were also revised to show a 0.4% gain instead of a 0.1% decline, the government said Friday. Business investment softened in November, however, after a series of strong gains. The dropoff might just prove temporary, though. Recently enacted tax cuts will make it cheaper for businesses to invest starting in 2018.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares dropped 8% in extremely heavy morning trade on Friday after the company released results from two late-stage trials for its dry eye therapy KPI-121. KPI-121 had statistically significant results for some but not all endpoints in the two trials, which enrolled about 900 patients each. In particular, the therapy was not statistically significant for the primary symptom endpoint of the second trial, STRIDE 2, measuring ocular discomfort severity change from baseline to day 15. “Although we did not achieve statistical significance for the primary symptom endpoint in STRIDE 2, we did observe a strong trend towards a positive treatment effect in symptoms in more symptomatic patients, for which we achieved statistical significance in STRIDE 1,” said Mark Iwicki, chief executive of Kala Pharmaceuticals. The company will continue to analyze the results and expects to discuss them with the Food and Drug Administration, he said, noting the company’s $114 million cash balance. Kala also emphasized that the therapy was well-tolerated, with the most common side effect being instillation site pain. Dry eye disease, which has symptoms such as chronic pain, dry eyes, eye discomfort and variable vision, is a major market primed for new entrants. Allergan’s Restasis has long been a powerhouse dry eye therapy without much competition, bringing in $1.4 billion in revenue for the company in 2016. Kala shares have dropped 31% over the last three months to $15.94, compared with a 7% rise in the S&P 500 and a 10% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Barnes & Noble Inc. shares sank 15% in Friday trading after the retailer announced holiday season sales and traffic declines. Sales for the holiday period totaled $953 million, down 6.4% from last year. Same-store sales fell 6.4% for the period, and e-commerce sales were down 4.5%. The company said same-store sales had improved in the second quarter and into November, but lower traffic in December softened sales trends. Half of the same-store sales decline was due to decreases in sales across gifts, music and DVDs. Book sales fell 4.5%. The company now expects fiscal 2018 same-store-sales declines in the mid-single digits. Barnes & Noble shares are down more than 48% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 20.4% for the period.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News