Stocks open lower after inflation data, jobless claims

U.S. stock-market indexes retreated from record levels Thursday, after data showing a jump in inflation data and a smaller-than-expected rise in jobless claims. The consumer-price index rose by 0.4% last month, while first-time jobless claims rose by 13,000 due to the impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The S&P 500 declined 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,493. The Nasdaq Composite index declined 20 points, or 0.3% to 6,439. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated by 16 points, or 0.1%, to 22,145 at the open. Among the worst performers on Wall Street, Equifax continued to decline after the company last week revealed a data breach in which sensitive information of 143 million people was stolen.

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Trump says he’s ‘fairly close’ to deal with lawmakers on DACA

President Donald Trump said Thursday morning he’s “fairly close” to a deal on reforming an Obama-era immigration program known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Departing for Florida, he told reporters that a deal must have “massive border security” but a border wall would come later. Earlier Thursday, Trump said on Twitter that deporting young undocumented immigrants was unrealistic and insisted a wall would be built.

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Ebay partners with Spring for online fashion boutique

Ebay Inc. announced that it has partnered with Spring, an online retailer selling men’s, women’s and lifestyle items, for an online boutique offering brands like Chloe, David Yurman and Rag & Bone. Spring will have a dedicated “storefront” on eBay’s site. Ebay has 171 million active buyers and, according to the company, 81% of merchandise sold on the site is new. The partnership comes at a time when Amazon.com Inc. is beefing up its online fashion offerings with private labels and partnerships with companies like Nike Inc. . Ebay shares are nearly flat in Thursday premarket trading, and up almost 29% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 11.6% for 2017 to date.

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Pfizer shares rise 1.4% after news of positive late-stage cancer trial

Pfizer Inc. shares rose as much as 1.4% in premarket trade Thursday on news that its late-stage clinical trial examining its key cancer drug Xtandi in non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer met its primary endpoint. The trial, which was conducted with Astellas Pharma Inc. , found that Xtandi combined with with a standard prostate cancer therapy had improved metastasis-free survival relative to the standard prostate cancer therapy on its own. Xtandi is already FDA-approved for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer; the results could potentially allow for the expansion of Xtandi’s label to cover all patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, the companies said. There are currently no FDA-approved treatments for patients with this type of prostate cancer until they develop confirmed radiographic metastatic disease, according to Carolina Urologic Research Center’s Dr. Neal Shore. Pfizer shares have risen 7.3% over the last three months, compared with a 2.5% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Umpqua Bank parent raises dividend by 12.5%

Umpqua Holdings Corp. , the Portland-based parent of Umpqua Bank, said Thursday it will raise its quarterly dividend by 12.5% to 18 cents a share from 16 cents a share. The new dividend will be payable Oct. 16 to shareholders of record on Sept. 30. Based on Wednesday’s stock closing price of $18.23, the new annual dividend rate of 72 cents a share implies a dividend yield of 3.95%, compared with the implied dividend yield on the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF of 1.47% and on the S&P 500 of 1.98%. Umpqua’s stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 2.4% over the past three months, while the regional bank ETF has shed 5.1% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.5%.

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Amazon adding 1,000 full-time jobs with Michigan fulfillment center

Amazon.com Inc. has announced a new fulfillment center in the Charter Township of Shelby, MI, which will add 1,000 full-time jobs to the roster. Workers at the one-million-square-foot facility will pick, pack and ship large items like sports equipment and gardening tools. Amazon has announced two other Michigan facilities in Livonia and Romulus and a corporate office in Detroit since 2016. Together with the new facility, Amazon says its Michigan workforce will total more than 3,500. Amazon shares are nearly unchanged in Thursday premarket trading and up 33.3% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 11.6% for 2017 so far.

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Halozyme’s stock soars after Bristol-Myers license deal

Shares of Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. rocketed 13% in premarket trade Thursday, after the biotechnology company announced a license agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. , to develop subcutaneously administered Bristol-Myers immuno-oncology medicines using Halozyme’s drug-delivery technology. Under terms of the deal, Halozyme will receive $105 million upfront, will have the potential to earn up to an additional $160 million in milestone payments and will receive royalties on sales of products. As of result of the deal, Halozyme raised its 2017 revenue outlook to $245 million to $260 million from $115 million to $130 million. Bristol-Myers expects the deal to reduce 2017 and 2018 adjusted earnings per share by a penny and 2019 EPS by 5 cents. Bristol-Myers’ stock slipped 0.1% ahead of the open. Over the past three months, Halozyme shares have slipped 0.2% through Wednesday, while Bristol-Myers’ stock has rallied 15% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.5%.

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Pound rallies after BOE warns rates could rise faster than forecast

The Bank of England on Thursday kept its key interest rate on hold and made no changes to its quantitative easing program, but warned that rates could rise faster than traders currently are pricing in. In the minutes from the central bank’s meeting, the policy makers said that if the economy continues to develop as expected, “then monetary policy could need to be tightened by a somewhat greater extent over the forecast period than current market expectations.” The hawkish tilt sent the pound rallying, buying $1.3292 compared with $1.3207 ahead of the decision. Sterling fetched $1.3210 late Wednesday in New York. The Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to keep its key interest rate at a record low of 0.25%, as expected. The MPC voted unanimously to keep its government bond-buying program at £435 billion ($578 billion) and its corporate bond purchases at £10 billion.

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Lennar new orders, deliveries below expectations in wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

Lennar Corp. reported fiscal third-quarter deliveries and new orders, in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, that were below expectations. The home builder said the hurricanes affected markets that in total represent 40% of its annual revenue, as they impacted its communities in Texas, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Lennar said it had 7,610 new orders for the quarter to Aug. 31, below the FactSet consensus of 7,796, while deliveries of 7,598 units missed expectations of 7,766. Hurricane Harvey impacted about 120 new orders and deliveries during the quarter, and is expected to impact about 130 deliveries in the current quarter. The company said Hurricane Irma could delay about 700 deliveries from the fourth quarter into fiscal 2018. “We expect that the rebuilding effort will result in increased economic activity and an increased demand for new homes which will result in a broader spectrum of opportunity for us as we look towards 2018,” said Chief Executive Stuart Miller. The stock, which was inactive in premarket trade, had lost 5.0% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF has gained 0.2% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 2.5%.

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Tesla ‘tentatively’ set to roll out semi truck on Oct. 26, Elon Musk says

Tesla Inc. is tentatively set to roll out its semi truck in October, Elon Musk tweeted late Wednesday. “Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride tentatively scheduled for Oct 26th in Hawthorne. Worth seeing this beast in person. It’s unreal,” Musk tweeted. Hawthorne is home to Tesla’s design studio, as well as one of Musk’s other companies, SpaceX. The truck had originally been expected in September. The highly anticipated commercial truck could be the “biggest catalyst” in the trucking industry in decades, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note last week. Tesla shares were up about 1% in after-hours trading Wednesday, and are up 71% year to date, compared to the S&P 500’s 12% gain.

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