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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is not considering a bid for Whole Foods Market Inc. , the grocery chain that Amazon.com Inc. has agreed to purchase for $13.7 billion, according to a Friday afternoon report. Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source, that Wal-Mart would not get into a bidding war for the grocery chain, taking out one potential challenge that some investment analysts expected to emerge and drive up the price. Investors had pushed Whole Foods shares higher than the $42 price Amazon agreed to pay in the hope that a second bidder would result in a higher acquisition price. Whole Foods stock dropped from higher than $43.50 to less than $43 just before the close of trading Friday, as the report hit; shares closed at $42.94.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks closed mostly higher on Friday, as energy shares staged a modest rebound after a recent selloff, while technology stocks extended their advance. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed other indexes, rising 28.56 points, or 0.5%, to 6,265.25 on Friday and booking a 1.9% gain over the week, the largest in a month. The gains on the tech-heavy index were driven by a jump in biotechnology shares earlier in the week. The S&P 500 rose 3.81 points, or 0.2%, to 2,438.31, and was up 0.2% over the week, as steep losses in the energy, telecoms, utilities and financials sectors trimmed what would have been solid weekly gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended virtually unchanged at 21,396.33. The blue-chip index ended the week roughly where it started after paring gains from earlier in the week. Among biggest decliners this week, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc fell 16%.

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Sen. Dean Heller, a Republican of Nevada, announced Friday he is opposed to the Senate Republican Obamacare repeal bill in its current form, according to The Hill. Heller, a centrist, said he was concerned about the bill’s phaseout of the Medicaid expansion. Heller joins four more conservative Republican senators in opposing the current bill. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can lose no more than two GOP votes on the bill to pass the measure.

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Oil prices rose Friday, buoyed by ongoing high compliance among major oil producers with an output-cut agreement. But prices still fell for a fifth-straight week–the longest streak of weekly declines since 2015, as traders continued to fret over rising output from the U.S. August West Texas Intermediate crude added 27 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $43.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost about 4.4% for the week.

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From:: Stock Market News

Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares skyrocketed 46% in extremely heavy Friday afternoon trade after the Food and Drug Administration approved its anticoagulant drug intended for high-risk patients. The drug, Bevyxxa, is the first and only intended for hospital and extended duration prevention of blood clots that form in veins in adult patients at risk for complications. Bevyxxa “is the first therapy to demonstrate a reduction in the incidence of [blood clots that form in veins] in these high-risk patients without a significant increase in major bleeding,” said Dr. C. Michael Gibson, an executive committee member for Bevyxxa’s late-stage trial. “With this approval, we are finally able to help protect these patients from this often fatal, yet preventable condition.” Portola shares have surged 47.1% over the last three months to $56.17, compared with a 4.0% rise in the S&P 500 .

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold climbed Friday, with a decline in the U.S. dollar helping prices post a gain for a third session in a row. Prices for the yellow metal settled a dime below their finish a week ago. “Gold is consolidating from the recent drawback, but is still in a correction mode,” said Nico Pantelis, head of research at Secular Investor. “We should be nearing the bottom of the current correction in the next week or two, from where a bigger climb should start.” August gold rose $7, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,256.40 an ounce. It finished last Friday at $1,256.50.

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From:: Stock Market News