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Prices for West Texas Intermediate oil slipped below the $30-a-barrel mark late Monday, after settling with a loss of nearly 6%. “Talk that the [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] will wait for non-OPEC assistance in raising prices is discouraging traders,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research. Abdullah el-Badri, OPEC’s secretary general, said at a conference in London that the cartel is ready to work with rivals to come up with a compromise following the crash in oil prices since the middle of 2014, according to The Telegraph. His comments were similar to remarks he has made in the past. March WTI oil traded at $29.74 a barrel in electronic trading, down from an earlier settlement at $30.34.

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Rambus Inc. shares rallied in the extended session Monday after the semiconductor and IP products company’s quarterly results and outlook topped Wall Street estimates. Rambus shares jumped 11% to $12.48. The company reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of 18 cents a share on revenue of $76.8 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast 8 cents a share on revenue of $74 million. Rambus estimated full-year 2016 revenue of $310 million and $325 million, while analysts expect $294 million. Rambus also said it acquired U.K. based Smart Card Software Ltd. for 64.7 million British pounds in cash, or about $92.2 million.

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Goldman Sach Group Inc.’s stock tumbled 3.7% in active trade Monday, to close at the lowest level since July 2013, amid broad weakness in the financial sector and the overall stock market. The stock’s price decline of $5.74 accounted for about 39 points, or 19%, of the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 208-point drop. The SPDR Financial ETF shed 2% on Monday. Goldman’s stock has now lost 3.6% since Goldman reported fourth-quarter results ahead of the Jan. 20 open. The shares have lost 16% just this month, amid a 13% decline in the financial ETF and an 8.8% selloff in the Dow.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks accelerated declines in the last trading hour to finish the day sharply lower on Monday. A renewed rout in oil prices hit energy and materials shares, with the sectors losing 4.5% and 3.3% respectively. Financials also sold off on Monday, falling 2.3%. The S&P 500 closed 29.83 points, or 1.6%, lower at 1,877.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 208.29 points, or 1.3%, to 15,885.22. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite ended the day down 72.69 points, or 1.6%, at 4,518.49.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

BlackRock Inc. has boosted its stake in Apple Inc. to about 315.4 million shares, or 5.7% of the technology giant’s shares outstanding, according to a regulatory filing. That’s up from the stake of about 217.1 million shares, or 3.9%, the investment company owned as of the end of the third quarter, according to filing data tracked by FactSet. Apple’s stock fell 0.9% in afternoon trade Monday, erasing an earlier intraday gain of as much as 0.1%. It has tumbled 19% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shed 8.8%. BlackRock’s stock, which fell 2.1% on Monday, has slid 14% in three months.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of International Paper Co. and Packaging Corp. of America slumped Monday, after Citigroup downgraded them to neutral, after trade publication Pulp & Paper Week cut January prices for kraftliner and corrugated medium, two kinds of containerboard. “While the medium price erosion is not surprising, we were surprised by the kraftliner price cut given commentary on “stronger than expected” December box shipments, high op rates (95.6% in 2015), and recent supply discipline by major producers,” Citigroup analysts wrote in a note. Analysts lowered their 2016 to 2018 estimates for the two companies, as well as for rival WestRock Co. . IP shares fell 9.8% in afternoon trade, and Packaging Corp. was down 12%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News