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Orange-juice futures fell Thursday as a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture pegged the 2017-2018 Florida orange crop at 54 million boxes, down 21% from last season. That would be the lowest level in 71 years, according to a report from Bloomberg. Given the price decline, it appears that “traders were anticipating the effects of citrus greening and Hurricane Irma to reduce production even more,” said Darin Newsom, senior analyst at DTN. But “keep in mind this is an initial production estimate, with many more to come. Reductions can still be seen,” he said. The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association had estimated that 70% to 80% of citrus production in South Florida was lost to Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in south Florida on Sept. 10. November frozen concentrated orange juice declined by nearly 4 cents, or 2.3%, to $1.588 a pound on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange. Prices, which were trading higher at $1.638 before the report, have gained about 8% month to date, but still trade roughly 17% lower for the year.

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Shares of J.C. Penney Co. Inc. tumbled 2.6% toward another record low in active trade Thursday, amid broad weakness in the retail sector after apparel retailer J.Jill Inc.’s profit warning. About 13.8 million shares had changed hands through midday, above the full-day average of 12.7 million shares. Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF was down 1.3% at a 5-week low. J.Jill’s stock plummeted 50% after issuing a profit warning late Wednesday, blaming “product and calendar issues” that are affecting traffic and conversion. J.C. Penney’s stock, which closed at a record low on Wednesday, and two other fresh records earlier this month, has plunged 27% over the past three months and 59% year to date. In comparison, the retail ETF has gained 2.2% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has climbed 4.5%.

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Shares of OrthoPediatics Corp. were trading 50% above the initial public offering price, in their public debut. The maker of medical devices for use in the pediatric orthopedic market’s shares opened at $18 at 10:53 a.m. ET, or 38.5% above its $13 IPO price. Since then, it has traded as low as $17.17 and as high as $20.90. The company offered 4 million shares, to raise $52 million. Piper Jaffray and Stifel are lead bookrunners on the deal, with William Blair acting as lead manager and BTIG acting as co-manager. The stock debuts at a time when the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has climbed 4.0% over the past three months, but underperformed the S&P 500’s 4.5% over the same time.

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Shares of CarGurus Inc. rocketed 80% on their first day of trade Thursday, after the company priced its initial public offering above the price range. Shares of the company, which uses algorithms and data analytics to find users deals on new and used cars, gained $12.82 to $28.82 in midmorning trade. The company sold 9.4 million shares at $16 apiece, above its $13 to $15 range. The stock is trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “CARG”. The S&P 500 was down 0.1%.

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Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Thursday showed that domestic crude supplies fell by 2.8 million barrels for the week ended Oct. 6. That was well above the forecast for a decline of 400,000 barrels by analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts. In contrast, the American Petroleum Institute reported late Wednesday an increase of 3.1 million barrels, according to sources. Gasoline stockpiles were up 2.5 million barrels for the week, while distillate stockpiles fell 1.5 million barrels, according to the EIA. The S&P Global Platts survey forecasted drops of 1.4 million for gasoline and 1.64 million for distillates. November crude fell 85 cents, or 1.7%, from Wednesday to $50.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded at $50.25 before the supply data.

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Target Corp. said Thursday that consumers can now shop from Target using their voice and the Google Home device. Next year, shoppers will be able to link their Target website and Google accounts in order to store their favorite items. Target is also selling through Google Express across the continental U.S., with items from a shopper’s local store available for home delivery. Beginning next year, RedCard holders will be able to get 5% off most purchases and free shipping, or purchases can be made available for pickup within two hours. Target shares are up almost 18% for the last three months, but down about 17% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 14% for 2017 to date.

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Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Thursday showed that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 87 billion cubic feet for the week ended Oct. 6. That nearly met the average forecast for a climb of 86 billion cubic feet by analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts. Total stocks now stand at 3.595 trillion cubic feet, down 153 billion cubic feet from a year ago, and 8 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, the government said. November natural gas rose 5.7 cents, or 2%, from Wednesday’s settlement to $2.947 per million British thermal units, little changed from $2.955 before the 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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Thursday showed that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 87 billion cubic feet for the week ended Oct. 6. That nearly met the average forecast for a climb of 86 billion cubic feet by analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts. Total stocks now stand at 3.595 trillion cubic feet, down 153 billion cubic feet from a year ago, and 8 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, the government said. November natural gas rose 5.7 cents, or 2%, from Wednesday’s settlement to $2.947 per million British thermal units, little changed from $2.955 before the 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.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. benchmark stock indexes all opened modestly lower on Thursday to backpedal from record levels hit the previous session. All three major stock indexes set fresh all-time records on Wednesday. The S&P 500 was down 0.1% to 2552.8. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 8 points to slip to 6595. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 15 points to 22857. Investors eyed the beginning of earnings season, kick-started by U.S. banks. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citibank released their results to kick-start the third-quarter earnings season. Both banks’ earnings beat expectations.

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