S&P 500 inches to record high, Dow finishes with modest gains

U.S. equities closed mostly higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 edging up to a record close at 2,510–up 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.2% to 22,381, supported by a sharp rise in shares of component McDonald’s Corp . Meanwhile the Dow Jones Transportation Average , a gauge of railroad, trucking companies, finished at an all-time high, along the the small-cap focused Russell 2000 , for the second straight session. The Nasdaq Composite Index, however, ended the day flat at 6,453, as technology shares lagged behind. McDonald’s jumped 2.2% after an analyst upgrade. Meanwhile, streaming-media company Roku Inc soared 57.79% in its first day as a publicly traded company initial public offering at $14 per share on Wednesday.

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Gilead shares decline nearly 5% after COO says he will retire

Gilead Sciences Inc. shares declined 4.7% in extremely heavy trade on Thursday following an announcement the day prior that the company’s Chief Operating Officer Kevin Young plans to retire in early 2018. The share weakness could be attributed to that news, said Credit Suisse analyst Alethia Young, adding that she doesn’t believe the timing “bodes negative for Gilead.” Gilead’s Kevin Young had previously retired and returned to work to “help the company through some specific goals,” including the company’s $11 billion Kite Pharma acquisition, announced last month, according to Credit Suisse’s Alethia Young, who spoke with the company. “We think it makes sense that Kevin Young likely came back to the company to help the company in a time of a crossroads ahead of their next major acquisition, but we were never under the impression that he would be permanently back at the company,” Alethia Young said, and the company told her that it has operated without a COO before. Kevin Young has been with Gilead since 2004; after he retired in 2014, he returned to the company as COO last year. He plans to continue advising the company after he retires, according to Gilead. Alethia Young rates Gilead outperform with an $85 price target. Gilead shares surged 11.5% to $80.21 over the last three months, compared with a 2.8% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Optimal Blue’s innovative tech development results in record growth

Optimal Blue’s significant investment in developing and deploying comprehensive secondary market automation propelled the company’s growth in the first half of 2017, netting a 21% increase in new clients. The company released a number of new enhancements to its end-to-end technology this year and also launched capabilities that integrate mortgage technology systems across the industry. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire

Lockheed Martin raises share buyback program by $2 billion

Defense and aerospace company Lockheed Martin Corp. said Thursday its board of directors has authorized buying an additional $2 billion of the company’s stock under its share buyback program. With the increase, the total remaining authorization for future repurchases is about $4 billion, Lockheed said in a statement. The company earlier Thursday said it was raising its quarterly dividend by 10% to $2 a share, payable on Dec. 10 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 1. Shares were down 0.5%, but have gained 23% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 12%.

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Lockheed Martin raises quarterly dividend 10% to $2.00 a share

Defense and aerospace company Lockheed Martin Corp. said Thursday it is raising its quarterly dividend by 10% to $2.00 a share. The new dividend will be payable on Dec. 10 to shareholders of record as of December 1. Shares were down 0.2%, but have gained 24% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 12%.

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Oil prices finish lower, pulling back as quarter end nears

Oil prices finished lower Thursday, pulling back after hefty month-to-date gains as traders take positions ahead of the conclusion of the third quarter. November WTI crude lost 58 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $51.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices looked poised for a weekly gain of about 2%, and a monthly rise of roughly 7.6%.

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McDonald’s stock surge after an upgrade accounts for more than half of the Dow’s gain

Shares of McDonald’s Corp. climbed $3.65, or 2.4%, in afternoon trade Thursday, to pace the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s gainers, after an analyst upgrade. The price gain was adding about 25 points to the Dow’s price, which was up 37 points. Longbow Research analyst Alton Stump raised his rating on the fast-food giant to the equivalent of buy, according to FactSet. Stump’s price target of $183 is 16% above current levels, and 6.2% above the average target of $172.31 of the 32 analysts surveyed by FactSet. The stock, which is 2.4% below the Sept. 11 record close of $161.53, has soared 30% year to date, while the Dow has gained 13%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold settles modestly higher after touching lowest levels since mid-August

Gold prices end higher Thursday, edging up after notching a six-week low as the U.S. dollar retreated from its highest level in a month. “Futures and options traders may be running scared of the [Federal Reserve’s] sudden claim of getting sober and preparing to raise rates, but private investors in physical gold don’t believe it,” said Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault. “They’re using this price drop to rebuild positions after taking profits over the summer,” he said. December gold rose 90 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,288.70 an ounce.

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UPDATE: Roku gains as much as 65% in trading debut after IPO

Roku Inc. shares jumped more than 65% Thursday on their first day of trade after the company’s initial public offering, adding to an initial $1.3 billion valuation. The company, which makes devices that allow consumers to stream media to their televisions, priced its IPO at $14 a share Wednesday evening. Shares began trading Thursday morning on the Nasdaq at $15.78, 12.7% higher than the IPO price, then moved as high as $23.06 in afternoon trade. Roku raised $219 million in the IPO, with the company getting $126 million and selling stockholders Menlo Ventures and Sky Ventures Ltd. taking the rest. Underwriters have access to 2.35 million more shares, which would be split between the company and selling stockholders if they are sold.

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