Tag: stock market

Shares of Athenahealth Inc. soared in Wednesday’s extended session after the company issued an upbeat forecast for 2017. Athenahealth projected revenue in a range of $1.29 billion to $1.33 billion and adjusted operating income of $170 million to $190 million in 2017. Analysts surveyed by FactSet are forecasting the provider of cloud-based systems for medical facilities to report full-year revenue of $1.29 billion and operating income of $154 million. Athenahealth shares surged 13% after hours.

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Exxon Mobil Corp. said Wednesday Chairman and Chief Executive Rex Tillerson will retire at the end of the year after 41 years with the company. Tillerson, who President-elect Donald Trump nominated to be secretary of state, was scheduled to retire in March 2017, but decided to move up the retirement given the requirements associated with the confirmation process. The oil giant said President Darren Woods has been elected chairman and CEO, effective Jan. 1. Woods, who has been president since January, had joined the company in 1992. Exxon Mobil’s stock was down 2.4% in afternoon trade, amid a sharp selloff in crude oil futures . The stock was still up 5.9% since the election, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 7.9%.

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Financial stocks seesawed back into a negative territory Wednesday, erasing a brief spike higher after the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike announcement. The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF was down 0.3% just before the Fed announcement, then rose as much as 1.1% minutes after the announcement, before selling off to be down 0.4% in afternoon trade. Among the ETF’s most heavily-weighted components, Bank of America Corp.’s stock was up 1.1% pre-Fed, then was up as much as 3.1% post-Fed before paring gains to be up just 0.6%. Citigroup Inc.’s stock fell 0.3%, after running up as much as 1.7% post Fed; J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. shares pared a 1.6% post-Fed gain to be up just 0.1%; Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock was up 0.6%, after climbing 1.9% post Fed. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, after peeking into positive territory minutes after the Fed.

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Oil futures settled with a loss on Wednesday, their first in five sessions. Weekly U.S. government data showed that crude inventories fell more than expected but a monthly report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries showed that its member output climbed in November. Shortly before oil prices settled Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced its first interest-rate increase in a year, which provided a lift to the ICE U.S. Dollar Index , pressuring prices for dollar-denominated oil. January West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.94, or 3.7%, to settle at $51.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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The U.S. dollar shot higher against a host of its emerging-market rivals on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve lifted interest rates for the second time in a decade. In it’s latest set of projections, released concurrently with its decision on rates, the central bank signaled a faster pace of hikes during the coming year, though its expectations for the pace of hikes in 2018 and 2019 was largely unchanged. The Russian ruble and South African rand were two of the worst performers in the space, with the dollar gaining 1.9% to 61.77 rubles, and 1.9% to 13.85 rand. The greenback rose 0.8%, buying 3.36 Brazilian real. It gained 0.6% to buy 3.5 Turkish lira.

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Treasury yields shot higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate for the second time in a decade. In addition to raising interest rates, which was widely anticipated by financial markets, the Fed signaled that it expects to raise interest rates next year more swiftly than previously thought. The median projection on the Fed’s “dot plot” showed members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee expect three rate hikes next year, though the expected pace for 2018 and 2019 was largely unchanged. The two-year Treasury yield touched 1.235%, its highest level since August 2009. The 10-year traded as high as 2.495, while the 30-year yield edged lower to 3.118%. Short-term Treasury yields are typically the most sensitive to rate-hike expectations.

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U.S. stocks advanced in volatile trade after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday hiked interest rates by 25 basis points as had been widely expected. The S&P 500 rose 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2,274 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 44 points, or 0.2%, to 19,955. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 11 points to 5,475. “In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1/2 to 3/4 percent,” the central bank said in a statement.

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Generic drug stocks dropped Wednesday, after a report that U.S. regulators filed the first criminal charges in a sweeping investigation into suspected price collusion. The U.S. Justice Department charged two former executives of Heritage Pharmaceuticals Inc., former Chief Executive Jeffrey Glazerof, and former President Jason Malek, Bloomberg reported, citing court filings. Heritage was not immediately available for comment. The investigation, which Bloomberg reported last month, involves executives of more than a dozen companies, and alleges they agreed with one another to raise prices. Among the shares of some of the companies mentioned in the report, Mylan N.V.’s slumped 2.1%, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd.’s shed 2.1%, Endo International PLC’s dropped 4%, Lannett Co. Inc.’s slid 1.2%, Impax Laboratories Inc.’s fell 3.6% and Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. declined 0.4%. The SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF , which slipped 0.7% in midday trade, has tumbled 24% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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Infidelity website Ashley Madison parent Ruby said Wednesday that it has paid $1.66 million to settle with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission the state attorneys generals regarding investigations into business practices. As part of the settlement, in which Ruby “neither admits nor denies the allegations,” the amount was paid to the various states participating in the settlement. “Today’s settlement closes an important chapter on the company’s past and reinforces our commitment to operating with integrity and to building a new future for our members, our team and our company,” said Ruby Chief Executive Rob Segal.

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Alaska Air Group Inc.’s corporate credit rating was downgraded to junk status at S&P Global Ratings, which cited the air carrier’s increased debt following Wednesday’s closing of its $4 billion acquisition of Virgin America Inc. The acquisition included the assumption of $1.4 billion in debt and leases. “This increase in Alaska’s debt has caused the company’s previously very strong financial risk profile to decline substantially,” S&P Global credit analyst Tatiana Kleiman. Alaska Air’s rating was cut to BB+ from BBB-, which is the ratings agency’s lowest investment grade rating. The outlook is stable. S&P Global said it believes Alaska Air faces integration risk as it combines the two airlines. Alaska Air’s stock slipped 0.4% in morning trade. It has gained 7.5% year to date, while the NYSE Arca Airline index has soared 29% and the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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