Tag: stock market

The S&P 500 rallied for a sixth straight session on Friday, putting the benchmark U.S. equity index on track for its best weekly performance in more than six years. The index rose 0.4% on the day, bringing its week-to-date advance to 4.7%. That represents the biggest one-week percentage gain since a week ending Dec. 2, 2011. The Nasdaq Composite Index , up 5.9% on the week and 0.3% on the day, is also set for its biggest weekly gain since December 2011. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , meanwhile, is up 0.5% on the day, bringing its weekly gain to 4.7%. That represents its best week since November 2016, in the wake of the presidential election. All three indexes are set for their sixth advance in a row, as concerns over inflation appeared to wane.

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FirstEnergy Corp. said Friday it plans to deactivate the coal-fired Pleasants Power Station in Willow Island, West Virgina, affecting about 190 employees. The stock was up 0.6% in morning trade. The company said the decision was made after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected last month FirstEnergy subsidiary Mon Power’s plan to buy Pleasants. The company said the Public Service Commission of West Virginia had approved the sale, subject to a number of “significant conditions,” which combined with the FERC rejection made the proposed deal “unworkable.” FirstEnergy said the plant deactivation is subject to regulatory review for reliability impacts. “We will continue to pursue opportunities to sell the plant while planning for deactivation,” said Chief Executive Charles Jones. The stock has gained 7.7% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has climbed 17%.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission suspended trading on Friday in Cherubim Interests, Inc. , PDX Partners, Inc. , and Victura Construction Group, Inc. because of questions surrounding similar statements they made about the acquisition of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology-related assets. The SEC said recent press releases issued by the three companies claimed that the companies acquired AAA-rated assets from a subsidiary of a private equity investor in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, among other things. Cherubim Interests, Inc. also announced the execution of a financing commitment to launch an initial coin offering. The SEC has questions regarding the nature of the companies’ business operations and the value of their assets, including in press releases issued beginning in early January 2018. The SEC also said Cherubim Interests, Inc is delinquent in filing annual and quarterly reports. The SEC has been warning investors to be on alert for companies that may publicly announce ICO or coin/token related events for the sole purpose of moving the price of the company’s common stock.

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U.S. stock-indexes traded modestly higher on Friday, on pace for its best week in more than a year following five straight daily gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 60 points, or 0.2%, at 25,255, the S&P 500 index added 2.5 points, or 0.1%, at 2,734. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 8 points, or 0.1%, at 7,264. For the week, the Dow was on track for its best rise since the period ended Dec. 2, 2011, the S&P 500 looked set for the best weekly climb since Jan. 4, 2013, while the Nasdaq appeared set for its best such return since the period ended Nov. 11, 2016. In corporate news, Coca-Cola Co. shares rose by 1% in after the beverage company reported fourth-quarter adjusted per-share earnings and sales that beat expectations. In economic reports, a reading on import prices for January showed a monthly increase of 1%, helping to confirm signs that once-sluggish inflation is pushing higher. Data earlier in the week showed a rise in consumer price inflation, which is watched as a barometer for the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate plans. The import-price increase was hotter than the 0.7% rise in import prices expected by a FactSet poll of analysts, and compares with a 0.1% gain in December.

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Analysts at Raymond James resumed coverage of Apple Inc. Friday with a market perform rating, citing the stock’s big run up prior to “a supercycle that didn’t occur” as reason for their mixed stance. The analysts, led by Chris Caso, see Apple’s upcoming spring announcement about how it plans to grow its capital returns program as the next potential catalyst for the stock, but they believe that with so many people anticipating this update, it’s not “enough of a reason to be overweight the stock.” Later this year, the analysts believe that Apple could benefit from doing a better job of managing “the mix of features and price points” given what they perceive as “substantial demand” already for phones that cost $1,000 or more. Apple shares are down 0.2% in premarket trading Friday and up 28% over the past 12 months, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 22% in that time.

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Shares of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. soared 11% in premarket trade Friday, after the engine and automotive products maker beat fourth-quarter profit and revenue that rose above expectations. Net income for the quarter to Dec. 31 rose to $106.3 million, or 93 cents a share, from $46.9 million, or 59 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 89 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 76 cents. Revenue rose to $1.73 billion from $946.5 million, topping the FactSet consensus of $1.69 billion, as non-GM (General Motors) sales more than tripled to $1.01 billion. For 2018, the company said it is targeting revenue of about $7 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $6.8 billion. The stock has tumbled 10.8% over the past three months through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.6%.

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Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced Friday he’s running for Senate from Utah, saying he can help bring the state’s values to Washington. Romney is aiming to replace retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican who heads the Senate Finance Committee. One issue Romney focused on in his video message was immigration, saying “Washington sends immigrants a message of exclusion,” but Utah welcomes legal immigrants from around the world.

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Wynn Resorts Ltd. confirmed Friday that Steve Wynn, who resigned as Chairman and Chief Executive last week amid allegations of sexual misconduct, was not entitled to any severance payment or other compensation under the employment agreement. The company said in an SEC filing, that Wynn has agreed to not compete with Wynn Resorts for two years, and to provide “reasonable cooperation and assistance” to the company in connection with any private litigation or arbitration related to his service with the company. Wynn’s lease of his personal residence at Wynn Las Vegas will terminate no later than June 1, 2018, and until such date Wynn will pay rent at fair market value. Wynn Resorts’ stock rose 0.6% in premarket trade. It has rallied 7.1% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.6%.

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Kraft Heinz Co. reported fourth-quarter net income of $8.0 billion, or $6.52 per share, up from $944.0 million, or 77 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 90 cents per share, missing the 95-cents FactSet consensus. Sales were $6.88 billion, down from $6.86 billion last year and below the $6.91 billion FactSet consensus. Heinz Chief Executive David Knopf says the company has made $300 million in strategic investments and $800 million in capital expenditures to improve the business since the tax overhaul was put in place. U.S. sales were down 1.1% to $4.8 billion with volume down 1.7 percentage points driven by distribution losses in the club channel for Planters nuts, lower shipments of natural cheese and service-related losses in cold cuts. Losses were offset by gains in macaroni and cheese, Lunchables, Capri Sun beverages and P3 portable snacks. Kraft Heinz shares are down 0.3% in Friday premarket trading, and down 16.7% for the last year. The S&P 500 index is up 16.4% for the past 12 months.

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Campbell Soup Co. said Friday it had net income of $285 million, or 95 cents a share, in its fiscal second quarter to Jan. 28, up from $101 million, or 33 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.00, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 82 cents. Sales rose to $2.18 billion from $2.17 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $2.16 billion. Despite the beat, Chief Executive Denise Morrison said it was a disappointing quarter, driven by continued challenges in U.S. soup and Campbell Fresh. “The decline in organic sales was largely due to the performance of Americas Simple Meals and Beverages, where U.S. soup sales decreased by 7 percent based on the key customer issue we discussed last quarter,” she said in a statement. “We are making progress with this customer and expect sales declines in soup to moderate in the second half.” Campbell Fresh fell short of expectations due to headwinds in the super premium juice category. Global biscuits and snacks performed better, and the company is raising its cost savings target to $500 million by the end of fiscal 2020, she said. The company completed the acquisition of Pacific Foods in the quarter, a deal expected to bolster the company’s presence in organic soup and announced plans to buy Snyder’s-Lance, expected to expand snacks. The company raised its full-year guidance and now expects sales to be down 1% to up 1%, versus prior guidance of down 2% to flat. It expects adjusted EPS to rise 2% to 4%, versus prior guidance of down 5% to down 3%. Shares fell 1.9% in premarket trade, and are down 24% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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