Tag: stock market

Oil futures settled higher Monday, with U.S. prices tacking on roughly 4% on growing expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will be able to reach a final agreement next week to curb crude output. Vladimir Putin, president of non-OPEC Russia, also reportedly voiced his country’s willingness to freeze production. December West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.80, or 3.9%, to settle at $47.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on the contract’s expiration day. January WTI crude , which has become the front-month contract, settled at $48.24, up $1.88, or 4.1%.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday is about 60 points away from touching the psychologically significant level of 19,000. The ascent for the Dow industrials , which carved out a fresh intraday record of 18,947.44 comes as three other major stock-market benchmarks hit historic highs on the same day, including the S&P 500 index at 2,197.55, the Nasdaq Composite Index at 5,364.93 and the small-cap index Russell 2000 , which touched an all-time intraday high of of 1,323.72. The last time all four stock-market gauges hit records on the same day was Dec. 29, 1999, according to Dow Jones data. MarketWatch’s Bill Watts touches on some of the stats related to the Dow’s historic move in this piece. A multisession rally for equities comes on the heels of President-elect Donald Trump’s surprising victory against Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump’s proposals to deregulate certain markets, including banking, and rev up investing in the countries worn-out bridges and tunnels has delivered a jolt to the broader equity market. However, skeptics are concerned about Trump’s ability to follow through with his proposals and that valuations for stocks may be elevated, as the bond market is selling off, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note trading at 2.3% compared with 1.6% at the end of September, according to FactSet data. Bond prices rise as yields fall, and appetite for stocks usually coincides with a slump in bond prices.

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The used smartphone market is expected to nearly triple over the next few years as swap-in programs attract more consumers to more affordable refurbished hardware. The market for used smartphones is expected to climb to 222.6 million units by 2020 from 81.3 million in 2015, representing a compound annual growth rate of 22.3%, according to trends tracker IDC. Increasing demand for recycled and hand-me-down phones will impact original equipment manufacturers and mobile operators such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics , according to Will Stofega, program director for IDC’s mobile phones research division. The forecast comes on the heels of Apple’s first-ever annual decline in iPhone sales. Shares of Apple rose 1.4% to $111.58 in afternoon trade, but remain down 6.5% in the past 12 months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has also risen 2% in the past three months but has outperformed Apple on the year, rising 6.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

3M Co.’s stock dropped 1.2% in morning trade Monday, enough to make it the biggest decliners among Dow Jones Industrial Average components, after Goldman Sachs turned bearish on the industrial conglomerate, citing concerns over weakness in its energy and electronics businesses, and the impact of its large exposure to consumer markets. Analyst Joe Ritchie downgraded 3M to a rare sell rating from neutral, and slashed his stock price target to $159–7% below current levels–from $167. Only 14% of companies covered by Goldman are rated sell. Many industrial stocks have rallied since Donald Trump’s election win, on hopes of increased infrastructure spending and tax breaks. Ritchie said 3M should underperform its industrial peers under those scenarios, given that more than half of its revenue comes from consumer markets, and the fact that 3M has already been repatriating a lot of its cash. 3M’s consumer product brands include Scotch, Post-it and ACE. The stock has now lost a little less than 0.1% since the election, while the Dow has gained 3.1%. Year to date, 3M shares have hiked up 13% and the Dow has advanced 6.7%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Stocks traded at records Monday as Wall Street attempts to extend a multisession trend of gains as President-elect Donald Trump sets up his cabinet. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% at 18,920, the S&P 500 index picked up 0.5% at 2,191, briefly trading above its closing record, the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4% at 5,351, hitting a fresh all-time high. Trump’s policy proposals, including those around infrastructure investments, are being viewed as supportive to stock advances. On Monday, the gains for major equity benchmarks came as crude-oil prices climbed sharply amid mounting hope that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and oil-producers like Russia can strike an agreement to shrink the overflow of crude being pumped out of the world’s largest producers.

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From:: Stock Market News

Constellation Brands Inc. announced Monday a new $1 billion stock repurchase program, which will be in addition to its existing $1 billion program. The company did not say when the new program expires. The new buyback program comes after Fitch Ratings upgraded the beer, wine and spirit’s company’s credit rating to BBB-, or to investment grade status, last week. “We are pleased with our new Investment Grade status, which has been driven by our ability to continue to generate strong earnings and operating cash flow,” Constellation Chief Financial Officer David Klein said. “This provides us with the flexibility to be opportunistic with future share repurchases while remaining committed to our 3.5x targeted leverage ratio.” The stock, which was little changed in premarket trade, has climbed 8.9% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.8%.

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Shares of DryShips Inc. soared 18% in active premarket trade Monday, after the Greece-based drybulk shipper said it reached an agreement with one of its lenders to settle its outstanding debt obligations. Volume ahead of the open exceeded 1 million shares, making it the second-most active stock ahead of the open. Under terms of the deal, the lender has agreed to write off about half of the outstanding principal and interest that remains due. DryShips has repaid about $8.2 million of the principal, and will have to pay an additional $2.0 million over the next nine months as part of the agreement. The stock has been extremely volatile over the past week, rocketing earlier in the week, then selling off sharply on Thursday before bouncing back on Friday. Meanwhile, the stock has plunged 95% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.8%.

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Acorda Therapeutics Inc. shares dropped as much as 13.2% in pre-market trade Monday after the company said it was discontinuing development of its drug intended for post-stroke walking difficulties after a clinical trial failure. Despite promising results for the drug dalfampridine in a phase 2 trial, the latest results were not sufficiently clinically meaningful, the company said. Leerink analyst Paul Matteis’ called the trial’s failure a “small disappointment…we believe only a few dollars of value were priced into the stock at most,” and reiterated a market perform rating. The company said it will now focus on its two late-stage Parkinson’s disease therapies and treatments that are earlier in development in migraine, Parkinson’s disease dementia and multiple sclerosis. Acorda shares have dropped 50.2% year-to-date, compared with a 6.8% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Cloud services company Oracle Corp. on Monday said it reached an agreement to buy cloud-based internet performance and DNS provider Dyn Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition should provide a natural extension to Oracle’s cloud computing platform, President of Product Development Thomas Kurian said in a statement. Dyn gives users faster access by monitoring, controling and optimizing internet applications and cloud services, according to a news release. Shares of Oracle were up slightly in premarket trade and are up more than 9% in the year to date, outperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up nearly 7%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Tyson Foods Inc. said Monday Chief Executive Donnie Smith will step down as CEO on Dec. 31, after seven years in the position. The prepared and processed foods company said President Tom Hayes will succeed Smith as CEO. Hayes will continued to serve has president, and has been elected to the board of directors, effective immediately. Smith will be available as a consultant for three years. “The Board’s decision to name Tom CEO at this time was based on both his track record and how his skills align with the company’s strategic direction and continuing evolution,” said Chairman John Tyson. The company also reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that missed expectations, and provided a downbeat outlook. The stock, which tumbled 7.9% in premarket trade, has climbed 26% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.8%.

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