Tag: stock market

Shares of Walt Disney Co. surged 1% toward a four-month high in morning trade Wednesday, after Deutsche Bank turned bullish on the media and theme park company, citing increased confidence in the cable and film businesses. Analyst Bryan Kraft raised his rating to buy, after being at hold since March 2015, primarily because of concerns over the weakening performances of cable networks, notably ESPN, and of consumer products, given difficult film comparisons. But Kraft said ESPN subscriber numbers are starting to improve, and should improve further with the proliferation of streaming pay TV bundles in fiscal 2017. He also believes Disney’s film business will get a boost next year from “Cars 3” and “Spiderman: Homecoming,” with 2017 ending up as the second-best year ever. The stock, which has rallied 4.6% since the presidential election, is still down 6.1% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 8.2%.

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Oil futures turned higher Wednesday after Reuters reported that Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he sees big chances for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to reach an agreement to curb production. The news came shortly after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic crude supplies in the week ended Nov. 11 rose by 5.3 million barrels. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expected a decline of 2 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a rise of 3.65 million barrels, according to sources. Total crude output, meanwhile, fell 11,000 barrels to 8.681 million barrels a day. Gasoline supplies rose 700,000 barrels and distillate stockpiles climbed by 300,000 barrels, according to the EIA. December crude rose 7 cents, or 0.3%, to $45.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded at $45.43 before the data.

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Amazon.com Inc. said Wednesday that it is offering a limited-time 20% discount on annual Prime membership in anticipation of its new original series “The Grand Tour.” The show will debut on Fri. Nov. 18, and the discount, which brings the price down to $79, will be available starting Friday at midnight ET and ending at 11:59 om PT. New episodes will be released weekly for 12 weeks. “The Grand Tour,” which stars Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, will focus on autos. The show also has a tie-in to Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices, with weekly trivia and random drawings taking place between Nov. 19 and Dec. 22. Amazon shares are up 0.8% in Wednesday trading, and up nearly 11% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 6.6% for 2016 to date.

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Barnes & Noble Inc. said Wednesday that it is introducing the new Nook Tablet 7, a seven-inch Android tablet with access to Nook books, audiobooks and the Nook store, along with the Google Play store. The device, priced at $49.99, also features front- and rear-facing camera, Bluetooth connectivity, and more. The new Nook will be available on Nov. 25, Black Friday. In its 2017 fiscal first quarter, Barnes & Noble reported that Nook sales fell 25% to $41 million. Barnes & Noble also said it is bringing back its signed editions, offering autographed copies of books written by more than 100 authors including Ina Garten and Tony Bennett, starting on Black Friday. Barnes & Noble shares are up 0.2% in Wednesday trading, and up nearly 37% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 6.4% for 2016 to date.

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U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average on track to slip after posting four straight record closes, as a dramatic post-election rally showed signs of exhaustion. The S&P 500 shed 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,174. The Dow fell 58 points, or 0.3%, to 18,874. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 21 points, or 0.4%, at 5,253.

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Kimberly-Clark Corp. said Wednesday that Michael Hsu has been appointed chief operating officer, part of the company’s succession planning. Hsu is currently group president for North American consumer products, overseeing the nearly $8 billion North American personal care and consumer tissue businesses. He’ll join the board effective Jan. 1, 2017. Kimberly-Clark’s regional businesses in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, along with the North American and Professional businesses will all report to Hsu. Elane Stock, group president of Kimberly-Clark International has announced her intention to leave the company. Kimberly-Clark will name a new North American consumer products group president “in the near future,” the company said. Kimberly-Clark shares are inactive in premarket trading, but down 10.6% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 6.7% for 2016 to date.

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Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it has set a new $1 billion stock repurchase program, lasting through Dec. 31, 2019. That is in addition to the current $500 million stock buyback program, which the car transmissions maker expects to complete by the end of 2016. The new repurchase program follows the completion of review of the company’s business and potential initiatives to enhance shareholder value. The company said it consulted with a number of shareholders, including its largest shareholder ValueAct Capital, its fourth-largest shareholder Ashe Capital Management and its fifth largest shareholder Longview Asset Management. Allison’s stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has rallied 20% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.

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Koch Industries Inc. said Wednesday it will invest over $2 billion, through its Koch Equity Development LLC (KED) subsidiary, in cloud software company Infor, as Koch looks to expand on its digital strategies across industries. Infor’s cloud strategy uses Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Web Services. “The support we are providing to Infor marks one of the largest investments KED has ever made and demonstrates the confidence we have in Infor’s technology, team and business model,” said President Matt Flamini of KED. The investment, in the form of preferred and common equity, is expected to close in early 2017.

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Sears Holdings Corp. said Wednesday that it will offer free shipping on all e-commerce purchases, no minimum purchase necessary, starting at 6 p.m. Nov. 23 and extending through Thanksgiving Day. Black Friday doorbusters will be available online all day on Thanksgiving, prior to most store openings. The retailer is also offering Shop Your Way members the chance to shop deals from the Black Friday ad on Nov. 20 between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sears shares are inactive in premarket trading, and down about 40% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 6.7% for the same period.

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Sysco Corp. said Wednesday it is raising its quarterly divided by 6% to 33 cents a share. The food services company said the new dividend is payable Jan. 27 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 6. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but have gained 30% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.

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