Tag: stock market

OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers plan an April 17 meeting in Doha, Qatar, to work out a deal on oil production, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report citing Persian Gulf sources. This Doha effort is meant to stabilize the oil market, and the producers supporting it account for 73% of global crude output, the DJN report on Wednesday said. The April meeting will go ahead even without Iran, a Reuters report said. Officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries also said it was hard to backtrack from a preliminary deal to freeze output after Iran said it would not join, Reuters noted. Crude for April delivery [s:clj6] recently traded up by 62 cents, or 1.7%, at $36.96 a barrel, while May Brent crude gained 49 cents, or 1.3%, at $39.23 a barrel.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. shares dropped 3.6% late Tuesday as the company, still reeling from recent outbreaks of E. coli and norovirus, said it expects a first-quarter loss. The company said same-store sales in February were down 26.1%, with the leap day adding 2.6% to the monthly result. Same-store sales declined 21.5% during the first week of March, the company said in a Tuesday filing, but slid to a 27.3% drop the second week of the month after a Boston-area restaurant was closed temporarily due to reports that workers became ill with norovirus. Chipotle sees a first-quarter loss of $1 per share or more. The FactSet consensus is earnings of 3 cents per share. “During the quarter we will incur higher expenses driven by increased marketing and promotions spend in other operating costs, which are anticipated to be significantly higher in the first half of 2016 compared to historic reporting periods,” the filing said. The company anticipates higher food costs due to additional safety protocols, more food waste, and higher food rejection rates due to the high-resolution DNA testing that has been put into place. The company said there will also be higher legal expenses associated with the Department of Justice investigation. And Chipotle incurred higher labor costs after increasing staff for free burrito redemptions. Chipotle said it hired James Marsden as executive director of food safety. Chipotle shares closed Tuesday down 2.5%, but are up 4.8% for the year to date. The S&P 500 is down 1.4% for the year so far.

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Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries fell by 90,000 barrels a day in February from a month earlier, to 32.34 million barrels a day, according to a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts released late Tuesday. Platts attributed the decline, in part, to a drop of 200,000 barrels a day to 4.13 million barrels a day in Iraqi output due to the closure of a key pipeline. The Saudis kept output at 10.2 million barrels per day, while Iran raised production by 210,000 barrels a day to 3.12 million.

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The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported that crude supplies rose by 1.5 million barrels for the week ended March 11, according to sources who reviewed the report. The closely watched Energy Information Administration report will be released Wednesday. Analysts polled by Platts forecast a climb of 2.7 million barrels for crude inventories. April crude traded at $36.70 a barrel in electronic trading, up from the contract’s settlement of $36.34 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Oracle Corp. shares rose late Tuesday after the software company reported better-than-expected earnings and said results would be even better if not for a stronger U.S. dollar. Oracle reported an adjusted net income of $2.7 billion in the third quarter, or 64 cents a share, compared with 68 cents a share in the third quarter of 2015. Without the stronger greenback, earnings would have been 4 cents higher, Oracle said. Revenue reached $9 billion in the quarter, down from $9.33 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 62 cents a share on sales of $9.13 billion for the company. Oracle also said its board of directors has authorized a share buyback of up to an additional $10 billion. Shares of Oracle rose 2.9% in late trading Tuesday after ending the regular session up 0.1%.

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Oracle Corp. shares rose late Tuesday after the software company reported better-than-expected earnings and said results would be even better if not for a stronger U.S. dollar. Oracle reported an adjusted net income of $2.7 billion in the third quarter, or 64 cents a share, compared with 68 cents a share in the third quarter of 2015. Without the stronger greenback, earnings would have been 4 cents higher, Oracle said. Revenue reached $9 billion in the quarter, down from $9.33 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 62 cents a share on sales of $9.13 billion for the company. Oracle also said its board of directors has authorized a share buyback of up to an additional $10 billion. Shares of Oracle rose 2.9% in late trading Tuesday after ending the regular session up 0.1%.

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Oracle Corp. shares rose late Tuesday after the software company reported better-than-expected earnings and said results would be even better if not for a stronger U.S. dollar. Oracle reported an adjusted net income of $2.7 billion in the third quarter, or 64 cents a share, compared with 68 cents a share in the third quarter of 2015. Without the stronger greenback, earnings would have been 4 cents higher, Oracle said. Revenue reached $9 billion in the quarter, down from $9.33 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 62 cents a share on sales of $9.13 billion for the company. Oracle also said its board of directors has authorized a share buyback of up to an additional $10 billion. Shares of Oracle rose 2.9% in late trading Tuesday after ending the regular session up 0.1%.

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Gold futures fell on Tuesday to mark their lowest settlement in two weeks, ahead of Wednesday’s U.S. Federal Reserve decision on monetary policy. April gold lost $14.10, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,231 an ounce. That marked the lowest settlement since March 1, according to FactSet data.

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United Parcel Service Inc. announced plans on Tuesday to build 12 additional compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations and add 380 CNG tractors to its fleet, a $100 million investment. The CNG investment is part of the company’s sustainability effort, with alternative fuel vehicles representing 6% of the company’s 100,000-plus global fleet, said Mark Wallace, UPS’ senior vice president of global engineering and sustainability, in a statement. The effort has resulted in a 10% reduction in conventional fuel use, according to Wallace. Using natural gas reduces greenhouse gas emissions between 6% and 11%, UPS said, quoting U.S. Department of Energy figures. UPS aims to tally one billion miles by 2017 with its alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet. UPS shares are down 0.2% in Tuesday trading, but up 5.1% for the year so far. The S&P 500 is down 1.9% for the year to date.

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U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday following mixed economic data a day before the Federal Reserve concludes its policy meeting. Retail sales fell in February, while wholesale prices fell. Meanwhile, slumping oil prices put pressure on energy and materials companies. The S&P 500 opened 9 points, or 0.4%, lower at 2,010. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 77 points, or 0.4%, to 17,152. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day down 18 points, or 0.4%, at 4,731.

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