Tag: stock market

Shares of Amazon.com Inc. shot up 7.8% in afternoon trade Thursday, as investors prepped for the e-commerce giant’s fourth-quarter results due out after the close. The price change of $45.40 would rank as the third-biggest ever since the stock went public in May 1997. The pre-results really might seem a bit ambitious, but the stock has soared an average of about 11%–median of about 12%–the day after the last four earnings reports, according to FactSet data. Options traders are pricing in a one-day post-results move, in either direction, of 8.3%. And two of the other three FANG stocks that have reported posted strong gains after their quarterly results. Facebook’s stock shot up 16% Thursday, after reporting results late Wednesday. The last time Google parent Alphabet Inc. reported results in October, the stock surged 5.6% the day after. Alphabet reports fourth-quarter results on Feb. 1. Meanwhile, the day after Netflix Inc. reported following the Jan. 19 close, the stock slipped 0.1%, and has tumbled 12% since.

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Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said Thursday it has informed startup Theranos Inc. that it will immediately stop using its Newark, Calif. lab for blood test analysis. Walgreens said the move comes in the light of a letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to Theranos that found practices that it said “pose immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety.” The CMS said an inspection completed in November found five major infractions that violate the federal law on clinical labs, The Wall Street Journal reported. Walgreens said it is suspending Theranos laboratory services at its Palo Alto, Calif. store, with immediate effect.

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Delegates from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Thursday said there were no plans to hold talks with Russia over potential production cuts, Bloomberg reported. Oil futures gave back a large chunk of the sharp rally scored earlier in the session on talk Russia and OPEC would meet next month to coordinate policy. West Texas Intermediate futures for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange were up 92 cents, or 2.8%, at $33.21 after trading as high as $34.82 in earlier activity. April Brent crude on the ICE exchange was up $1.15, or 3.4% at $35.09 a barrel after trading as high as $36.77.

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Natural-gas futures pared some of its earlier losses on Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of the commodity declined by 211 billion cubic feet for the week ended Jan. 22. That was more than the decline of between 204 billion cubic feet and 208 billion cubic feet expected by analysts polled by Platts. Total stocks now stand at 3.086 trillion cubic feet, up 530 billion cubic feet from a year ago and 432 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. March natural gas was at $2.134 per million British thermal units, down 2.3 cents, or 1.1%. Prices traded $2.113 before the supply data.

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Oil futures rallied on Thursday after unconfirmed reports that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and producers outside the cartel will meet in February to discuss a cut to production. Russia’s oil minister Alexander Novak said Saudi Arabia has suggested a 5% cut in oil production and that the size of the cuts are currently being discussed, according to Russian news agency Interfax. Crude oil futures jumped to as high as $34.82 immediately after the report, and were up 5.1% at $33.93 a barrel at the latest. Brent jumped 5.2% to $35.70 barrel.

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U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Thursday, as oil prices surged on chatter that Russia and OPEC may cut output. Shares of Facebook Inc. surged on the back of a well-received earnings report, helping lift the Nasdaq composite. The S&P 500 opened 17 points, or 0.9%, higher at 1,900, with the energy sector leading the gains, up 3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 120 points, or 0.8%, to 16,060. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day up 60 points, or 1.4%, at 4,530.

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HCA Holdings Inc.’s stock surged 6.7% in premarket trade Thursday, after the hospital operator beat fourth-quarter revenue expectations and provided an upbeat 2016 outlook. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $582 million, or $1.40 a share, from $527 million, or $1.19 a share, in the same period a year ago. The latest results include losses on asset sales and debt retirement and legal claims. The FactSet earnings-per-share consensus was $1.40. Revenue rose to $10.25 billion from $9.64 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $10.16 billion. For 2016, the company expects adjusted EPS of $6 to $6.45, above the FactSet consensus of $5.78. Revenue is expected to be $41.5 billion to $42.5 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $41.52 billion. The stock had lost 2.2% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has dropped 9.9%.

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The big surge in Facebook Inc.’s stock in premarket trade Thursday, has helped light a fire under the other recently-beaten down FANG stocks. Facebook shares soared 15% ahead of the open, putting them on track to open at a 2 1/2-month high, after the social network reported late Wednesday fourth-quarter profit and sales that beat expectations. Before Facebook reported, the stock has lost 9.8% year to date, while the S&P 500 had slipped 7.9%. Going in order of the acronym, Shares of Amazon.com Inc. , which is slated to report fourth-quarter results after Thursday’s closing bell, jumped 3.6% in premarket trade. They had tumbled 14% year to date through Wednesday. Netflix Inc.’s stock ran up 2.5% and shares of Google parent Alphabet Inc. climbed 2.7%. Through Wednesday, shares of Netflix had tumbled 20% year to date and of Alphabet slumped 7.8%.

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Rite Aid Corp. said same-store sales for the four weeks ending Jan. 23 were down 1.4% from the same period last year.January front-end same-store sales were down 1.9%, while the prescription count was down 1%. Prescriptions sales totaled 70.5% of drugstore sales and third-party prescription sales were 97.7% of pharmacy sales. Drugstore sales for the month were down 1.3% to $2 billion from $2.03 billion last year. Same-store sales for the47 weeks ending Jan. 23 2016 were up 1.5%, with front-end same-store sales up 0.3% and pharmacy same-store sales up 2%. Same-store sales based on prescription count were up 0.4%. Drugstore sales for the period were up 1.4% to $24.1 billion versus $23.8 billion for the year earlier period. Prescription sales were 69.1% of drugstore sales and third-party prescription sales were 97.8% of pharmacy sales. Rite Aid shares are down 0.7% in premarket trading, and down 4.1% for the past three months. The S&P 500 is down 9.9% for the past three months.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Orders for durable, or long-lasting, goods fell 5.1% in December, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The drop came after a 12.4% plunge in transportation orders and was worse than the 1.5% forecasted decline in the headline. Excluding transportation, orders fell 1.2% in December. So-called core capital-goods orders fell 4.3%.

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