Tag: stock market

The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday said U.S. crude-oil inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels last week, according to news reports. The industry group also said that gasoline stocks rose by 7 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose 3.7 million barrels. Traders watch the API data for clues to the Energy Information Administration’s weekly inventories data, which is due Wednesday morning. Earlier, oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled sharply lower after briefly trading below $30 a barrel for the first time since December 2003.

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Shipments of personal computers fell 10.6% during the fourth quarter to 71.9 million units, the largest year-over-year decline in PC sales on record, according to industry tracker IDC. The data offers the latest evidence of dismal holiday sales for personal computers, with Gartner earlier on Tuesday reporting an 8.3% decline in the fourth quarter. Total shipments for the year dipped below 300 million units for the first time since 2008. The market contracted by 4.3% in the U.S., where IDC says the introduction of higher-end detachable tablets, such as Apple Inc.’s iPad Pro, cannibalized some demand for traditional PCs. Matching Gartner’s data, IDC’s data also shows a year-over-year decline in PC shipments for market leaders Lenovo, HP Inc. and Dell, while Apple stood as the lone winner.

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Yum Brands Inc. shares gained in Tuesday’s extended session after the fast-food restaurant operator reported its sales in China recovered last month. Yum said same-stores sales in China rose 1% in December versus a decline of 3% in November, in part on 5% growth at KFC. In the fourth quarter, which includes the month of September, same-store sales increased 2%. Sales at KFC were up 6% but down 8% at Pizza Hut in the quarter. Yum will no longer release monthly China sales data going forward ahead of the planned separation its China operations into a separate business by the end of 2016. Shares of Yum Brands rallied 3.1% in after-hours trading.

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Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it expects a “record” 2015 pre-tax profit, around the upper range of the car maker’s guidance of $10 billion to $11 billion. The results for 2016 are expected to be “equal to or higher” than 2015, the car maker said. The company also declared a supplemental dividend of 25 cents a share, which would be on top of first-quarter dividend of 15 cents a share. Ford said it plans another “active product year” with 12 global car product launches, including a new Ford Focus electric, with a projected 100-mile range. Shares of Ford fell 1.6% in late trading Tuesday after ending the regular trading day up 0.6%.

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Troubled biotech KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday it has decided to drop its appeal of the Nasdaq decision to delist its shares and will instead spend its resources following its business strategy. The move comes after Nasdaq said it would suspend trading in the stock on Wednesday, at which point it will move to the over-the-counter market. KaloBios has been the subject of a delisting order since the arrest of its ex-chief executive Martin Shkreli on charges of securities fraud. It had been granted a hearing that was scheduled to take place on Feb. 25. “The company’s new board of directors has determined that pursuit of the appeal while the Company is not in compliance with the Nasdaq listing standards would require diversion of company resources that could be better spent pursuing the company’s business plan and reorganization,” the company said in a statement.

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MetLife Inc. shares surged in Tuesday’s extended session after the insurance giant said it is planning to spin off its U.S. retail business into a separate entity as part of its strategic review process. The new company will have assets of around $240 billion and represent about 20% of MetLife’s operating earnings. MetLife Insurance Co. USA, General American Life Insurance Co., Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Co. and subsidiaries that have reinsured risks underwritten by MetLife Insurance Co. USA will be included in the spinoff. “The completion of a transaction taking the U.S. retail segment public would depend on, among other things, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing and review process as well as market conditions,” said the company in a statement. Shares of MetLife climbed 9.3% in after-hours trading.

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CSX Corp. shares slipped in the extended session Tuesday after the railroad company missed Wall Street’s fourth-quarter revenue estimates for the quarter. CSX shares declined 1.9% to $23.25. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings of 48 cents a share on revenue of $2.78 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 46 cents a share on revenue of $2.82 billion, but that was after a profit warning issued by the company in early December.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Two Navy boats with as many as 10 sailors are being held by Iran but will be returned soon, according to the Associated Press. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told AP it has received assurances that the crew and vessels will be returned “promptly.”

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Oil futures extended their 2016 plunge, with the U.S. benchmark trading below $30 a barrel for the first time since December 2003. West Texas Intermediate oil for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange were down $1.16, or 3.7%, at $30.25 a barrel after dipping as low as $29.93. A global oil glut, concerns about the global economy and a strengthening dollar have allowed crude to extend its slide into the new year. WTI futures have dropped more than 18% in the first six trading days of 2016.

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Gold futures ended lower Tuesday as the yellow metal was weighed down by strength in the U.S. dollar. February gold fell $11, or 1%, to $1,085.20 an ounce, marking its third straight session of declines. The dollar ICE U.S. Dollar Index , a measure of the dollar against a basket of currencies, advanced 0.3%, which put pressure on dollar-denominated commodities. A stronger buck makes assets priced in the currency more expensive to buyers using other monetary units.

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