Tag: stock market

U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday, with investors holding off on making big bets ahead of a coming policy decision by the Federal Reserve. A sharp decline in shares of Facebook, one of the largest weights in both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, added to the negative tone on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 98 points, or 0.4%, to 24,844. The S&P 500 was down 13 points, or 0.5%, to 2,739. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 70 points to 7,412, a decline of 0.9%. Facebook fell 4.9% as the social-media giant drew considerable flak for how it had managed users’ data. Also in focus was the U.S. central bank, which is widely expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday. Higher interest rates are seen as reducing the attractiveness of riskier assets like stocks.

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The pound jumped to its highest level in more than a month on Monday after the EU’s and the U.K.’s Brexit negotiators, Michel Barnier and David Davis, confirmed they’ve reached a transition deal. Sterling rose to an intraday high of $1.4089, marking its highest level since Feb. 16, according to FactSet data. Speaking at a joint press conference, Barnier said the two sides had agreed to a transition period from March 2019 until the end of 2020. During that period, the U.K. won’t take part in the EU decision-making progress, but will still be bound by the single market rules. Davis hailed the deal as a significant step in the Brexit process, saying it will provide certainty for the short term and allow the U.K. to prepare for life outside the EU at the same time.

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Heron Therapeutics Inc.’s shares surged 28% in premarket trade Monday, after the company announced positive results in a late-stage trial of an anesthetic used for patients undergoing bunionectomy and hernia repair. The company said the trial of its HTX-011 agent showing significant reductions in pain intensity and use of opioids afterachieved all primary and key secondary endpoints in two Phase 3 trials, surgery. “HTX-011 is the first and only long-acting local anesthetic to demonstrate in Phase 3 studies significantly reduced pain and opioid use compared to bupivacaine solution, the current standard-of-care local anesthetic for postoperative pain control, through 72 hours,” the company said in a statement. Chief Executive Barry Quart said the company will file a new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the second half. “If approved, we believe that HTX-011 could have a significant impact on the opioid crisis by reducing the use of opioids after surgery, while at the same time allowing patients to experience less pain,” he said. Heron shares have gained 50% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Heron Therapeutics Inc.’s shares surged 18.6% in premarket trade Monday, after the company announced positive results in a late-stage trial of an anesthetic used for patients undergoing bunionectomy and hernia repair. The company said the trial of its HTX-011 agent showing significant reductions in pain intensity and use of opioids afterachieved all primary and key secondary endpoints in two Phase 3 trials, surgery. “HTX-011 is the first and only long-acting local anesthetic to demonstrate in Phase 3 studies significantly reduced pain and opioid use compared to bupivacaine solution, the current standard-of-care local anesthetic for postoperative pain control, through 72 hours,” the company said in a statement. Chief Executive Barry Quart said the company will file a new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the second half. “If approved, we believe that HTX-011 could have a significant impact on the opioid crisis by reducing the use of opioids after surgery, while at the same time allowing patients to experience less pain,” he said. Heron shares have gained 50% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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KLA-Tencor Corp. said Monday it has reached an agreement to acquire Israeli electronics technology company Orbotech Ltd. in a deal with an equity value of about $3.4 billion and an enterprise value of about $3.2 billion. KLA-Tencor will pay $38.86 a share in cash, plus 0.25 of a share of its own common stock. The deal is expected to close before the end of the calendar year and to immediately boost non-GAAP earnings and cash flow per share. “With this acquisition, KLA-Tencor will significantly diversify its revenue base and add $2.5 billion of addressable market opportunity in the high-growth printed circuit board (“PCB”), flat panel display (“FPD”), packaging, and semiconductor manufacturing areas,” the company said in a statement. The company is expecting to generate cost synergies of about $50 million on an annualized basis within 12 to 24 months of closing. Orbotech shares were halted for the news. KLA-Tencor shares dipped 1.1% premarket and are up 27% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Shares of Cidara Therapeutics Inc. shot up 14% toward a 13-month high in premarket trade Monday, after the biotechnology company said its lead antifungal drug candidate met all of its primary objectives in a phase 2 trial. The results allow Cidara to continue with its plan to launch phase 3 trials in mid-2018. Cidara’s Rezafungin is a novel antifungal echinocandin being developed as a therapy for the treatment and prevention of serious invasive fungal infections. “This is the first time that any antifungal has shown the potential to be a safe and effective once-weekly treatment option for patients with difficult-to-treat and deadly invasive Candida infections, which may enable patients to leave the hospital earlier, saving money and improving care,” said Chief Executive Jeffrey Stein. The stock has rallied 10.5% over the past 12 months through Friday, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has climbed 14.5% and the S&P 500 has run up 15.7%.

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Toronto-based cannabis company Cronos Group Inc. said Monday it has entered a cross-border joint venture with MM Enterprises USA LLC, or MedMen Enterprises, to develop branded products and open stores across Canada. MM, a company with facilities in California, Nevada and New York, will join forces with Cronos, which has a footprint in Germany, Israel and Australia, and trades on Nasdaq. The joint venture will be called MedMen Canada, and comes just months ahead of Canada’s plan to fully legalize cannabis for adult recreational use. “MedMen Canada will give us entry into an important emerging market for adult use and broaden our exposure worldwide,” said MedMen CEO and Co-founder Adam Bierman. MedMen is planning to go public in Canada in the second quarter. Cronos shares rose 2% in premarket trade, and have gained 265% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Dana Inc. raised its 2018 sale outlook to $7.75 billion to $8.05 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $7.69 billion, citing strengthening demand in off-highway and commercial vehicles. The engineering components and machinery company raised its adjusted earnings-per-share guidance to $2.75 to $3.05, surrounding the FactSet consensus of $2.85, and boosted its margin guidance by 0.10 percentage points to 12.4%. “Our continued strong financial performance, driven by our organic and inorganic sales growth and the execution of our synergy plan related to recent acquisitions, has provided us with increased confidence in our outlook for 2018 – and further solidified our trajectory toward achieving our long-term targets,” said Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Collins. The stock was indicated up over 1% in premarket trade. It has tumbled 18.5% over the past three months through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.6%.

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The pound jumped back above $1.40 on Monday after reports the European Union agreed on the broad terms of a two-year transition period for the U.K. when Brexit kicks in next year. The Wall Street Journal reported that EU diplomats dealing with Brexit on Monday had approved the agreement, just hours before the EU’s and the U.K.’s Brexit negotiators, Michel Barnier and David Davis, were set to meet in Brussels. Sterling climbed to an intraday high of $1.4045, its highest level since Feb. 26, according to FactSet data. The pound had traded as low as $1.3913 earlier on Monday compared with $1.3944 late Friday in New York.

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Apple Inc. is designing and making its own display screens for the first time at a secret facility near its California headquarters, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the situation. The company is testing small numbers of the screens as it gears up to invest in the development of next-generation MicroLED screens, Bloomberg reported. MicroLED screens are harder to make than the current OLED screens, as they use different light-emitting compounds and are expected to make devices slimmer, brighter and more power-efficient. The Apple move has implications for suppliers, inlcuding Samsung Electronics Co. , Japan Display Inc. , Sharp Corp. and LG Display Co. , as well as Synaptics Inc. , which makes chip-screen interfaces. Apple shares were down 1.1% premarket but have gained 27% in the last 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 19% and the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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