Tag: stock market

U.S. oil futures on Monday marked the best single-session rally in nearly a year–on a dollar basis–as the crude market was rattled by political disruptions over the weekend in Saudi Arabia that saw officials and members of the royal family detained. December West Texas Intermediate crude-oil futures closed up $1.71, or 3.1%, at $57.35 a barrel, marking the sharpest move on a dollar basis for a most-active contract since Nov. 30, when prices jumped $4.21, or 9.3%, in a single session after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries struck an agreement to cap output and stabilize oil prices, according to FactSet data. On a percentage basis, the rally for U.S. listed oil was the biggest one-day rise since Sept. 25.

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Gold futures settled sharply higher Monday, along with broader gains in the commodity complex, as a surge in prices of crude oil offered some signs of a potential increase in inflation, bullish for precious metals’ prices. December gold finished up $12.40, or 1%, at $1,281.60 an ounce., marking the best single session gain since late Sept., according to FactSet data. U.S. crude prices jumped more than 2% on Monday, while the U.S. dollar, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index , retreated. Higher oil prices can be seen as precursor to a rise in inflation and gold is often bought as a hedge against a pickup in prices. Weakness in the U.S. dollar can make assets priced in the currency, including metals, more attractive to buyers using weaker monetary units. The dollar index was down 0.2% at 94.77 on Monday.

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Shares of 21st Century Fox Inc. were up more than 5% during intraday trade on Monday after a report that the company has been in talks to sell most of the company to Walt Disney Co. . Disney shares were up a little more than 1%. CNBC, citing sources, said that Fox management believes a tighter group of assets focused around news and sports would better compete in the marketplace, suggesting that the talks have centered on Fox’s entertainment properties, such as its film arm 20th Century Fox. Shares of 21st Century Fox are down more than 6% in the year to date, and Disney shares are down more than 4%. By comparison the S&P 500 index is up nearly 16% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 19%.

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Richard Berner will step down from his position as director of the Office of Financial Research at the Treasury Department at the end of this year, Treasury said Monday. Berner was confirmed by the Senate for the position in January 2013. In a statement, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Berner was “instrumental” in the launch of the office, which was designed to serve the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

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Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ran up 2.3% in morning trade Monday, on track for a record close, after Oppenheimer raised its price target on the back of “another strong quarter.” Last Thursday, the stock had hit an all-time intraday high of $191.22 after earnings and profit beat expectations, but the stock turned lower to close 0.7% below its Nov. 1 record close of $186.08, amid margin concerns. Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein raised his stock price target to $220 from $200, as Alibaba’s results have made him more bullish on valuations for the company’s AliCloud and Ant Financial businesses, which offsets any concerns over lower retail margins. He reiterated the outperform rating he’s had on the stock since he started covering it three years ago. “Overall, we believe [Alibaba] is uniquely positioned to benefit from the rise of Chinese middle-class consumption,” Helfstein wrote in a note to clients. The stock has more than doubled year to date, while U.S.-based rival Amazon.com Inc. shares have rallied 50% and the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Apple Inc. is again tapping the bond market with a six-part deal of fixed-rate notes that could raise about $7 billion, CreditSights said Monday. The company is planning to issue 2-year, 3-year, five-year, seven-year, 10-year and 30-year notes, said the research firm. “The timing is good for Apple given its excellent fourth-quarter results and strong initial indications for iPhone X demand,” analyst Jordan Chalfin wrote in commentary. “However, it’s unusual for Apple to be so active in the debt markets in the second half of the calendar year. Apple is clearly not waiting on tax reform which the GOP is hoping to be effective for January 1, 2018.” CreditSights is sticking with a market perform recommendation on Apple’s bonds, and remains cautious on the longer maturities, he said. On the equity side, Apple shares were up 1.2% Monday, while the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.02%.

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Shares of Nutanix Inc. ran up 5.2% in morning trade Monday, putting it on track to close at an eight-month high, after Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold turned bullish on the enterprise-computing company for the first time, citing favorable checks that suggest continued sales momentum and competitive position. Leopold raised his rating to outperform, after being at market perform since he started covering the company in October 2016, about a month after the IPO. He initiated a stock price target of $32, which is 11% above current levels. Leopold said recent checks into its current business were “favorable,” and said the company appears to benefit from a “conflicting pitch” by competitors. “Dell, EMC and VMware do not present a unified pitch, and customers are gravitating to Nutanix (iroincally, often promoted by Dell),” Leopold wrote in a note to clients. He expects Nutanix to beat revenue expectations when it reports fiscal first-quarter results on Nov. 28. The stock has rallied 34% over the past three months, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 has climbed 7.0% and the S&P 500 has gained 4.6%.

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Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said Monday it has designed a graphics processor unit (GPU) that can be integrated into a new multi-chip processor package designed by rival chip maker Intel Corp. , confirming a report in The Wall Street Journal. The new product integrates an Intel Core processor, AMD’s Radeon graphics chip and second-generation high bandwidth memory into a single package. Intel expects the new product to launch in the first quarter of 2018. “Together, we are offering gamers and content creators the opportunity to have a thinner-and-lighter PC capable of delivering discrete performance-tier graphics experiences in AAA games and content creation applications,” said Scott Herkelman, general manager at AMD Radeon Technologies Group. AMD’s stock surged 6.7% in morning trade, with volume ballooning to already nearly half the full-day average. Intel’s stock edged up 0.4% and Nvidia shares slipped 0.4%. Year to date, AMD’s stock has gained 4.2%, while the S&P 500 has gained 15.6%.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw muted opening trade on Monday as investors digested a proposal by chip-maker Broadcom for rival Qualcomm and crude-oil prices nearing a 2-year high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading up less than 0.1% at 23,542, still sufficient to represent a new all-time high, the S&P 500 index was up less than 1 point, or 0.1%, at 2,588, near an intraday record at 2,588.39. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index was advancing fractionally, gaining less than 0.1%, at 6,774, but moves for the technology-laden benchmark were enough to carve out an intraday high at 6,774.69. Qualcomm Inc. shares rose after Broadcom Ltd. announced an unsolicited proposal to buy it, valued at $130 billion, including $25 billion in debt. Meanwhile, crude-oil prices were up $55.69 a barrel, as investors watched news of a purge in Saudi Arabian royals and ministers.

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Target Corp. said it will be open on Thanksgiving Day, from 6 p.m. to midnight, then will reopen at 6 a.m. on Black Friday. The discount retailer said that some of the deep discounts it will be offering on Black Friday will be available online on Wednesday at Target.com for REDcard holders. Shoppers who spend $50 on Friday, Nov. 24, will receive a coupon for 20% off a future shopping trip. A Black Friday preview sale will be available Monday, Nov. 6, online, until 11:59 p.m. PST. The stock slipped 0.7% in morning trade, while the S&P S&P Retail ETF eased 0.1%. Over the past three months, Target’s stock has gained 2.6% while the retail ETF has lost 3.1% and the S&P 500 has climbed 4.5%.

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