Tag: stock market

Shares of LendingClub Corp. shot up 18.3% in active afternoon trade, putting them on track for their biggest-ever one-day gain, to emphatically snap a six-session losing streak. Volume ballooned to 19.7 million shares, compared with the full-day average of about 8.0 million shares, according the FactSet. The company has not released any news and did file anything with the SEC. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The stock had plummeted 24% in the past six sessions, to close at a record low on Wednesday, since the lender reported fourth-quarter adjusted profit and sales that missed expectations. The percentage rally is currently just above the previous record 18.1% on Aug. 8, 2017. The stock went public in December 2014. Despite Thursday’s gain, the stock was still down 9.1% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has advanced 1.7%.

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Gold prices dropped Thursday to mark their lowest settlement of the year. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index pared much of its earlier climb, but held ground around its highest level in six weeks, continuing to pressure prices for dollar-denominated gold. On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made cautionary remarks about inflation, leading the dollar to pare some of its gains, but the Fed chief on Tuesday had suggested a more aggressive monetary policy, which boosted the greenback. April gold lost $12.70, or 1%, to settle at $1,305.20 an ounce. That was the lowest finish since Dec. 28, according to FactSet data.

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Currencies of steel-producing and commodity-linked economies weakened against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as President Trump said he would announce trade tariffs next week. He would introduce a 25% import tariff on steel and a 10% levy on aluminum, which bolstered stocks of U.S. steel producers. In 2017, the U.S. received the most steel imports from Canada, with the likes of Brazil, Mexico, and Russia also among top importers, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The tariffs would be broadly aimed rather than pinpointed at one particularly big metals-producing nations, according to a Thursday research note from Brown Brothers Harriman. “There is little doubt the U.S. action will see a World Trade Organization challenge,” the note said. Against the Canadian dollar , the greenback rose 0.4% to C$1.2881, while the Russian ruble was down 0.9%. The Brazilian real and Mexican peso , both slipped 0.3%. South Africa, which is heavily reliant on commodities, albeit accounting for a smaller chunk of U.S. imports, also saw a reaction in its currency, with the South African rand down 1.2%. China’s yuan , home to another steel exporting powerhouse, fell 0.4% and 0.5% against the dollar for its on-shore and off-shore traded currency, respectively.

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A former employee of Wells Fargo & Co. says the bank closed hundreds of customer accounts when fraud was suspected, rather than investigating the issues and helping customers get restitution, the New York Times reported Wednesday. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has logged dozens of complaints from Wells customers who say that they reported suspicious activity, only to have their accounts closed or frozen. “As always, our goal is to protect our customers and the bank from fraud, and we want to do so in ways that minimize the risk and impact on our customers,” a bank spokesman told the Times. The former employee filed a whistleblower suit against the bank Wednesday saying he was fired in retaliation for complaining about the improper account closings. Ongoing customer scandals have sent company shares down 3.5% over the past 12 months, in contrast to other banks which have charted double-digit gains.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average drifted to session lows Thursday afternoon as the stock market digested a second round of testimony from newly minted Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the threat of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The Dow was off 160 points, or 0.6%, at 24,875, with sharp declines in shares of United Technologies Corp. and Boeing Co. contributing the downward pressure on the blue-chip benchmark. The S&P 500 index was down 0.4% at 2,702, while the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.4% at 7,238. Stocks have been volatile but took a leg lower on reports that President Donald Trump would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. “We’re going to build our steel industry back and we’re going to build or aluminum industry back,” Trump said during a news conference on Thursday. “We’re going to be instituting tariffs next week,” the president said. Trump’s comments, from a White House gathering with leaders in the steel and aluminum business, raise the specter of protectionist trade policies that could unsettle investors–at least in the short term. Meanwhile, earlier Thursday, Powell attempted to moderate comments he made on Tuesday in congressional testimony by emphasizing that the economy wasn’t overheating.

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President Donald Trump told steel and aluminum executives on Thursday that the U.S. would announce tariffs on imports of those products next week, according to a White House pool report. Trump said the U.S. would set tariffs of 25% for steel and 10% for aluminum. Trump is meeting with executives of companies including U.S. Steel Corp. , Nucor Corp. and Century Aluminum Co. .

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Medicines Company shares surged 6.2% in heavy morning trade on Thursday after the company reported plans to restructure its board and reduce the number of board members from 12 to seven in a financial filing. The board has decided to nominate seven board members for election at the 2018 annual shareholder meeting, more than half of which are connected to activist investor Alex Denner of Sarissa Capital, according to a CNBC report. Denner, a Carl Icahn protégé and well-known biopharma hedge fund player, was previously appointed to the company’s board in early 2016. Medicines Company shares have surged 14.3% over the last three months, compared with a 2.5% rise in the S&P 500 .

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The Dow Jones Transportation Average shot up 101 points, or 1.0%, in midday trade Thursday, with 18 of 20 components gaining ground, bucking the slight weakness in its industrials counterpart. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 15 points, or 0.1%. Many market watchers view the Dow transports and Dow industrials as having a symbiotic relationship, the idea being one tracks companies that take the things that the companies in the other index makes. The indexes’ correlation coefficient is 0.9601 over the past 20 years, and 0.9775 over the past 10 years, according to an analysis of FactSet data. Among the Dow transports’ biggest gainers on Thursday, shares of United Parcel Service Inc. rallied 3.5%, CSC Corp. climbed 2.9% and Ryder Systems Inc. advanced 1.4%.

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Apple Inc. captured 87% of global smartphone industry profits in the December quarter, according to Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley, up from 72% in the September period. That profit-share growth stemmed from a greater mix of expensive iPhones, he wrote in a Thursday note to clients. The iPhone X began shipping during the December quarter. ” We believe strong sales and mix of the iPhone X will sustain strong gross margin dollars given the high price points and likely improving manufacturing efficiencies,” Walkley wrote, adding that he thinks Apple is increasing its leading share of the premium smartphone market. He believes a greater mix of OLED phones in the next cycle will help sales and margins. Apple shares are up 0.2% in Thursday morning trading and up 28% over the past 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 19%.

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Global wearable shipments rose 10.3% in 2017, according to market research firm IDC, as smartwatches gained popularity. IDC said Thursday that Apple Inc. led all wearable makers in shipments during the year, shipping 17.7 million devices, up 55.9% over 2016’s numbers. Apple doesn’t report its own shipment or sales numbers for the Apple Watch. Xiaomi shipped 15.7 million devices during 2017, according to IDC, while Fitbit Inc. shipped 15.4 million. “User tastes have become more sophisticated over the past several quarters and Apple pounced on the demand for cellular connectivity and streaming multimedia,” IDC research director Ramon Llamas said in a release. “What will bear close observation is how Apple will iterate upon these and how the competition chooses to keep pace.” IDC noted that several players exited the market in 2017. Apple shares are up 28% over the past 12 months, while Fitbit shares are down 23% and the S&P 500 Index is up 13%.

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