Tag: stock market

President Donald Trump is expected to nominate conservative health policy expert Dr. Scott Gottlieb to head the Food and Drug Administration, media outlets including Bloomberg, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Gottlieb, a former FDA deputy commissioner, is a partner at venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates and a fellow at the conservative-leaning think tank American Enterprise Institute. Gottlieb writes widely about health care issues, and has advocated for reducing the FDA’s regulatory role in various areas, including stem cells and medical devices. A survey done by Mizuho asking 53 drug companies which candidate they preferred found that the vast majority — 72% — liked Gottlieb. Gottlieb is a former “academic affiliate” of a group that defends pharmaceutical companies’ high drug prices, ProPublica reported late last month. SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF shares have surged 6.8% over the last three months, compared with a 4.8% rise in the S&P 500 .

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From:: Stock Market News

President Donald Trump is expected to nominate conservative health policy expert Dr. Scott Gottlieb to head the Food and Drug Administration, media outlets including Bloomberg, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Gottlieb, a former FDA deputy commissioner, is a partner at venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates and a fellow at the conservative-leaning think tank American Enterprise Institute. Gottlieb writes widely about health care issues, and has advocated for reducing the FDA’s regulatory role in various areas, including stem cells and medical devices. A survey done by Mizuho asking 53 drug companies which candidate they preferred found that the vast majority — 72% — liked Gottlieb. Gottlieb is a former “academic affiliate” of a group that defends pharmaceutical companies’ high drug prices, ProPublica reported late last month. SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF shares have surged 6.8% over the last three months, compared with a 4.8% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Shares of aircraft parts maker TransDigm Group Inc. fell another 4.5% Friday to lead the S&P 500 decliners, extending recent losses in a continued response to a report that the government is looking at ownership disclosures by subsidiaries. Short seller Citron Research added to the pressure with a comment piece Thursday saying the stock may be the new Valeant , referring to the troubled drug company. Citron assigned TransDigm stock a $140 price target, or about 40% below its current trading level, and said its “days of exploiting and deceiving the Federal Government are numbered”. Citron cited the report by “The Capitol Forum” that said the Defense Logistics Agency is evaluating disclosures from TransDigm subsidiaries after 12 of them provided inaccurate ownership information in a filing that is updated annually. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MarketWatch. But Citron said the company may be hiding its ownership to artificially inflate gross margins while avoiding price scrutiny from the government. TransDigm shares have fallen 7% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%.

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Viacom Inc.-owned Paramount Pictures could lose its $1 billion slate financing deal with China’s Huahua Media and Shanghai Film Group, according to a report by industry publication The Wrap. Huahua has been a financial and marketing partner for past Paramount films, such as “Transformers: Age of Extinction.” The Chinese company had agreed to be acquired by Oriental Time Media for about $158 million, but regulatory concerns reportedly caused OTM to withdraw its offer on March 9. Sources told The Wrap this would most likely prevent Huahua from funding Paramount’s film slate. That is a major blow to the studio that is in dire straits after a disappointing 2016 at the box office, coming in behind all of the Hollywood major studios in revenue for the last five years. Paramount Chief Executive Brad Gray announced in February he would step down as Viacom’s new CEO Bob Bakish laid out a plan to turn around the company that includes focusing on getting Paramount Pictures back on track. Shares of Viacom’s publicly-owned class B shares were down more than 2% in afternoon trade on Friday, but have gained nearly 14% in the trailing 12-month period. The S&P 500 index is up almost 19% during the same time frame.

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The euro and European bond yields surged on Friday after Bloomberg reported that the European Central Bank is said to have discussed whether they could raise interest rates before ending their program of monthly asset purchases. The euro was up nearly 0.8% in recent trade at $1.0671, its highest level since Feb. 17. The yield on the German 10-year note , considered the European benchmark, rose five basis points to 0.479%, its highest level since Feb. 1. If true, this would suggest that the central bank is seriously considering a further rollback of its expansionary monetary policy. ECB President Mario Draghi played down such concerns during a news conference on Thursday by saying that the recent improvements in euro-area growth and inflation were largely due to transient factors like rising food and energy prices, and that, though he is “more optimistic” about the outlook for the eurozone, the risks to growth remain tilted toward the downside. When asked if rates could rise before the end of QE, Draghi replied that policy makers wanted to see further evidence of a sustainable rise in growth and inflation before they remove policy accommodation.

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Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. slumped almost 3% in early trade Friday, after the company lowered its unit revenue outlook for the first quarter. Dallas-based Southwest said it now expects unit revenue to fall 2% to 3% in the three-month period. Unit revenue measures how much passengers pay per mile flown. The airline had previously guided to a reading of flat to down 1%. Southwest said heavy rainfall in California hurt traffic, while it experienced “unexpected softness” in the second half of February. The company flew 8.7 billion revenue passenger miles in February, up 1.1% from a year ago. Meanwhile, JetBlue Airways Corp. said it expects unit revenue to fall 4% to 5% in the first quarter, hurt by the shift in the timing of the Easter holiday to April from March. Southwest shares have gained 29% in the last 12 months, and JetBlue shares have fallen 2.6%. The S&P 500 is up about 19% in the same period.

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U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday after the February payroll report showed more jobs added in the month than had been expected, the latest positive read on the labor market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 20,928. The S&P 500 advanced 0.4% to 2,374. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.5% to 5,866. The jobs number was seen as confirming the view that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates at its upcoming meeting next week. Bank stocks were among the strongest gainers of the day on Friday; not only does the sector outperform in times of stronger economic growth, but it tends to benefit from an environment with higher interest rates. Goldman Sachs rose 0.4% while J.P. Morgan Chase & Co added 0.4%.

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Treasury yields retreated on Friday after official data showed that U.S. employers created more jobs than expected in February, but wage growth remained unexpectedly weak. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was off nearly three basis points at 2.580% in recent trade, while the 30-year yield was down two points at 3.173%. The yield on the two-year note , considered the most sensitive to interest-rate hike expectations, was down 1.1 basis point at 1.368%. The U.S. economy created 235,000 jobs in February, surpassing expectations for a 221,000 increase, but average hourly wages rose just 0.2%, undershooting expectations for the second month in a row. Wages are considered an important precursor to consumer-price inflation, as companies raise prices on their goods to offset higher labor costs. Thus, the weaker than expected number helped rein in inflation expectations, which have been partly responsible for the jump in yields since the Nov. 8 U.S. election. Typically, when investors expect consumer prices to rise, they demand a higher return on their bond investors to offset that increase.

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U.S. stock futures added to gains after data showing the economy added 235,000 jobs in February, pushing unemployment rate to 4.7%, both numbers exceeding Wall Street expectations. The government said 238,000 new jobs were created in January instead of 227,000. The final and the most important data point before the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week all but confirms a rate increase. The S&P 500 futures rose 10 points, or 0.4%, at 2,376. The Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 21 points, or 0.4% at 5,387. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 91 points or 0.4%, to 20,961.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. added 235,000 new jobs in February, helped by a big gain in construction, in a sign the economy is still chugging along. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 221,000 increase in nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.7% from 4.8%, the government said Friday. Average wages rose 0.2% to $26.09 an hour. Hourly pay increased 2.8% from February 2016 to February 2017, up from 2.6% in the prior month. Hours worked was unchanged at 34.4 a week. The government said 238,000 new jobs were created in January instead of 227,000. December’s gain was trimmed to 155,000 from 157,000.

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