Tag: stock market

Chevron Corp. has signed a preliminary deal with China’s Zhenhua Oil, a state-run oil and gas explorer, to sell its major natural gas fields in Bangladesh for about $2 billion, Reuters reported, citing Beijing-based oil executives. Bangladesh, with rights of first refusal on those gas fields, could scupper the deal, as its national oil company Petrobangla is trying to drum up financing to purchase them, the report said, citing sources. A spokesperson for Zhenhua Oil, Zhang Xiodi, declined to comment to Reuters. A spokesperson for Chevron could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Grupo Aeromexico SAB de CV said its board would accept Delta Air Lines Inc.’s offer to acquire a 49% stake in the company. Back in November, Delta offered to increase its interest in the Mexican airline from its current 4.3% stake for 43.59 pesos a share, and on Feb. 13 boosted that offer to 53 pesos a share because of a decline in the peso. Since November, Aeromexico shares have risen 25% in local currency and last closed at 46.93 pesos a share. Aeromexico, in a statement, said its board “considers such price is both supported from a financial perspective and represents fair value.” Delta shares declined 0.1% to $51.15 after hours.

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Toll Brothers Inc. said late Tuesday it would start paying a quarterly dividend to shareholders. The Horsham, Pa.-based luxury home builder said its board approved a quarterly dividend of 8 cents a share payable on April 28 to shareholders of record as of April 14. Previously, Toll Brothers said it did not pay a dividend on the belief that “earnings are best utilized by investing in internal growth opportunities, such as expansion within current geographic markets and into new geographic territories,” according to the company’s website. Shares of Toll Brothers slipped 0.4% to $31.86 after hours.

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Shares of Papa John’s International Inc. fell more than 3% late Tuesday as the pizza chain reported quarterly sales below Wall Street expectations. Papa John’s said it earned $32.6 million, or 88 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $24.7 million, or 62 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned 69 cents a share, compared with 62 cents a share a year ago. Quarterly sales rose 5.5% to $440 million. North America comparable sales rose 3.8% in the quarter and 3.5% in 2016, while international comparable sales rose 5.6% for the three-month period and 6% for the year, the company said in a statement. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 66 cents a share on sales of $447 million.

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Facebook Inc. is in discussions with Major League Baseball to air one game a week on its social network, Reuters reported Tuesday. Social networks believe their platforms are a “second screen” that sports fans rely on while watching games, and are eager to test the popularity of combining the viewing of video and the commentary that takes place on social networks into a single feed. Offering a free weekly baseball game would be one way to counter social-networking rival Twitter Inc.’s ambitions in sports broadcasting. Twitter began streaming a weekly National Football League game on Thursday nights last year. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg discussed Facebook’s video ambitions last month in a conference call related to earnings, saying Facebook would focus on short-form video with an eye toward longer-form offerings in the future. “We want people to think of Facebook as a place for interesting and relevant video content from professional creators as well as their friends,” Zuckerberg said then. “Last year, we started to invest in more original video content to help seed the ecosystem, and we’re planning to do more in 2017.” Reuters cited two anonymous sources in its report, adding that one said the talks were at an advanced stage.

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First Solar Inc. shares rose 1.6% late Tuesday after the solar-panel maker and solar-power developer reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and sales above expectations. First Solar said it lost $6.92 a share in the quarter, versus earnings of $1.63 a share in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, First Solar earned $1.24 a share in the quarter. Sales fell to $480 million in the quarter from $942 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of $1.01 a share on sales of $404 million for the Tempe, Ariz., company in the quarter. First Solar also tweaked higher its expectations for 2017 sales to between $2.8 billion and $2.9 billion, from a range between $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion. Shares ended the regular trading session up 5.1%.

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San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams said Tuesday that blockchain technology could lower costs while making record keeping easier and more efficient. Williams, who was speaking at Boise State University, also said that people increasingly understand that bitcoin won’t replace government-issued currencies like the U.S. dollar. Back in December, the Fed published a paper examining how blockchain technology could be applied in the financial industry. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen has previously said that blockchain technology could have a significant impact on the payments system.

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U.S. stocks extended their record winning streak on Tuesday, with all three equity benchmarks ending at all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 112.82 points to 20,737.83, a rise of 0.6%. The S&P 500 added 13.92 points, or 0.6%, to 2,365.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 27.37 points, or 0.5%, to 5,865.95. The day’s rally was broad, with all 11 of the S&P 500’s primary sectors ending up on the day, though defensive industries – including real estate, consumer staples, and utilities – provided the biggest boost, with all three rising at least 1%. With the day’s move, the Dow rose for an eighth straight session, while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted their ninth advance of the past 10 sessions. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot Inc. were among the strongest gainers of the day, with both climbing in the wake of strong quarterly results. Wal-Mart popped 3% while Home Depot rose 1.3%.

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s stock surged 3.2% in afternoon trade Tuesday, after the discount retail giant reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and same-store sales that beat expectations. That put the stock, which paced the gainers within the Dow Jones Industrial Average , on track to post the biggest one-day percentage gain since it soared 9.6% on May 19, 2016, after first-quarter results. The price gain of $2.21 was adding 15 points to the Dow’s price, which was up 123 points in record territory. Wal-Mart shares are also on course for a fifth-straight gain, the longest such stretch since the six-session win streak ended Oct. 31, 2016. Wal-Mart’s stock has rallied 11% over the past 12 months, while the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF has tacked on 8.3% and the S&P 500 has climbed 23%.

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Crude-oil futures on Tuesday ended sharply higher amid growing optimism about compliance to a global pact to curb crude output, but the commodity ended off its best levels as an OPEC boss talked down the prospect of an extension to the pact to shrink production. Crude-oil prices for April finished up 55 cents, or 1%, at $54.33 a barrel. Those for March , which expire Tuesday, settled up 66 cents, or 1.2%, at 54.06 a barrel. Gains for crude were supported by comments from OPEC’s Secretary-General, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, who offered encouragement about the effectiveness of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ recent agreement to cut production globally by about 2%. However, Barkindo, who spoke during a International Petroleum Week conference in London on Tuesday, however, said it was too early to begin thinking about extending that six-month agreement, which began Jan.1 another six months, to the end of 2017.

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