Tag: stock market

Gold futures settled higher on Wednesday, rebounding from losses over the past four trading sessions even as U.S. equities climbed on the back of optimism surrounding the Trump administration’s plans to deliver tax reforms. April gold rose $7.70, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,233.10 an ounce after tallying a four-session loss of more than 1%.

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Top Senate Republicans have urged the White House to withdraw Andrew Puzder’s nomination for labor secretary, CNN reported Wednesday afternoon. A senior Republican source said there are four firm “no” votes from GOP senators on his nomination and possibly up to 12. Puzder, a fast-food executive, has faced criticism including for hiring an undocumented housekeeper. His Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

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U.S. stocks on Wednesday were looking at their longest record-setting streak in 25 years as the Dow industrials, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite all climbed. If all three indexes close higher on Wednesday, it will mark five consecutive days of all three setting record highs at the same time, the longest such streak of simultaneous records since a six-session string ended Jan. 3, 1992, according to Dow Jones data. At last check, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 84 points, or 0.4%, at 20,589; the S&P 500 index was up 7 points, or 0.3%, at 2,344; and the Nasdaq Composite Index was gaining 22 points, or 0.4%, at 5,804.

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Three interest-rate hikes in 2017 is likely to be the appropriate path for Federal Reserve policy, assuming the economy stays on track, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said Wednesday. “The overall economy is in pretty good shape,” Harker said in a speech at an outlook conference sponsored by La Salle University. Inflation has been stubbornly low but should rise to the Fed’s 2% target sometime this year or next. The economy has reached the “natural rate” of unemployment, he said. Harker said that policies to grow the economy faster than a 2% rate depend on policies outside the Fed’s purview.

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday that it has acquired Moosejaw, an online outdoor retailer that carries brands such as Marmot and Patagonia, for about $51 million. The deal closed on Feb. 13. Besides its online presence, Moosejaw also has 10 store locations. Moosejaw was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Madison Heights, MI. Moosejaw will continue to run as a standalone brand and Chief Executive Eoin Comerford and his team will be based in Michigan. Wal-Mart shares are nearly flat in Wednesday trading, and up 3.7% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 25.5%.

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President Donald Trump said Wednesday a “massive tax plan” would be unveiled in the “not-too-distant future.” Commenting at the beginning of a meeting with retail executives, Trump said his plan would lower rates “substantially” for individuals and businesses. He did not mention House Republicans’ so-called border-adjusted tax, which retailers oppose.

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported a sixth straight weekly increase in crude-oil supplies, lifting total commercial inventories to a record weekly level, based on data going back to 1982. Crude stockpiles rose 9.5 million barrels to total 518.1 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 10, the EIA said. The previous record was at roughly 512.1 million barrels for the week ended April 29, 2016. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a 9.9 million-barrel climb for crude supplies, according to sources, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a climb of 3.25 million barrels. Gasoline supplies rose by 2.8 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles were down 700,000 barrels last week, according to the EIA. March crude fell 24 cents, or 0.5%, at $52.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading at $53.13 before the supply data.

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Industrial production fell 0.3% in January, the largest drop since September, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 0.4% drop. Also, December production was revised down to a 0.6% gain from a previously 0.8% gain. The weakness in January was led by a decline in utility output. Manufacturing output rose 0.2% in January.

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U.S. stock-market indexes opened little-changed on Wednesday, as investors took a break from a four-day record run. Investors digested a trio of stronger-than-expected economic data and earnings. The S&P 500 opened off 2 points, or 0.1%, at 2,335, hovering near record close, set on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite began the session down 5 points, or 0.1% at 5,777. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat 20,503 at the open.

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Treasury yields touched their highest levels in more than two weeks on Wednesday after a strong reading on consumer-price inflation was seen strengthening the Federal Reserve’s case for raising interest rates as early as March. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.517%, its highest level since Jan. 27, while the yield on the two-year Treasury note rose 2.5 basis points to 1.259%, its highest level sine Jan. 9. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond rose 4.3 basis points to 3.097%, its highest since Feb. 3. Yields rise as bond prices fall. Market strategists attributed the move to a stronger-than-anticipated reading on consumer-price inflation, which accelerated to 2.5% during the 12 months ending in January. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen rattled the Treasury market on Tuesday while testifying before the Senate Banking Committee when she said waiting too long to raise interest rates would be “unwise.” “Yesterday, we saw a hawkish Fed. Now, we’re getting corroboration on the data side of things,” said Subadra Rajappa, fixed-income strategist at Société Générale. Market-based expectations for a March hike also rose after the data. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which derives rate-hike odds from activity in the Fed funds futures market, put the probability of a hike at 22%.

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