Wondering What’s Happening in the Financial Markets Today? Take a Look at These 34 Stories!

1. U.S. Stock Market:

“Stocks rose on Wall Street on Thursday, capping a wave of declines in major world equity markets triggered by uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s agenda, with the U.S. dollar also recovering slightly after five days of losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 21.16 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,628.09, the S&P 500 gained 4.9 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,361.93 and the Nasdaq Composite added 29.25 points, or 0.49 percent, to 6,040.49.”

(Reuters)

 

“U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday, recovering from their worst day of 2017, as investors assessed President Donald Trump’s chances of moving forward with his pro-growth agenda. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 140 points after a lower open, with UnitedHealth contributing the most gains. Cisco Systems, though, fell 7.3 percent after the company issued weak guidance. The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent, with telecommunications advancing 1.7 percent to lead advancers. The Nasdaq composite outperformed, gaining 0.98 percent.”

(CNBC)

 

“U.S. stocks Thursday afternoon traded firmly higher, with the Dow up by more than 100 points, following the previous session’s brutal selloff, as positive data offered a glimmer of optimism and technology provided an additional fillip to the market. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.82% COMP, +0.82% was up 51 points, or 0.9%, at 6,062, after briefly losing its grip on the psychologically significant level of 6,000 in opening trade. he Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.46%  was up 109 points, or 0.5%, at 20,715, led higher by shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT, +3.06% which climbed 2.9% as earnings beat Wall Street forecasts, but revenue fell slightly short. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.55%  rose 14 points, or 0.6%, to 2,371, as all 11 sectors traded higher with the telecom, consumer-discretionary and health-care sectors leading the charge.”

(Market Watch)

2. U.S. Bond Market:

“U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday as investors worried that allegations against U.S. President Donald Trump would divert lawmakers from tax cuts and fiscal spending that they had hoped would boost growth. Yields on benchmark 10-year notes fell to one-month lows of 2.18 percent on strong buying overnight after Reuters reported that Michael Flynn and other advisers to Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race.”

(Reuters)

“The U.S. Treasuries rallied on expectations of a rise in the country’s initial jobless claims, scheduled to be released later in the day. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury slumped 2 basis points to 2.19 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields fell nearly 1 basis point to 2.88 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year note also traded 1 basis point lower at 1.24 percent.”

(EconoTimes)

“Nevertheless, Treasurys caught a bid as investors sought safety, building in gains made on Wednesday’s session. The benchmark 10-year note yield fell to 2.2034 percent and the short-term two-year note yield dropped to 1.24 percent. Treasurys staged their second-biggest rally of the year Wednesday, as expectations faded that Trump can get tax reform or fiscal stimulus through Congress this year, or maybe even next year.”

(CNBC)

3. FX Markets:

 

“The dollar fell to fresh three-week lows against the yen on Thursday and was stuck near six month lows against a currency basket as concerns over the future of Donald Trump’s presidency mounted. The dollar fell to fresh three-week lows against the safe haven yen, with USD/JPY down 0.35% to 110.43 having ended the previous session down 2.03%, the largest one day decline since July 29, 2016. The euro was slightly lower, with EUR/USD slipping 0.25% to 1.1129 after rising to six-month peaks of 1.1172 earlier. Meanwhile, sterling rose above the $1.30 level for the first time since September on Thursday after data showing that UK retail sales notched up their biggest gain since January 2016 last month.”

(Investing.com)

 

“The pound on Thursday rose above $1.30 for the first time since September following a better-than-expected reading on U.K. retail sales, as the dollar largely continued to lose ground against its major rivals. The British currency GBPUSD, +0.4086% was changing hands at $1.3035, up from $1.2971 late Wednesday in New York. It traded as high as $1.3046 intraday after data showed U.K. retail sales grew by 2.3% on the month in April, well above expectations. In other currencies trading, the euro EURUSD, -0.3674% was at $1.1121, down from $1.1159 late Wednesday in New York, while the dollar USDJPY, +0.23% bought 110.49 yen, down from 110.81 yen.”

(Market Watch)

 

4. Commodities:

 

“Oil prices pulled back on Thursday, paring gains after the U.S. reported mixed data showing the pace of inventory falls slowed, triggering worries that the supply overhang would last for longer. A fall in production, however, helped underpin prices. After settling on Wednesday at their highest levels in nearly a month, Brent crudeLCON7, -0.21%, the global oil benchmark, fell 93 cents, or 1.8%, to $51.29 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures CLM7, -0.37% were trading down 85 cents, or 1.7%, to $48.22 a barrel.”

(Market Watch)

“The gold market is seeing modest profit taking following strong than expected manufacturing data within the Philadelphia region. The index for current general activity in the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing business outlook survey surged higher in May to a reading of 38.8, up from April’s reading of 22, the regional central bank reported Thursday. The consensus expectations compiled by various news organizations were for a reading of around 19.9. “This month, the index recovered some of the declines of the previous two months, but it still remains slightly below its high reading of 43.3 in February,” the report said. In reaction to the data, gold prices are down slightly from their two-week highs hit overnight. June Comex gold futures last traded at $1,260.20 up 0.12% on the day.”

(Kitco News)

“Oil prices pulled back on Thursday, paring gains after the U.S. reported mixed data showing the pace of inventory falls slowed, triggering worries that the supply overhang would last for longer. A fall in production, however, helped underpin prices. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.2% to $51.59 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 1.2% at $48.49 a barrel.”

(Fox Business)

 

5. Market Movers:

 

Ascena Retail Group Inc (NASDAQ:ASNA) shares crashed as much as 43% on Thursday after the company gave a grave warning to investors yesterday. For its fiscal third quarter, Ascena said in a statement that it expects a same-store sales decline of 8%, compared to the 4.8% slip analysts surveyed at Factset were expecting. The company said for the full year, it anticipates its comparable store sales to drop 6% to 7%. Ascena also revised its third-quarter earnings outlook down to 4 cents to 6 cents a share for the third quarter, a far cry from its earlier guidance of 7 cents to 12 cents. The company expects to generate earnings of 10 cents to 15 cents a share for the full year.

(TheStreet)

 

Sohu.com Inc (NASDAQ:SOHU) has been climbing since the open of trade Thursday. The stock is now up 3.35 at $44.89, with volume beginning to accelerate in the last 15 minutes. Sohu.com has surged to a 7 1/2 month high.

(RTT News)

Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) P 5.94% shares are trading higher by $0.45 (4.8 percent) at $9.38 in Thursday’s session. The Street appears to be putting little faith in the rumor circulated by the New York Post that the company might be acquired by Sirius XM Holdings Inc. SIRI 4.12% for $13 per share. In fact, off the higher open, Pandora’s stock couldn’t even clear Tuesday’s high of $9.74, only reaching $9.71 and reversing course. It’s now attempting to find support in the area of the upper-range from Wednesday, as $9.31 stands as the low for the session as of 10:33 a.m. ET.

(Benzinga)

GlycoMimetics Inc (NASDAQ:GLYC), a national clinical stage biotechnology company yesterday announced that they received FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designations for treatment of adult relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) of the company’s drug candidate GMI-1271. During a Phase 2 study the drug GMI-1271 achieved better than expected mortality rates in patients with relapsed/refractory AML as well as newly diagnosed patients. GLYC opened trading yesterday at $5.38 which was up from the previous day’s trading close of $5.37. GLYC closed trading yesterday at $5.37 and spiked up after market to $7.52, equivalent to a 40% increase from the closing price.

(Investing.com)

Endologix, Inc. (NASDAQ:ELGX) gapped open sharply lower Thursday morning and has continued to fall in early trade. The stock is now down 2.35 at $4.38 on above average volume. Endologix has dropped below support and has set a new low for the year. Endologix announced Wednesday that, after a meeting with the FDA, it will conduct a confirmatory clinical study of its Nellix EVAS System. The company now estimates that PMA approval will occur in 2020.

(RTT News)

Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) were higher in early trade on Thursday after it reported better-than-expected quarterly sales, as its competitive pricing brought more shoppers into its stores and its effort to expand its online presence paid off.

(CNBC)

Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ADR) (NYSE:ITUB) stock price tumbled -3.32% to finalize at $12.53 throughout previous buying and selling session. A total of 12.63 million shares exchanged at hands and its average trading volume is standing at 11.04 million shares. Important factors to focus when evaluating a stock’s present and future value are the 52 week price high and low levels. Shares of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (ITUB) are trading -7.14% downward from the 52-week high mark and 83.18% above from the fifty two-week low mark.

(WSNews4Investors)

What happened: Shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) are rallying more than 15% at 1:30 p.m. EDT Thursday after analysts at Leerink slapped a $6 price target on the stock, citing attractive potential rewards associated with the company’s collaboration deal with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). So what: As a refresher, Achillion Pharmaceuticals licensed its hepatitis C drug pipeline to J&J in 2015, and ever since, J&J has been responsible for managing the two companies’ research into a next-generation hepatitis C therapy that could reduce treatment duration while delivering near-100% functional cure rates.

(The Motley Fool)

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) fell by more than 7% in after-hours trading today after the company reported lower revenue on a yearly basis in its third fiscal quarter and also forecast weaker revenue in the fourth quarter. In the three months ended April 29th, the Cisco posted revenue of $11.9 billion, down 1% year over year, driven by weaker service revenue and flat product revenue. Despite the decline, CEO Chuck Robbins said he was pleased with the company’s progress in transforming its business.

(Library For Smart Investors)

What happened: Think the ongoing investigation into possible ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign has done a number on U.S. stock markets this week? Well, count your lucky stars you don’t live in Brazil. This morning, Brazilian industrial and utilities stocks are tumbling. As of 11 a.m. EDT, shares of the following companies are down: Cia Energetica de Minas Gerais CEMIG-ADR (NYSE:CIG) — 15.5%. Companhia de Saneamento Basico (NYSE: SBS) — 15.5%.  Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (NYSE: SID) — 15.2%. Cosan Ltd. (NYSE: CZZ) — 10.5%. Gerdau SA (NYSE: GGB) — 12.5%. So what: CNN has the story in a nutshell. Nine months after Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff was impeached and driven from office for “breaking budgetary laws,” local paper O Globo is reporting that her replacement, Michel Temer, is now in trouble as well.

(Madison.com)

Shares of Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) have been moving lower in early trading. At the time of writing, the stock had slid down -8.72% since the open. This downward move has put the stock in the top loser category moving into the second half of the trading period.Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) is seeing declines so far in today’s trading session.  Shares are moving -8.72% lower on solid volume. The stock has landed on the top loser list for the day according to Finviz data. Stocks whose market prices drop the most during the trading day are bluntly referred to as losers.  Stocks that lose the most value relative to their price at opening are called percentage losers, and the stocks that lose the greatest number of points are called net losers or, sometimes, dollar losers.

(Aiken Advocate)

Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) traded up 1.89% during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.50. The company had a trading volume of 12,032,530 shares. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.78. The stock’s market capitalization is $4.70 billion. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl has a 1-year low of $8.31 and a 1-year high of $32.74. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE:VRX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.87 by $1.93.

(The Cerbat Gem)

What happened: ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN) is up 10.6% at 1:19 p.m. EDT following last night’s release of abstracts for this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting and a press release of updated data. So what: As previously discussed, there are two sets of data that ImmunoGen’s investors should be focused on: pooled phase 1 data testing mirvetuximab soravtansine as a monotherapy and combination data from the phase 1b FORWARD II trial testing mirvetuximab soravtansine with other oncology drugs.

(The Motley Fool)

Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) INCY 6.82% rose 7.9 percent to $130.00 in pre-market trading. Incyte disclosed that its IDO1 enzyme inhibitor in combo with Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy is ‘well-tolerated and demonstrated durable clinical responses across multiple solid tumors’. The company also announced that first data from combo of epacadostat with Bristol-Myers’ opdivo showed that combo is ‘well-tolerated and demonstrates promising clinical outcomes in multiple advanced solid tumors.’

(Benzinga)

Sprint Corp (NYSE:S) stock opened its trade at $7.34. The stock’s current trading price is $7.80 by scoring 6.34%. The overall volume in the last trading session was 16.39 million shares, versus the average volume of 15.57 million shares. Sprint Corp (NYSE:S) have shown a low EPS growth of -73.48% in the last 5 years and has earnings growth of 49.20% yoy. Analysts have a mean recommendation of 2.70 on this stock (A rating of less than 2 means buy, “hold” within the 3 range, “sell” within the 4 range, and “strong sell” within the 5 range). The stock appeared -19.82% below its 52-week highs and is down -6.85% for the last five trades.

(WallStreetNews24)

 

6. Interesting Reads

 

“Toy injuries resulted in 185,000 visits to the emergency room and 11 deaths among children under the age of 15 in 2015, according to a report (PDF) released Thursday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Cuts and bruises were the most common injuries, and the head and the face were the most affected areas of the body. Riding toys, specifically non-motorized scooters, were responsible for 45% of the toy-related deaths. The report comes just in time for the holiday shopping season. “We want consumers to enjoy their time, with holiday gifts being a source of joy rather than a source of pain,” Consumer Product Safety Commission spokeswoman Nikki Fleming said.”

(CNN)

“Researchers have developed a much needed alternative to bone grafts that could help alleviate the long-term hospitalization, disability, and considerable costs to the health system associated with non-healing fractures. Roughly 100,000 broken bones every year in the United States fail to heal properly, resulting in nonunion fractures, and more than 2 million bone grafts are performed around the world annually in attempts to treat these challenging injuries. Harvesting fresh bone from patients, however, is often painful and donated grafts from tissue banks frequently fail to integrate. Now, Maxim Bez and colleagues devised a two-step gene therapy method coupled with FDA-approved ultrasound and microbubbles that completely healed nonunion fractures in pigs within eight weeks of treatment.”

(Science Daily)

“The number of devices with digital assistants built-in will grow to over 7.5 billion in 2021, according to new forecasts by the research and consulting firm Ovum. That just surpasses the current world population, according to the US Census Bureau. In their analysis, Ovum breaks out the various digital assistants and discusses their past and future. In 2016, about 3.5 billion active devices were already on the market, says Ovum, and that number will grow quickly as more types of devices introduce digital assistants. For instance, most of the devices hosting digital assistants on them right now are phones, but with the rise of smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, smart TVs and connected cars, the territory for assistants to claim will only grow.”

(CNET)

“Facebook Messenger is getting a new look. No, it’s not getting rid of its Stories feature, Messenger Day, but is instead making a series a smaller changes to the way the content on its home screen is organized in an effort to speed navigation and help you pick up where you left off on your last visit. The update introduces new tabs to the top of Messenger’s main screen for moving between your messages, active contacts, and groups. In addition, the app will now push you to visit other areas by using a red dot on various sections and tabs to let you know when there’s activity.”

(Tech Crunch)

“The battle between the Google Home and the Amazon Echo keeps getting better and better. Yesterday, a year after Google first announced the Home and the Google Assistant, the search giant might have just shown the road map to put the Home ahead for good. To this point, the Google Home smart speaker has lagged behind Amazon’s competing Echo devices in terms of the things it can do. Amazon had a head start with Echo, bringing it to the market in 2014, and as a result, the Echo has more than 10,000 skills and works directly with dozens of internet connected hardware products. The Google Home only started with four device partners, but it has been catching up.”

(CNET)

“Which are the smartphones with the best earphones? It seems like the phones these days have gone far beyond their primary function – they are not used just for calling other users, but for many other features like internet access, social media, camera, audio player and so on. This technology is developing rapidly and every company is trying to offer smartphone models with better performances in order to satisfy the needs of their customers and attract new customers as well. Then, what do people love the most about their smartphone?”

(Insider Monkey)

“Which are the 10 least aerodynamic cars ever made? Do Fiat Multipla, the AMC Pacer or Pontiac Aztec belong on the list? Although those are some weird looking cars the answer is no, this is not the ugliest car competition. We are here to talk about the aerodynamics. So, what is the aerodynamic of a car and how it is measured? The aerodynamic of a car is expressed by so-called drag coefficient value, or Cd in short. The drag force of a moving car is parallel with the airflow, so the drag coefficient of a car is observed and measured in the wind tunnel. Drag coefficient describes how smoothly car passes the air during the drive, and it grows as the speed increases. So, the lower the Cd value is, the more aerodynamic a car is.”

(Insider Monkey)