32 Key News Stories from the World of Finance Today

1. U.S. Stock Market:

“The S&P 500 traded higher on Tuesday and nearly erased the losses suffered from the biggest sell-off of the year. The index rose 0.2 percent to come about 2 points within the Tuesday, May 16, close of 2,400.67. Last Wednesday, the S&P dropped 1.62 percent on the back of fears that President Donald Trump‘s pro-growth agenda may be in danger. The Dow Jones industrial average also rose, trading about 45 points higher with Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains. The Nasdaq composite, meanwhile, slipped slightly as Apple traded slightly lower. But both indexes were also on the verge of erasing losses from last week’s downturn.”

(CNBC)

“Wall Street edged higher in early afternoon on Tuesday, but stayed in a tight trading range, as a boost from financial stocks was tempered by a drop in consumer discretionary and tech stocks. The S&P 500 briefly topped 2,400 points for the first time since the markets’ plunged last Wednesday. Since then, the three major indexes have risen for three straight session. At 12:38 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 34.06 points, or 0.16 percent, at 20,928.89, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 4.36 points, or 0.18 percent, at 2,398.38 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 1.09 points, or 0.02 percent, at 6,132.53.”

(Reuters)

“U.S. stocks on Tuesday held on to gains after the White House released its 2018 budget proposal, with Wall Street struggling to extend its win streak to a fourth session. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.17% which earlier broke above the 2,400 mark for the first time in a week, remained up 3 points, or 0.1%, at 2,397. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.22% rose 30 points, or 0.1%, to 20,925, with shares of Nike Inc. NKE, +0.95% leading gains. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.01% which saw slight gains and losses during the session, was most recently down 8 points, or 0.1%, at 6,126.”

(Market Watch)

2. U.S. Bond Market:

“U.S. government debt prices rose slightly on Tuesday, as investors awaited for more news out of Donald Trump’s first overseas trip as President. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sat slightly lower at around 2.243 percent at 9:03 a.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slipped to 2.904 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.”

(CNBC)

“The dollar dipped against the basket of currencies that measures its broader strength on Tuesday, low 10-year U.S. Treasury yields underlining the collapse of faith in a promised boost to growth and inflation from the Trump administration. The 10-year Treasury yield is down 2 basis points and that is feeding through to the dollar underperforming,” said Sam Lynton-Brown, a currency strategist with BNP Paribas in London.”

(Reuters)

“UST 10-year yields were flat to lower, keeping pressure on greenback. The spread between two-year Treasury notes and 10-year Treasury notes is at the lowest level since October.”

(EconoTimes)

 

3. FX Markets:

 

“The U.S. dollar was little changed against its major rivals on Tuesday, following an explosion outside a concert venue in Manchester, England, which police said they suspected was a suicide bombing attack. Both the pound and the euro weakened on the day, while the yen, which is often viewed as a safe-haven currency in times of geopolitical uncertainty, rose on the day and extended its recent strength. The pound GBPUSD, -0.0615% fell 0.2% to $1.2975, compared with $1.2999 late Monday. The euro EURUSD, +0.0089% fell 0.2% to $1.1219 from $1.1237, but it has also seen big gains this year. In an apparent move to safety, the yen USDJPY, -0.19% rose modestly against the dollar. The dollar changed hands at ¥111.13 from ¥111.34 late Monday. Then yen is up nearly 5% this year.”

(Market Watch)

 

“The U.S. dollar drifted lower against its most major counterparts in European session on Tuesday, as the demand for safe-haven assets waned in the wake of improved risk sentiment following upbeat economic reports from Eurozone, while lingering worries over U.S. political turmoil also weighed. The greenback held steady against the euro, after falling to a 6-1/2-month low of 1.1268. If the greenback extends fall, it may locate support around the 1.14 level. On the flip side, the greenback edged up to 111.32 against the yen, off its early 5-day low of 110.86. If the greenback extends rise, 112.00 is likely seen as its next resistance level. Although the greenback staged a brief decline to 1.3001 against the pound from an early 4-day high of 1.2953, it failed to hold course on the back of the strength of the latter. The pair finished Monday’s trading at 1.2999.”

(ForexTV.com)

 

4. Commodities:

 

1. “Oil rose on Tuesday as expectations of an extension to OPEC-led supply cuts supported prices, reversing losses earlier in the session after a White House proposal suggested selling off half the country’s huge oil stockpile. Brent crude LCOc1 traded up 7 cents at $53.94 per barrel at 1348 GMT (9:48 a.m. ET), after a low of $53.20. U.S. light crude CLc1 was up 10 cents at $51.23. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, and other producers including Russia meet on May 25. They are expected to extend a pledge to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), possibly until March 2018.”

(Reuters)

“Gold Today –New York closed at $1,260.30 yesterday after closing at$1,255.00 Friday. London opened at $1,260.05 today. Silver Today –Silver closed at $17.14 yesterday after $16.84 at New York’s close yesterday. LBMA price setting: The LBMA gold price was set today at$1,259.90 from yesterday’s $1,255.25. The gold price in the euro was set at €1,119.61 after yesterday’s €1,117.17. Ahead of the opening of New York the gold price was trading at $1,259.65 and in the euro at €1,121.35. At the same time, the silver price was trading at $17.13.”

(GoldSeek.com)

5. Market Movers:

Medical device maker EnteroMedics Inc (NASDAQ:ETRM) is trading considerably higher this morning, following the announcement that the company just acquired BarioSurg Inc – which owns the “Gastric Vest” weight loss system. At the time of writing, EnteroMedics’ stock is trading at $5.12 – a boost of 53 cents, or about 12 percent. The company’s stock is also surging on volume today, with more than 6.5 million shares already traded. On a normal trading day, only about 725,000 shares of EnteroMedics change hands.

(Economic Calendar)

Take Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO) reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.89 Tuesday morning, up from $0.48 a year ago. Analysts expected EPS of $0.57. Take-Two Interactive Software gapped open higher Tuesday and has spiked to the upside in early trade. Shares are now up 6.21 at $75.25. The stock has broken out of a 2-week trading range and has set a new high for the year.

(RTT News)

Shares of Kosmos Energy Ltd (NYSE:KOS) KOS, -6.51% tumbled 6.5% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the oil and gas exploration company said a large stock offering by its two largest shareholders priced at a discount. The company said late Monday that Blackstone Group BX, +2.42% its second-largest shareholder, was selling 30 million shares to the public, and that Warburg Pincus, its largest shareholder, was selling 10 million shares.

(Market Watch)

Shares of Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc (NASDAQ:HMNY) HMNY 80.82% got a boost, shooting up 66 percent to $4.07 after the company reported a license agreement with IsItYou.

(Benzinga)

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) (AZO) reported third quarter EPS of $11.44 Tuesday morning, compared to $10.77 a year ago. Street expectations were for EPS of $12.00. AutoZone gapped open sharply lower this morning and is now down 60.34 at $599.15. The stock has plunged to a new low for the year.

(RTT News)

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) continued to turn over its top ranks following an internal investigation into sales practices, saying it is looking for a new chief financial officer after naming a new one late last year. Alexion CFO Dave Anderson, who joined the company in December after more than a decade as CFO at Honeywell International Inc., plans to leave in August, the company said Tuesday. Mr. Anderson replaced Vikas Sinha, who abruptly resigned from the role last year along with Alexion’s CEO amid an internal investigation of sales practices.

(Fox Business)

Independence Holding Company (NYSE:IHC) IHC 14.12% shares were also up, gaining 14 percent to $20.00. Independence Holding reported Q4 earnings of $0.49 per share on revenue of $78.871 million. The company also announced intent to begin tender offer to buyback up to 2 million shares of common stock.

(Benzinga)

Nokia Oyj (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) shares are trading higher by $0.37 at $6.58 in Tuesday’s session. The catalyst for the rally is the announcement the company has mended the fences with Apple Inc. and two companies are now cooperating on new technologies for “digital health initiatives”. In a tight trading range, the issue peaked one penny above its opening print of $6.64 at $6.65. The ensuing decline has only taken the issue to $6.54 and it ha been trading in between those two levels.

(Benzinga)

Things are just starting to heat up for Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) thanks to an arsenal of products being released for the entirety of 2017. Vega, Naples/EPYC, and Threadripper are set for release in Q2 and ASUS just announced the first Ryzen Mobile gaming laptop. With additional products in the pipeline, the gains stand to be significant in comparison to the stock’s current evaluation. AMD has jumped more than 10% since I called the bottom at ~$10 in a previous article, and Monday’s (5/22/17) slight drop was met with heavy resistance at ~$11.

(Seeking Alpha)

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) is off to an incredibly strong day in the market today, and for good reason. Lately, there has been quite a bit of talk surrounding steel imports and these talks may turn into action very soon. As a result, investors are excited and United States based steel companies are flying in the market. Of course, our partners at Trade Ideas were the first to alert us to the gains. At the moment (12:15), NYSE: X is trading at $20.28 per share after a gain of $0.81 per share or 4.16% thus far today.

(CNA Finance)

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) FCA, -0.73% FCAU, -4.28% said Tuesday it is working to clarify issues related to diesel emissions technology stemming from a U.S. Justice Department complaint filed earlier Tuesday. The company is reviewing the complaint and it is “disappointed” that the department chose to file the lawsuit, Fiat Chrysler said in the statement.

(Market Watch)

Stein Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMRT) is up 15.23% as it bounces off a 52-week low of $1.00 set earlier this week. Some traders are chatting up the stock as oversold following its 72% YTD swoon. Stein Mart reported earnings last week. CEO’s assessment: “Given the uncertain retail environment, we are being more conservative planning fall, keeping a higher percentage of our buying in reserve to opportunistically take advantage of any sales upside. We expect to see additional inventory reductions as the year progresses.”

(Seeking Alpha)

AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) is off to an incredibly strong day in the market today, and for good reason. An OSHA investigation ended just about as quickly as it started, with no problems found. Of course, this led to excitement among investors, sending the stock upward and prompting our partners at Trade Ideas to alert us to the gains. At the moment (11:55), AKS is trading at $5.90 per share after a gain of $0.34 per share or 6.22% thus far today.

(CNA Finance)

6. Interesting Reads

 

“Throughout the summer, consumers struggle with how to best protect their skin from the harmful rays of the sun. But which products are the safest? A new report released Tuesday by the Environmental Working Group claims that 73% of the 880 sunscreens it tested don’t work as well as advertised or contain “worrisome” ingredients. The authors of the annual report say they hope to help consumers make smarter choices when choosing the right products — because not all sunscreens are made equal.”

(CNN)

“Medicine has become synonymous with drug therapy, a situation that is upsetting for patients and health care practitioners alike, and potentially dangerous. This is especially true for elderly patients, many of whom are taking multiple agents from different practitioners who tend not to discontinue medications prescribed by their peers. This can lead to an ever-increasing number of pills taken, a circumstance called polypharmacy (being on five or more medications at one time), where there is a high risk for adverse reactions and drug interactions.”

(Fox News)

“Young people with asthma also have evidence of telomere shortening, according to the preliminary research by John R. Balmes, MD, of University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues. They write, “Our results suggest that telomere length may have potential for use as a biomarker of DNA damage due to environmental exposures and/or chronic inflammation.” The study included 14 children and adolescents living in Fresno, Calif. — the second-most polluted city in the United States. The researchers assessed the relationship between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a “ubiquitous” air pollutant caused by motor vehicle exhaust; and shortening of telomeres, a type of DNA damage typically associated with aging.”

(Science Daily)

“The last thing you want is for your phone to run out of juice when you need it most. Usually, a phone lasts a full work day with moderate use. But if you use it heavily, you’ll need to recharge it more often. Batteries also lose steam over time, running down faster the longer you’ve owned the phone. The possibility of losing battery — and therefore losing your communication hub — is frightening and real. If you feel your handset battery seems to be stuck in the ’90s and doesn’t last as long as you’d like, you’re not alone. So if a long-life battery tops your list of smartphone needs, check out these top-scorers — they lasted impressively long during our lab tests for continuous video playback on Airplane mode.”

(CNET)

“Amazon this morning staked another claim in the billion-dollar wedding industry with the launch of a new Wedding Shop dedicated to sales of handcrafted items, including décor, invitations, gifts, jewelry, accessories and more. The shop is an offshoot from the retailer’s less than two-year old Etsy competitor, Handmade at Amazon, which aims to offer the same sort of original, artisan-designed products people have come to expect from the rival crafts marketplace.”

(Tech Crunch)

“Something terrible happened to me four years ago. My local arcade closed down. For years, I was a dedicated Tekken player. I’d spend countless hours each week in the arcade trying to master the craft of virtual close-quarter combat. I never got close, but I have fond memories of learning the intricacies of a deep game and meeting plenty of friends doing it. When my main arcade shut down, I fell off the bandwagon. I was an embarrassment to the scene. But others kept on, and Sydney still has a small but dedicated community of fighting game fans, as do many cities in the US. Nowadays, there are two fighting games you’ll find in an arcade: Tekken and Street Fighter.”

(CNET)

“What are the countries that have the most legal and illegal immigrants? Unfortunately, we live in the world where many people don’t live in their place of birth, and the reasons for that are numerous. Sometimes people simply migrate because of their job, studies, and better opportunities in general, but on the other side, sometimes people are forcefully driven away from their homes, due to devastating occasions, such as wars, threats or any other political issues. On the contrary to those who are in the position to choose a country to migrate to, making the choice according to their needs, these migrants are not in the position to be choosy, but they simply go wherever the road takes them, together with the people of similar destiny.”

(Insider Monkey)

“Today we are going to look into the easiest GPS Devices to use for hunting and fishing. They are an awesome thing to have and will surely make your outdoor adventures far more pleasant. GPS stands for the “Global Positioning System”, a navigation system that is made by a network of 30 satellites. Like many other great technologies, GPS exist thanks to the United States military. In the ’60s and 70’s the U.S. military started working on the satellite navigation systems, eventually developing GPS.”

(Insider Monkey)

“One of the big changes on the iPhone 8 that every rumor agrees on is the display. Apple will finally be making the jump from LCD to sharper and more battery-efficient OLED panels for its new flagship iPhone later this year, which makes total sense. But rumors also suggest that the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, expected to be incremental upgrades unveiled in September, will stick with LCD. Since the iPhone 8 will likely cost upwards of $1,000, that means most iPhone users will still be stuck on LCD screens in 2017.”

(BGR.com)