32 Major Stories Summarizing What’s Happening in the World of Finance Today

1. U.S. Stock Market:

“The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite hit fresh intraday records on Monday as a jump in oil prices to a two-week high lifted Wall Street sentiment. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.38%  added 11 points, or 0.5%, to 2,402, trading above its all-time closing high set last week. The large-cap index earlier touched an intraday record of 2,404. Ten of its 11 main sectors were trading higher, led by energy and materials, while telecommunications services was the lone loser. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.36%  gained 25 points, or 0.4%, to 6,146, setting a record in intraday trade of 6,153.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.36%  rose 94 points, or 0.5%, to 20,991. Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO, +2.50%  and Johnson & Johnson JNJ, +2.83% were the top performers, both up more than 2%.”

(Market Watch)

 

“The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite rose and hit record highs on Monday after a rise in tech and energy stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average also traded higher as Cisco Systems’ stock popped on the back of a massive cyberattack. The S&P 500 climbed 0.4 percent, with materials leading advancers. Energy was also among the best performers after a sharp rise in crude prices. The Nasdaq composite, meanwhile, was led higher by a rise in large-cap tech stocks, including Facebook and Alphabet.”

(CNBC)

“U.S. stocks rose Monday as a jump in commodities prices boosted shares of energy and mining companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 100 points, or 0.5%, to 20997. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%.”

(Fox Business)

 

2. U.S. Bond Market:

 

“Treasury yields remained higher Monday after a weak reading on a New York state manufacturing gauge. The yield for the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, -1.77% advanced 0.9 basis point to 2.335%. Bond prices move in the opposite direction of yields, one basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point. The yield for the 30-year Treasury bond, or the long bond,TMUBMUSD30Y, -0.49% rose 1.3 basis point to 3.000%, while the 2-year noteTMUBMUSD02Y, -3.63% added 0.8 basis point to 1.303%.”

(Market Watch)

“The U.S. Treasuries remained flat as investors remained side-lined in the absence of major trading activity amid a mild session that witnessed data of little economic significance. Major global equity markets were slightly firmer in early trade supported by higher oil prices amid increased expectations that OPEC and non-OPEC members will agree at the May 25 meeting to extend production cuts into 2018. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury, which moves inversely to its price, hovered around 2.33 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields traded flat at 2.99 percent while the yield on short-term 2-year note rose 1/2 basis point to 1.29 percent by 11:50GMT.”

(EconoTimes)

“The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury notes, which moves inversely to price, rose to 2.34 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also higher at 3.006 percent.”

(CNBC)

 

3. FX Markets:

“The U.S. dollar slipped on Monday, losing ground against so-called commodity currencies as oil prices leapt on the prospects for an OPEC-led deal for continued production limits. Meanwhile, the euro EURUSD, +0.4391% rose 0.4% to $1.0971 from $1.0932 on Friday. The greenback fell against the pound, with sterling GBPUSD, +0.2173% buying $1.2915, compared with $1.2887 last Friday in New York. The dollar fared slightly better against the Japanese yen USDJPY, +0.16% on Monday, trading at ¥113.45 against Friday’s ¥113.35.”

(Market Watch)

“The dollar edged lower Monday as the yen gave up gains after safe-haven buying.
The dollar index was off 0.08% at 98.97 at 03:30 ET. The yen was off 0.20% at 113.61 after earlier gains on renewed concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program. The pound was firm above $1.29, while the euro held above $1.09.”

(Investing.com)

 

4. Commodities:

 

“Oil hit its highest in more than three weeks on Monday, topping $52 a barrel after Saudi Arabia and Russia said that supply cuts need to last into 2018, a step towards extending an OPEC-led deal to support prices for longer than first agreed. Energy ministers from the two countries said on Monday that supply cuts should be prolonged for nine months, until March 2018. That is longer than the optional six-month extension specified in the deal. Global benchmark Brent crude was up $1.45 at $52.29 a barrel by 1405 GMT (10.05 a.m. ET), having touched $52.63, the highest since April 21. U.S. crude rose by $1.46 to $49.30.”

(Reuters)

 

“Gold prices have spiked modestly higher following the disappointing report that adds to a picture of weaker U.S. economic growth in the second quarter. The manufacturing data comes after Friday’s disappointing retails sales number and inflation data for April. As of 8:43 a.m. June Comex gold futures were trading just off session highs at $1,234.9 an ounce, up 0.59% on the day.”

(Kitco News)

 

5. Market Movers:

What happened: In response to the company accepting a buyout offer, shares of Patheon N.V. (NYSE:PTHN), a provider of development and manufacturing services for the pharmaceutical industry, jumped 33% as of 10:45 a.m. EDT on Monday. So what: Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) has agreed to acquire Patheon for $35 a share. That represents a 35% premium over the stock’s closing price on Friday. The deal values Patheon at $7.2 billion when including the $2 billion of net debt on the company’s balance sheet.

(The Motley Fool)

Sorl Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ:SORL) SORL 27.53% shares are trading higher by $1.20 (28 percent) at $5.74 in Monday’s session. The catalyst for the rally is a Q1 EPS beat of $0.21 along with a sales beat of $2.1 million. The company also raised FY 2017 sales from $297 million estimates to $315 million. So far, Sorl’s much higher opening tick of $5.19 stands as the low for the session. That low is well above the upper end of Friday’ range, which comes in at $4.58.

(Benzinga)

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY) announced that it has granted stock options to Manmeet S. Soni, the Company’s newly appointed Chief Financial Officer. The compensation committee of Alnylam’s board of directors approved the grant, effective as of May 8, 2017, to Mr. Soni of non-qualified stock options to purchase an aggregate of 150,000 shares of Alnylam’s common stock. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY) shares edged up 2.55% to $56.77 on Friday. These options were granted as an inducement material to Mr. Soni’s entering into employment with the Company in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

(Benchmark Monitor)

Trivago NV – ADR (NASDAQ:TRVG) TRVG 15.48% shares are trading higher by $1.77 (10 percent) at $19.60 in Monday’s session. The Germany-based company operates an online hotel search platform. The stock is trading at a new all-time high based on its U.S. listing after reporting Q1 results. After a higher open, Trivago’s stock had a brief retreat but found support well ahead of the top of Friday’s range ($18.47) at $19.18 and continued its move higher. The current low coincides with its former all-time high that was made May 10 at $18.96.

(Benzinga)

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is having yet another strong day in the market today as Ryzen continues to excite investors. Of course, our partners at Trade Ideas were the first to alert us to the gains. At the moment (10:41), AMD is trading at $11.43 per share after a gain of $0.17 per share or 1.51% thus far today. AMD Continues Upward On Ryzen: As mentioned above, Ryzen has been sending Advanced Micro Devices upward for some time, and those gains are continuing today. Much of the movement has to do with a rumor surrounding the Ryzen 9 series HEDT processors.

(CNA Finance)

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) reported a gain in Q1 on tax matters, but lost money after asset sales and tax issues were excluded. The stock surged, in part because of management’s optimism. I suggested in late April that a major stock surge could occur at any time (though I did not predict it would occur when it did). Valeant has some hoped-for and major new product launches coming, and with new management, I think the stock could trade unpredictably going forward. After discussing various positives and negatives in the article, reasons why my opinion remains bearish longer term on this name are explained.

(Seeking Alpha)

Weatherford International Plc (NYSE:WFT) plunged -1.56% during previous trade, a total of 13.36M shares exchanged hands compared with its average trading volume of 22.82M shares whereas its relative volume is 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97B along with 985.75M outstanding shares. Stock’s intraday price range hit the peak level of $5.15 and touched the lowest level of $5. Most recently Weatherford International Plc (NYSE:WFT)’s price target was revised on 5/10/17 and according to 31 analysts stock’s price will reach at $7.60 during 52 weeks with standard deviation of 1.91. Stock’s minimum price target estimates has been figured out at $4.00 while the maximum price target forecast is established at $12, if we look at the price target with an optimistic approach it has upside potential of 138% from its latest closing price of $5.04.

(Momentous News)

Shares of Sears Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:SHLD) were sliding today as investors continued to react to last week’s discouraging earnings reports from its fellow department store chains and an important real estate investor cheered its demise. As of 11:40 a.m. EDT, the stock was down 7.1%.

(Madison.com)

EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) EXAS, -5.70% shares dropped 3.2% to $32.71 on Monday morning after short-seller Citron Research released a report about the company that called its colon cancer test “a seriously inferior product and a disastrous business model.” The stock tumbled as much as 8% Monday morning before Exact Sciences Chief Executive Kevin Conroy brawled with Citron Research’s Andrew Left on CNBC, after which Exact Sciences stock losses evened out to around 3%.

(Market Watch)

Shares of ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN) have seen the needle move 20.49% or $0.84 in the most recent session. The NASDAQ listed company saw a recent bid of 4.94 on 3093637 volume. Now let’s take a look at how the fundamentals are stacking up for ImmunoGen Inc (IMGN). Fundamental analysis takes into consideration market, industry and stock conditions to help determine if the shares are correctly valued. ImmunoGen Inc currently has a yearly EPS of -1.81. This number is derived from the total net income divided by shares outstanding. In other words, EPS reveals how profitable a company is on a share owner basis.

(Trion Journal)

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) gained 1.39% to $4.01 in the current trading session. The company’s price range for the trading day is $3.88 to $4.02. The company’s market capitalization is $4.16 billion with the total outstanding shares of 1.05 billion. The stock has dropped -54.62% from its peak and the consensus price target for the stock is $6.60 a share. Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) shares has displayed a high EPS growth of 15.00% in last 5 years. Its share price has grown -29.59% in three months and is down -3.89% for the last five trades. The average analysts gave this company a mean recommendation of 2.60.

(WallStreetNews24)

The stock of Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) is a huge mover today! About 12.74 million shares traded. Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) has declined 45.56% since October 6, 2016 and is downtrending. It has underperformed by 56.21% the S&P500.The move comes after 9 months negative chart setup for the $3.82B company. It was reported on May, 15 by Barchart.com. We have $6.99 PT which if reached, will make NYSE:SWN worth $191.00 million less.

(Huron Report)

Investors are on alert as Ignyta, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXDX)’s stock is experiencing unusual volume during today’s trading.  While the stock price moved along with the volume change, shares are touching $7.40.  The day’s total volume of 953128 this morning is in contrast from the three-month daily average of 514.81K.  Why is this important? Trading volume is a hugely important consideration for any investor.  By watching how many shares are trading hands and looking for any changes in that activity, trading opportunities can be spotted along with a deeper understanding of the reliability of other indicators on the stock.

(The Hiram Herald)

Interpace Diagnostics Group Inc (NASDAQ:IDXG) gained 12.97% to $2.70 in the current trading session. The company’s price range for the trading day is $2.61 to $3.20. The company’s market capitalization is $23.78 million with the total outstanding shares of 8.79 million. The stock has dropped -86.36% from its peak and the consensus price target for the stock is $3.00 a share. Interpace Diagnostics Group Inc (NASDAQ:IDXG) shares has displayed a low EPS growth of -12.10% in last 5 years. Its share price has grown -17.59% in three months and is up 0.42% for the last five trades. The average analysts gave this company a mean recommendation of 2.00.

(WallStreetNews24)

 

6. Interesting Reads

 

“Android already powers most smartphones on earth. Now Google is placing its mobile operating system right inside cars, a bid to cement its core service in the auto industry as more technology sweeps in. On Monday, ahead of its I/O mobile developers conference, Alphabet Inc.’s Google is showing off its next step in automotive software: an Android version of touchscreen car consoles and infotainment systems.”

(Bloomberg Technology)

“In the future, tiny thermal engines could power nanoscale machinery and quantum computers. Researchers demonstrated the potential of miniaturized heat engines using a theoretical model. “Heat engines are devices that turn thermal energy into a useful form known as ‘work,'” Ahsan Nazir, a research fellow at the University of Manchester, said in a news release. “Besides being of immense practical importance, the theoretical understanding of factors that determine their energy conversion efficiency has enabled a deep understanding of the classical laws of thermodynamics.”

(UPI.com)

“Delivery robots are seen as novelties, job-killers and a gimmicky way for restaurants to reach nearby customers. The newest entrant in this logistics segment is a Swiss startup called Teleretail AG. The company has put a twist on the personal delivery device—its machines, still in prototype, were designed to cover long distances, up to 50 miles, and to serve rural and suburban markets along with city residents. Like its peers and competitors, including Starship Technologies or Marble for example, Teleretail employs some of the same systems developed for self-driving cars, including sensors, computer vision systems and GPS-aided navigational systems.”

(Tech Crunch)

“Countries around the world are still dealing with an ongoing ransomware attack that hit institutions and businesses worldwide, including hospitals in the UK, the Russian interior ministry and universities in China. The outbreak started on Friday and spread quickly across the world, infecting around 200,000 computers in 150 countries. In the UK, the malware invaded at least 60 NHS trusts, preventing doctors from accessing patient records and forcing them to cancel non-urgent procedures. Europe and Russia were hit particularly hard, before its advance was slowed when a security researcher in the UK stumbled on a web domain hidden in the malware’s code. When he registered the domain it triggered a “kill switch” that prevented many instances of the virus from spreading.”

(New Scientist)

“Scientists have a double-shot of bad news about ticks: There’s a new, and potentially fatal, tick-borne illness called Powassan, and this summer looks like it might be one of the worst on record for an increase in the tick population. “Tick-borne diseases are on the rise, and prevention should be on everyone’s mind, particularly during the spring and summer, and early fall when ticks are most active,” said Rebecca Eisen. She is a research biologist in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s division of vector-borne diseases.”

(Chicago Tribune)

“If you have a rooted Android device, be aware that you may no longer be able to use the Netflix app going forward. The streaming company confirmed that its latest app update will block devices that are not “Google-certified or have been altered” from accessing the mobile service. While Netflix did not specify why exactly it decided to stop playing nice with rooted devices, the fact that Version 5 of the Netflix app leans on Google’s Widevine digital rights management solution suggests some obvious reasons. As Engadget points out, the purpose of the DRM is to protect media companies from piracy; rooted devices that give users control over the operating system have a greater possibility of circumventing the barrier put forward by the DRM.”

(The Verge)

“There are many applications and websites to learn to code, but do you know what are the apps for teaching children coding skills? Today, children are spending so much time in front of their laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Even children at the age of two know how to open their favorite applications and play the game by themselves. Back in the day when we bought our first computer, we used to draw in Paint for some time and then head out again. Things have changed a lot since then. In this modern world we live in, programming is very important because everything starts with it from the fan to your mobile. In order to understand the importance of programming, you should know that programming has three phases and everyone is very important.”

(Insider Monkey)

“If you are a science freak who likes to attend various festivals related to science, then read our list of 6 biggest science festivals around the world. Can you imagine what life would be like without science? Probably not because most of the things we now have or know of wouldn’t be here without science. Although the term „scientist“ is relatively new (dates back from the 19th century), science has existed for a long time as people have always felt the need to investigate the natural world. Sometimes, throughout the history, these scientific discoveries were very misleading, false, and silly but mistakes are natural, and however misleading they were, they still represented progress.”

(Insider Monkey)