32 Major Stories That You Should Read From the World of Finance Today

1. U.S. Stock Market:

 

“The U.S. stock market Wednesday was on pace to log its worst daily decline in eight months, as concerns about President Donald Trump’s FBI controversy weighed on investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.5% at 20,670, and at its lows was on pace for its sharpest decline since Sept. 9, 2016, according to FactSet data. The S&P 500 index SPX, -1.52% was off 1.5% at 2,366, on track for its worst daily drop since Sept. 13. Meanwhile, the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index was down 2% at 6,045, putting it on pace to suffer its steepest one-day fall since Sept. 9.”

(Market Watch)

“U.S. stocks braced for their worst day in at least two months as reports of a memo by former FBI chief James Comey suggested that President Donald Trump tried to interfere with a federal investigation, setting off alarm bells on Wall Street. At 12:07 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 260.91 points, or 1.24 percent, at 20,718.84, the S&P 500 .SPX was down 26.85 points, or 1.12 percent, at percent, at 2,373.82 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 99.13 points, or 1.61 percent, at 6,070.74.”

(Reuters)

 

2. U.S. Bond Market:

“The 10-year Treasury yield has returned to about its lowest level of the year – down 7 basis points this morning to 2.257%. Economy bulls may be mulling the stalling out of the GOP agenda of tax cuts and regulatory reform, given the mounting political troubles inside the White House.”

(Seeking Alpha)

“The U.S. Treasuries gained on expectations of a rise in the country’s initial jobless claims, scheduled to be released on May 18. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury slumped 3-1/2 basis points to 2.29 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields plunged nearly 3 basis points to 2.96 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year note traded 2 basis points lower at 1.28 percent.”

(EconoTimes)

“Treasury yields slip Wednesday as political jitters linger from President Donald Trump’s dismissal of Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey, drawing a flight to quality from overseas investors. Treasury yields for the 2-year note TMUBMUSD02Y, -2.18% lost 5.3 basis points to 1.246%. Bond prices move inversely to yields. The yield for the 10-year noteTMUBMUSD10Y, -2.56% fell 7.2 basis points to 2.257%, while the 30-year bond, or the long bond, TMUBMUSD30Y, -1.64% lost 6.3 basis points to 2.930%.”

(Market Watch)

 

3. FX Markets:

 

“The Japanese yen is climbing. The currency is up by 0.7% at 112.37 per dollar as of 7:56 a.m. ET. The British pound is up by 0.4% at 1.2963 against the dollar after data from the Office for National Statistics showed that Britain’s unemployment fell to a 42-year low of 4.6%. However, wage growth is falling. The euro is up by 0.3% at 1.1112 against the dollar. Data showed eurozone CPI rose 1.9% year-over-year in April, in line with expectations.”

(Investing.com)

 

“The dollar fell against its major rivals Wednesday, extending its recent weakness amid escalating U.S. political concerns following a report that President Donald Trump tried to influence an FBI probe into links between his inner circle and Russia. The euro EURUSD, +0.2978% changed hands at $1.1118, up from $1.1085 late Tuesday in New York, a rise of 0.3%. The Japanese yen USDJPY, -1.34% —which often draws haven demand when geopolitical worries flare up—was gaining in particular against the dollar. The greenback was trading at ¥112.19, down 0.8% from ¥113.11 late Tuesday in New York. Over the past month, the yen has surged 3% against the dollar. The pound GBPUSD, +0.2555% was buying $1.2968, up 0.4% from $1.2915.”

(Market Watch)

 

4. Commodities:

“Crude oil prices edged higher Wednesday, with gains capped by concerns that U.S. production was undermining the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ efforts to rebalance the market. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.4% to $51.86 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading up 0.2% at $48.73 a barrel.”

(Fox Business)

“Gold prices are posting solid gains and hit a two-week high in early U.S. trading Wednesday, on safe-haven demand and amid an eroding U.S. dollar index. June Comex gold was last up $16.70 an ounce at $1,253.00. July Comex silver was last up $0.203 at $16.945 an ounce.”

(Kitco News)

 

5. Market Movers:

Shorts are getting cooked on Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ:RRGB) (RRGB +14.9%) after the company surprised with its Q1 report (Nasdaq short interest report). Management is being lauded by Wall Street analysts for its margin execution in the face of labor pressure.

(Seeking Alpha)

While U.S. stocks are tanking in early trade Wednesday, Cemtrex Inc (NASDAQ:CETX) shares are soaring nearly 40%, after the industrial firm announced that it has received more than $21 million in new orders during the month of April, including contracts with PPG, Covanta, US Mint, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kelvion, just to name a few. One of the orders Cemtrex secured during the period is a three year agreement estimated to be worth $15 million for Cemtrex’s electronics manufacturing services business in Germany. The order is the largest single order ever placed with the Company.

(Smarter Analyst)

Shares of Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SNDX) saw a huge gain on Wednesday after the firm gave an update on its non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) midstage trial. Specifically, the company announced that Encore 601 has met the prespecified objective response threshold to advance into the second stage of the Phase 2 trial and will reopen enrollment immediately. Encore 601 is a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial evaluating the combination of entinostat plus Merck’s anti-PD-1 blocking therapy, Keytruda (pembrolizumab).

(24/7WallSt)

Shares of Pulmatrix Inc (NASDAQ:PULM) have seen the needle move -2.46% or -0.06 in the most recent session. The NASDAQ listed company saw a recent bid of $2.38 on 138335 volume. Taking a deeper look into the technical levels of Pulmatrix Inc (PULM), we can see that the Williams Percent Range or 14 day Williams %R currently sits at -97.20. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would point to an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would signal an oversold situation. The Williams %R was developed by Larry Williams. This is a momentum indicator that is the inverse of the Fast Stochastic Oscillator.

(Union Trade Journal)

Shares of American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) inclined 0.56% to $46.94. Stock exchanged hands with the total volume of 4.63 Million shares, as contrast to its average volume of 6.99 Million shares. The 52-week range of the share price is from $24.85 – $50.65. For trailing twelve months, EPS value for the stock is $4.09. Beta factor of the stock stands at 0.95. Beta factor is used to measure the volatility of the stock. The stock remained 3.12% volatile for the week and 2.63% for the month. Looking into the profitability ratios of AAL stock, investor will find its ROE, ROA, ROI standing at 55.40%, 4.30% and 13.00%, respectively.

(Journal Finance)

Shares of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:CY) are making a strong comeback as they have jumped 57.8% since bottoming out at $9.05 on Jun. 28, 2016. Thanks to a rise of almost 3.13% in the past five days, the stock price is now up 21.97% so far on the year — still in strong territory. In this case, shares are down -7.54% from $14.98 , the 52-week high touched on Mar. 28, 2017, and are keeping their losses at 54.41% for the past 12 months.

(USA Commerce Daily)

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAWW) announced after the bell Tuesday that it plans to offer up to $250 million aggregate principal amount of its convertible senior notes due 2024 in an underwritten public offering. Atlas Air Worldwide gapped open lower Wednesday morning and has continued to fall in early trade. Shares are now down 3.05 at $46.60 on above average volume. The stock has been pulling back from the highs of the year since late April and has set a 6-month low.

(RTT News)

Health care stocks were declining during Wednesday, with the NYSE Health Care Index falling nearly 0.6% while shares of health care companies in the S&P 500 were down almost 0.8% as a group. In company news, Omeros Corporation (NASDAQ:OMER) was surging Wednesday, with shares of the biopharmaceuticals company climbing to within 6 cents this morning of a 20-month high of $17.19 a share after the company earlier reported more positive data from the initial round of mid-stage testing for its OMS721 drug candidate to treat serious kidney disorders supports. It also said the new trial results support “rapid advancement” to Phase III testing.

(Baxter Review)

Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) (PLUG -15%) CEO Andy Marsh refutes “misinformation” he says was discussed in a negative note earlier today from Roth Capital analyst Craig Irwin, who downgraded shares to Sell from Neutral, and repeats FY 2017 guidance. PLUG’s “shipping plans for Wal-Mart have not changed,” Irwin says, the “strike price and number of Amazon warrants remains the same as announced on April 5,” and the “recent announcements with major customers have increased new customer interest in our products, across the board.”

(Seeking Alpha)

WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD) is off to an incredibly strong start in the market this morning, and for good reason. There’s a rumor breaking suggesting that the company may soon be taken over. Of course, this is leading to excitement among investors, causing gains in the stock and prompting our partners at Trade Ideas to alert us to the movement. At the moment (9:44), WBMD is trading at $56.83 per share after a gain of 2.02 per share or 3.69% thus far today.

(CNA Finance)

Baozun Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BZUN) BZUN 11.94% shares declined 12 percent to $20.05 after climbing 14.70 percent on Tuesday. Baozun reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.07 per share on sales of $116.9 million.

(Benzinga)

The New York Post reported Wednesday that Ian Cook, the CEO of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL), has signaled that he would be open to a sale of the company for $100 a share. Colgate-Palmolive gapped open sharply higher this morning and is now up 2.07 at $73.65. The stock has jumped to over a 2-week high and has re-crossed its 50-day moving average.

(RTT News)

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) gained 6.20% to $108.21 in the current trading session. The company’s price range for the trading day is $107.40 to $113.00. The company’s market capitalization is $3.51 billion with the total outstanding shares of 29.42 million. The stock has dropped -4.26% from its peak and the consensus price target for the stock is $114.86 a share. Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) shares has displayed a high EPS growth of 16.60% in last 5 years. Its share price has grown -6.46% in three months and is down -0.74% for the last five trades. The average analysts gave this company a mean recommendation of 2.10.

(WallStreetNews24)

The old Wall Street adage is buy a stock on the rumor, and sell on the news. This week, shares of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) were buffeted by investors buying on a rumor and selling on no news. Or perhaps not quite the news investors wanted to hear. The excitement started Tuesday morning, when tech news site Fudzilla reported that it had confirmed the widespread rumor that Intel (INTC, -1.83%)would license graphics processor technology from AMD after a previous licensing deal with Nvidia (NVDA, -6.10%) expired in March. That sent AMD shares soaring 12%.

(Fortune)

 

6. Interesting Reads

 

“Women in their early thirties are for the first time having more babies than younger moms in the United States, according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to health experts, the shift was caused by more women choosing to wait longer to have children, as well as a steady national drop in teen births. Now, the birth rate for women in the 30-to-34 age group is about 103 per 100,000. For women ages 25 to 29, it’s 102 per 100,000. The average age when women have their first child is 28, and the overall birth rate was down to about 62 births per 100,000 women, ages 15 to 44.”

(The Daily Beast)

“Sibling rivalry ranks as one of the biggest challenges faced by parents of more than one child. It can begin the minute you bring your second child home and last for years. A certain amount of sibling jealousy is normal. So a parent’s attitude toward the rivalry and ability to handle it can make all the difference in helping kids create and maintain a healthy and positive sibling bond into adulthood. It’s important to understand that your excitement about bringing home a new baby might not be mirrored by your older child. Recognizing and addressing this is the first step in setting the foundation for a good sibling relationship.”

(U.S.News)

“When it comes to image quality, the DSLR (generally) still reigns supreme. While there are plenty of excellent compact system cameras available, the traditionalists still prefer the look, feel and mechanics of an SLR camera. Luckily, there’s lots of choice on the market, depending of course on what it is you’re looking for. Pretty much anybody who wants a DSLR, whether you’re a beginner, you’re at the high-end enthusiast or even professional end of the market, has an option available. It’s hard to choose an outright winner in this category of cameras because no two consumers are the same.”

(T3.com)

“Volvo’s had an autonomous truck operating in a Swedish mine since 2016. Now, the same technology that powers that truck will go toward creating a self-driving garbage truck. Volvo announced that it’s working with Renova, a Swedish waste management company, to develop and deploy an autonomous garbage truck. It should be a proper workout for Volvo’s self-driving tech, given the vehicle’s size versus the narrow, busy streets it must move through.”

(CNET)

“For a lot of people, the world of personal technology is like a spectator sport. We have our favorite groups and personalities, we compare market shares like they were league rankings, and we always enjoy the crescendo of hype surrounding a big set piece event. Google I/O is undoubtedly one of the marquee events on the tech calendar these days, solely on account of Google’s enormous reach and influence, but I’m here to turn the hype volume down. I/O 2017 won’t be a big splash of epic excitement, and we shouldn’t expect it to be. Google has grown to a size and position where presenting an unexciting public image would actually be in its favor.”

(The Verge)

“Amazon.com Inc. updated its least-expensive tablets, continuing to produce new and updated hardware as a way to attract consumers to its more profitable services. The online retailer and consumer electronics maker announced upgrades Wednesday to its best-selling 7-inch Fire tablet, giving it a slightly thinner and lighter design, an extra hour of battery life, support for higher-speed wireless connectivity, and new colors. Amazon cut the price on the larger Fire HD 8 tablet by $10 and said it’s giving the rugged tablets for kids a makeover as well.”

(Bloomberg)

“The Apple Watch is selling at a record rate. Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed during the Cupertino company’s latest earnings call that Watch sales had almost doubled, year-over-year, and that Apple’s wearables business was the size of a Fortune 500 company. But while the Series 2 model is selling like hot cakes, there’s huge anticipation as to what the next-generation Apple Watch will be. The Apple Watch Series 3 is the subject of intense web-rumor mongering and it’s not easy to keep up to speed with the latest murmured features and launch details. That’s where this post comes in. Here’s a roundup of the juiciest Apple Watch 3 rumors…”

(Forbes)

“There are people who can do truly amazing and fascinating experiments, and luckily for you, we created a list of 10 simple physics experiments with everyday materials to learn and impress your friends. Not only small children, but many adults are excited and intrigued to see some kind of an experiment especially physical experiment. Today, just like a long time ago, there are people who understand and people who don’t understand the laws of physics and how they actually work.”

(Insider Monkey)

“If you are looking to find amazing ideas for your next science project then read our list of 10 winning science fair projects for high school. Children are under a lot of pressure nowadays, especially at school. They need to keep up with other students, to try hard and put a lot of effort into being a good student in order to secure a good future. They struggle to get good grades and make their parents proud of them or they strive to compete with others in the classroom. Anyway, the pressure on them is pretty big and we get that. It’s not always easy to understand why we need to try so hard.”

(Insider Monkey)