Financial Markets Snapshot: Today’s 35 Major Stories from the World of Finance

1. U.S. Stock Market:

“U.S. stocks struggled to hold on to slight gains Friday, flipping in and out of negative territory, as investors weighed stronger-than-expected April employment report against uncertainty of the outcome of the French presidential election on Sunday. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.17% was up 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2,392, with nine of the 11 main sectors trading in positive territory. Financials and health-care stocks edged lower, energy shares rallied following a rebound in oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.10% declined 10 points, or less than 0.1%, to 20,941, with more than 30 points of that drag coming from shares of International Business Machines Corp. IBM, -2.61% which plunged 3% following news that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold about one-third of its stake. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.17% rose 5 points, or 0.1%, to 6,080.”

(Market Watch)

“U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday as a rebound in energy companies due to higher oil prices was offset by healthcare stocks and a sharp drop in IBM. The technology giant’s shares fell 2.3 percent to a six-month low of $155.46 after Warren Buffett said he sold nearly a third of his stake in the company. The stock was the biggest drag on the blue-chip Dow index as well as the benchmark S&P 500 index. At 12:37 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 29.03 points, or 0.14 percent, at 20,922.44, the S&P 500 was up 0.86 points, or 0.04 percent, at 2,390.38 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.35 points, or 0.01 percent, at 6,075.69.”

(Reuters)

“The Dow Jones industrial average struggled to keep pace with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite as a fall in IBM’s stock put a lid on the index. IBM shares fell more than 2 percent on Friday and contributed the most losses on the Dow after Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett sold a third of his IBM stake, or 81 million shares. The S&P and Nasdaq rose slightly after the U.S. economy added more jobs than expected last month.”

(CNBC)

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2. U.S. Bond Market:

“The Treasury yield curve steepened Thursday before the much-awaited nonfarm payrolls report as investors look for a pick-up in economic data and less labor slack, both a gauge of whether inflation continues to have momentum. The yield for the 10-year note TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.00% rose 0.8 basis point to 2.363%. Bond prices move inversely to yields. The yield for the 2-year noteTMUBMUSD02Y, +0.63% edged off 0.4 basis point, and the 30-year bond, or the long bond, TMUBMUSD30Y, -0.28% gained 0.4 basis point to 3.003%.”

(Market Watch)

“The U.S. Treasuries traded flat ahead of the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s speech, scheduled to be held later in the day, besides the host of FOMC members’ speech lined up for today. Also, the country’s April labour market data is curiously awaited by market participants. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury hovered around 2.35 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields traded flat at 2.99 percent while the yield on short-term 2-year note also remained steady at 1.31 percent.”

(EconoTimes)

“The U.S. bond market’s gauges on inflation expectations held their earlier gains on Friday as U.S. payrolls report for April showed steady wage growth and the jobless rate hitting a near 10-year low. The 10-year inflation breakeven rate, or the yield difference between 10-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities and regular 10-year Treasury notes, was last at 1.86 percent, up a 0.05 basis point from Thursday, Tradeweb and Reuters data showed.”

(Reuters)

3. FX Markets:

“The greenback briefly spiked on Friday after the U.S. economy created 211,00 jobs in April. However, it soon pared those gains as disappointing data from March were revised even lower. The greenback USDJPY, +0.06% shot to 112.73 yen immediately after the data were released, but it soon returned to 112.47, where it had traded late Thursday in New York. The euro EURUSD, -0.0728%skidded to $1.0949 after the data, though it soon pared most of that drop, with one euro buying $1.0978 in recent trade, compared with $1.0984 late Thursday in New York. The pound GBPUSD, +0.1393% remained higher after the data, buying $1.2952, compared with $1.2923 late Thursday.”

(Market Watch)

“The Dollar traded with a lot of volatility in the minutes which followed the release, initially gaining against the Euro, with EUR/USD falling to 1.0952 from 1.0962 as the market noted the headline figure but then rising to 1.0991 as it digested the less positive details. Against sterling, it was a similar story, with the GBP/USD exchange rate falling to 1.2929 in the minute after the release but then rising to 1.2959 over the next quarter of an hour.”

(PoundSterling Live)

“On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 112.45 yen compared to the 112.46 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0987 compared to yesterday’s $1.0985.”

(RTT News)

4. Commodities:

“Oil prices plunged below $44 a barrel overnight in a matter of minutes, putting the market on edge as futures tested yet another key technical level. Traders blamed forced margin calls and computer trading for the so-called flash crash, but were not quite sure what caused the drop. At about 11:17 pm ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at $45.36. By 11:31 pm ET, it had plunged 3 percent to a low of $43.76, the lowest price since Nov. 15. Futures then rebounded slightly back above $44 and stayed there for awhile until rallying back above $45 by 4 am ET.”

(CNBC)

“Gold futures on Friday pared gains but remained in positive territory after April’s strong jobs report was seen keeping the Federal Reserve on a path of higher interest rates, with another hike increasingly likely as soon as next month. June gold GCM7, -0.02% gained $1.60, or 0.1%, at $1,230.20 an ounce, after finishing the previous session at its lowest level in seven weeks. Gold had touched $1,236 earlier Friday. The metal’s sister commodity, silver for July deliverySIN7, -0.02% gained 3 cents, 0.2%, to $16.335 an ounce, bouncing off its lowest settlement of 2017 on Thursday.”

(Market Watch)

“Oil prices fell to fresh five-month lows on Friday on concerns about a persistent glut despite assurances from Saudi Arabia that Russia was ready to join OPEC in extending supply cuts. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell more than 3 per cent in early trading to below $44 per barrel, the lowest since Nov 14. It fell 4 per cent on Thursday. Benchmark Brent also fell 3 per cent to below $47 per barrel, its lowest since Nov 30, which was the date the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) triggered a rally when it said it would cut production in the first half of 2017. “

(The Economic Times)

“Gold prices are bouncing around unchanged levels, seeing little reaction after the U.S. economy created more jobs than expected. Gold prices were modestly positive on the day ahead of the report but have lost ground in initial reaction. June Comex gold last traded at $1.228.60 an ounce, flat on the day.”

(Kitco News)

5. Market Movers:

Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU) is having an overwhelmingly strong day in the market, and for good reason. The company made a key business update that led to excitement among investors. Of course, our partners at Trade Ideas were the first to alert us to the gains. At the moment (9:59), IMMU is trading at $6.79 per share after a gain of $1.38 per share or 25.51% thus far today.

(CNA Finance)

Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) shares were up nearly 6% in morning trading Friday after the company forecast strong second quarter bookings after reporting strong first quarter results yesterday. The company forecast bookings of $205 million for the current quarter ending June 30, ahead of the $195.5 million analysts are expecting for the period. The company reported bookings of $175 million in the year ago period. The online game creator reported first quarter earnings of less than a penny, beating analyst expectations of a loss of two cents per share. The company also reported revenue of $194.3 million, ahead of Wall Street’s $192.6 million.

(TheStreet)

Shares of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) IBM 2.57% opened in the $153 handle, down $6 from the close, after overnight news Warren Buffett had cut his position. Co-hosts Joel Elconin and Dennis Dick debated whether the move was too extreme. Elconin believes, while a lot of the move is likely people panic selling, some of the move could be the result of shorts who, in order to bring in their positions, are sacrificing a few shares on the long side to gauge the stock’s temperature. Dick was more concerned with the sheer magnitude and what it says about market participants as a whole.

(Benzinga)

California Resources Corp (NYSE:CRC) (CRC +22.7%) skyrockets after reporting a smaller than expected Q1 loss and easily beating analyst expectations on revenues. CRC says Q1 operating cash flow totaled $133M and free cash flow after working capital was $100M, as it recognized a 38% Y/Y increase in realized per barrel crude oil prices. Q1 daily production volumes averaged 132K boe/day vs. 148K boe/day in the year-ago quarter, down 11%, which is at the low end of the company’s estimated base production decline range. CRC raises its 2017 capex plan to $400M-$425M.

(Seeking Alpha)

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) rose 15.8 percent to $104.00 in pre-market trading. Universal Display reported Q1 earnings of $0.22 per share on revenue of $55.6 million. The company also issued a strong forecast.

(Stock House)

Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ:WING) WING 12.45%‘s first-quarter earnings report impressed Wells Fargo’s Jeff Farmer, who noted the company’s bullish thesis is “back on track.” Wingstop reported earnings per share of $0.22 in the first quarter, which came in six cents better than expected, although system-wide same-store sales were down 1.1 percent. But the company did note same-store sales through 3/2 were down 2.6 percent, which implies same-store sales over the last four to five weeks of the quarter rose up to 2.0 percent.

(Benzinga)

What happened: Puma Biotechnology Inc (NASDAQ:PBYI) stock has plummeted 18.2% as of 12:53 p.m. EDT following news that Dr. Robert Charnas, its head of regulatory affairs and project management, is hitting the exits ahead of a scheduled Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel meeting on May 24. So what: Puma Biotechnology has only one product in its clinical-stage drug pipeline, and that drug, neratinib, has been the subject of a lot of scrutiny after trials showed that a large number of patients taking it suffered from high-grade diarrhea.

(The Motley Fool)

Today’s big news revolves around Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE), which released its first-quarter earnings after market close on May 4 and held its earnings call with analysts before market open on May 5. Noble Corp reported revenue of $363 million in revenue and a loss of $1.24 per share. Revenue was down 41% from last year, but that wasn’t a big surprise as the offshore sector is going through its biggest and longest downturn in decades. Its loss was heavily driven by a one-time non-cash tax item, totalling $260 million, or $1.07 per share. When adjusting for this non-recurring, non-cash item, Noble’s quarterly loss would have been $0.15 per share.

(The Motley Fool)

In early session trading, shares of MINDBODY, Inc. (NASDAQ:MB) have slipped lower. Company stock has moved down -12.02% since the open, landing shares on today’s list of top losers. Investors will be watching to see if the stock can change direction heading into the second half of the session.MINDBODY, Inc. (NASDAQ:MB) is seeing declines so far in today’s trading session. Shares are moving -12.02% lower on solid volume. The stock has landed on the top loser list for the day according to Finviz data. MINDBODY, Inc.(NASDAQ:MB)‘s stock has performed at 33.80% year to date. Breaking that down further, it has performed 1.06% for the week, 7.55% for the month, 16.33% over the last quarter, 41.09% for the past half-year and 86.40% for this last year.

(Aiken Advocate)

The stock of Applied Optoelectronics Inc (NASDAQ:AAOI) is a huge mover today! About 3.30M shares traded or 10.74% up from the average. Applied Optoelectronics Inc (NASDAQ:AAOI) has risen 120.59% since September 28, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 110.55% the S&P500.The move comes after 8 months positive chart setup for the $984.02 million company. It was reported on May, 5 by Barchart.com. We have $52.99 PT which if reached, will make NASDAQ:AAOI worth $29.52 million more.

(Bibey Post)

Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) are scrambling higher in today’s trading session. At the time of writing, the stock had reached $11.06. This represents a change from the opening price of 6.19%. The year-to-date performance of the stock is -29.85%. The monthly stock performance comes in at -17.54%. For the quarter, shares are performing at -24.75%. Weekly performance analysis shows the equity at -6.51%.Covering Sell-Side analysts have offered recommendations and price target estimates on Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG). According to First Call, the current consensus target price on shares is sitting at $13.99. Analysts have also given a consensus recommendation on the stock of 3.20.

(Aiken Advocate)

Mercadolibre Inc (NASDAQ:MELI) shares are moving today on volatility 15.28% or $36.13 from the open. The NASDAQ listed company saw a recent bid of 272.64 and 761673 shares have traded hands in the session. Now let’s take a look at how the fundamentals are stacking up for MercadoLibre Inc (MELI). Fundamental analysis takes into consideration market, industry and stock conditions to help determine if the shares are correctly valued. MercadoLibre Inc currently has a yearly EPS of 3.09. 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.

(Pearson News)

Brightcove Inc (NASDAQ:BCOV)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $5.75 and last traded at $5.75, with a volume of 3,270,595 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.70. The software maker reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $37.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.38 million. Brightcove had a negative return on equity of 4.00% and a negative net margin of 3.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.02 earnings per share.

(The Cerbat Gem)

VWR Corp (NASDAQ:VWR) lost -2.16% to $33.30 in the current trading session. The company’s price range for the trading day is $33.07 to $33.43. The company’s market capitalization is $4.44 billion with the total outstanding shares of 131.68 million. The stock has dropped -10.58% from its peak and the consensus price target for the stock is $2.50 a share. VWR Corp (NASDAQ:VWR) shares has displayed a high EPS growth of 56.40% in last 5 years. Its share price has grown 31.67% in three months and is up 20.06% for the last five trades. The average analysts gave this company a mean recommendation of 2.50.

(WallstreetNews24)

6. Interesting Reads

“Whether you’re an unsung mathematical genius with a penchant for writing complex equations all over everything or a damn vandal, you’ll find the WriteyDesk quite useful. This test is essentially a big whiteboard that upon which you can write, draw, or sketch and it’s erasable. It comes in white or “birch” and $300 on Kickstarter and $400 when it hits retail. “But guy writing about a desk you can write on,” you say. “What happens if you smudge the ink?” I don’t know but you’d best be careful. I can imagine a lifetime of stained shirt sleeves and wrists with this thing if you’re not properly trained in the horizontal dry erase sketching arts.”

(Tech Crunch)

“A St. Louis jury has awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused cancer. The jury ruling Thursday night for 62-year-old Louis Slemp, of Wise, Virginia, comes after three previous St. Louis juries awarded a total of $197 million to plaintiffs who made similar claims. Those cases, including the previous highest award of $72 million, are all under appeal.”

(NBC News)

“U.S. payroll gains rebounded in April by more than forecast and the jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 4.4 percent, signaling that the labor market remains healthy and should support continued increases in consumer spending. The 211,000 increase followed a 79,000 advance in March that was lower than previously estimated, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 190,000 gain. While the unemployment rate is now the lowest since May 2007, wages were a soft spot in the report, climbing 2.5 percent from a year earlier.”

(Bloomberg)

“Apple is no longer China’s favourite phone manufacturer. The Silicon Valley giant has dropped out of the top three best-selling phones in China, according to new reports compiled by market researchers International Data Corporation (IDC) and Counterpoint Technology Market Research. Thankfully, it remains in the top five. Analysts have seen Apple pushed out by Chinese brands Huawei, Oppo and Vivo since last year. The brands account for one in every two phones purchased in China. Globally, Apple and Samsung snagged the top two positions in IDC’s report on the global phone market share last week, with Huawei, Oppo and Vivo hot on their heels.”

(CNET)

“If the idea of a more secure Windows browser appeals to you — and why wouldn’t it — then you might want to have a peek at the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview Build. That’s because it includes the Windows Defender Application Guard for Microsoft Edge, which was announced last September but is finally available for testing today. This Application Guard essentially encases your browser in a virtual machine, so that if your browser ever gets attacked by malware, it won’t affect the rest of your PC. To enable this, you need to use the “Turn Windows features on or off” dialog, and then mark the checkbox for “Windows Defender Application Guard.” Now when you open Microsoft Edge and click on the menu, you’ll see the option for a “New Application Guard window.” Click it, and a new special isolated browser window will appear.”

(Engadget)

“Tech is king, especially when it comes to these tech jobs that pay over $200K a year. Tech jobs are some of the most lucrative career paths you could follow. Technology is constantly changing and there’s always a need for more brainpower and innovation in any company. If you think about it, almost every company has some type of online or app presence, which means software developers are at the backend of this. I learned front-end software development a while ago and it was challenging but very rewarding. Knowing all about how websites and apps are created and function helped me gain a better understanding of the work I do on a day-to-day basis.”

(Insider Monkey)

“In America, landlines aren’t the norm anymore. A recently released survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PDF) estimates that during the second half of 2016 50.8 percent of U.S. households were wireless only. That’s up from 48.3 percent during the same time period in 2015—a rise of 2.5 percentage points. The story behind the story: It might seem odd to hear that the CDC is tracking phone usage, but there’s actually a good reason for it. Every year, the CDC conducts a face-to-face survey with 40,000 households called the National Health Interview Survey. Since 2003, the NHIS has monitored what kind of phone connectivity respondents had: landline or mobile. This data gives the CDC useful information that correlates to the health status of people without landlines.”

(PC World)

“Start your engines for the easiest old classic cars to work on for beginners. My grandpa was really into cars and even got my dad into race car driving for a little while. My dad drove quarter midgets, which is basically just a small version of a race car. Because of this, cars were a big part of both of their lives. My dad still fixes cars and even bought a car to repair and make brand new. He was primarily in charge of changing the oil in my car when I lived at home and changing tires because I wasn’t going to do it and it was cheaper than taking it into a shop. Car knowledge or knowing someone with adequate knowledge is pretty important if you’re a car owner.”

(Insider Monkey)