Here’s What Is Going On In The Financial Markets Today?

1. US Stock Market:

“U.S. stocks traded firmly higher Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite setting an intraday record, after a strong reading on private-sector hiring in March. Employers added 263,000 private-sector jobs in March, up from a revised 245,000 in February, according to payrolls firm ADP. Many economists look at the ADP report to get the feel for the official nonfarm payrolls due on Friday, though the figures aren’t always a reliable guide. The S&P 500 SPX, +0.50% was up 15 points, or 0.7%, to 2,376, with all of its 11 main sectors trading higher. Rising oil prices helped lift the energy shares XLE, +0.67% up more than 1%. Financials were also among top gainers, up 1%.”

(Market Watch)

“US stocks rose on Wednesday after solid private employment data underscored the strength of the economy, boosting financial stocks and helping calm investor jitters over President Donald Trump’s ability to deliver on his policy plans. The ADP National Employment report showed U.S. private employers added 263,000 jobs in March, more than they hired in February and well above economists’ expectations.”

(Business Insider)

“U.S. stock futures pointed to little change at the open Wednesday, as traders waited for Federal Reserve meeting minutes and President Donald Trump’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart. S&P 500 futures dipped by 2.60 points, or 0.1%, to 2,354, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged lower by 7 points, or less than 0.1%, to 20,627. Nasdaq-100 futures shed 7.25 points, or 0.1%, to 5,436.75.”

(Morningstar)

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2. US Bond Market:

“The U.S. Treasuries slid Wednesday, on expectations of a fall in the country’s initial jobless claims, scheduled to be released later in the day. Also, investors wait to watch the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes, due today, besides, the employment report later this week. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury remained jumped 1-1/2 basis points to 2.36 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields rose 1 basis point to 2.96 percent and the yield on short-term 3year note also traded nearly 1 basis point higher at 1.25 percent.”

(EconoTimes)

“U.S. Treasury prices are roughly flat, with the benchmark 10-year yield hovering near unchanged at 2.36%.”

(Seeking Alpha)

“U.S. Treasury yields have hit session highs following the ADP private payrolls data. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield rose to 2.378 percent.”

(CNBC)

3. FX Markets:

“The USD/JPY (¥110.94) is little changed ahead of the U.S open despite the traditional ‘safe-haven status’ of the yen in such a scenario. The U.K’s pound (£1,2475) has found some early traction after this morning’s U.K data for Mar. PMI services beat expectations.”

(FX Street)

“The dollar edged lower early Wednesday, but traded in a tight range, as investors gravitated to the Japanese yen, considered a haven currency, after North Korea tested another ballistic missile just as President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart prepared to meet on regional stability. Against its Japanese counterpart, the dollar USDJPY, +0.60% was little changed at ¥110.80, compared with ¥110.74 late Tuesday in New York. It traded down to ¥110.54.”

(Market Exchange)

“The US dollar was trading in a mixed manner, gaining against the Japanese yen, losing to the British pound, slightly beating the euro and the kiwi while slipping marginally against the Aussie and the loonie.”

(Forex Crunch)

4. Commodities:

“Oil prices rose for the sixth time in seven sessions on Wednesday, propelled higher by signs that U.S. supplies are set to shrink. Crude oil for May delivery jumped 63 cents, or 1.2%, to $51.65 a barrel, setting it on track for its highest settlement since March 7. Brent oil — the international benchmark — gained 69 cents, or 1.3%, to $54.85 a barrel, also set for its highest close in almost a month.”

(Morningstar)

“Gold prices are lower and trading near their daily lows in late-morning action Wednesday. Sell stop orders were also triggered in the futures market by the shorter-term traders. The yellow metal is being pressured by profit-taking from recent gains and by a solid rebound in the U.S. dollar index the past few trading sessions. U.S. stock indexes are also higher on the day Wednesday, which is another negative for the competing asset class, gold. June gold was last down $12.50 an ounce at $1,245.80.”

(Kitco News)

5. Market Movers:

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shares are seeing unusual volume mid-trading session today.  While the stock price moved along with the volume change, shares are touching $48.18.  The day’s total volume of 2776912 this morning is in contrast from the three-month daily average of 1213.37K.  When we divide the current volume by the three-month average volume, we get a relative volume of 4.06. 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.

(Melville Review)

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) shares are struggling to make any headway in today’s session. In early trading, the stock has dipped -21.31% on steady volume. The action so far has landed shares on the top loser list for the morning session.Benitec Biopharma Limited (:BNTC) is seeing declines so far in today’s trading session.  Shares are moving -21.31% lower on solid volume. The stock has landed on the top loser list for the day according to Finviz data.  Benitec Biopharma Limited(:BNTC)‘s stock has performed at 167.97% year to date.  Breaking that down further, it has performed 56.49% for the week, 56.49% for the month, 167.97% over the last quarter, 192.86% for the past half-year and 145.51% for this last year.

(Aiken Advocate)

Alere Inc (NYSE:ALR) shares have spiked over 7% in mid-day trading after Bloomberg reported that Alere has asked a Delaware judge to uphold a report espousing Abbott produce summaries and notes from its due diligence calls and meetings for their previously agreed merger. Alere believes that it has (perhaps through the notes) already provided Abbott with ‘substantial written and oral’ information over the company’s sales recognition methods, and various communications with various government agencies including the FDA. Abbott had previously agreed to buy Alere Inc (NYSE:ALR) but had latter wanted to back away from the deal after the DOJ and other government agencies began probing Alere.

(Insider Monkey)

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) shares are seeing unusual volume mid-trading session today.  While the stock price moved along with the volume change, shares are touching $47.83.  The day’s total volume of 2514387 this morning is in contrast from the three-month daily average of 600.39K.  When we divide the current volume by the three-month average volume, we get a relative volume of 7.43. The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX)’s market cap, the total dollar value of all of their outstanding shares, is 1218.49m.  Including today’s unusual volume, The Greenbrier Companies, Inc.’s stock is performing at 3.84% on the year.

(Melville Review)

Panera Bread Co (NASDAQ:PNRA) PNRA 13.86% shares are trading higher by $38.00 (13 percent) at $312.00 in Wednesday’s session. The company announced it would be acquired for $315 per share by JAB Holdings, a private European company who already owns Keurig Green Mountain and Caribou Coffee. At this time, there seems to be little or no anti-trust concerns as the issue is within $3.00 of the takeout price.

(Benzinga)

In early session trading, shares of Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE:EXK) have slipped lower. Company stock has moved down -9.25% 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. Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE:EXK) is seeing declines so far in today’s trading session.  Shares are moving -9.25% 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.

(Aiken Advocate)

Castle Brands Inc. (NYSEMKT:ROX) currently has a Gross Margin (Marx) ratio of 0.56299. Robert Novy-Marx has provided investors with insights on finding high-quality value stocks. Marx pointed to a high gross income ratio defining the quality of a company. Castle Brands Inc. has a Gross Margin score of 8. The Gross Margin score falls between 1 and 100 where a score of 1 would be good, and a score of 100 would be considered bad. This score is based on the Gross Margin stability and growth over the previous 8 years.

(Baxter Review)

Axon Enterprise Inc (NASDAQ:TASR) shares are in the red after today’s hyped-up announcement failed to impress the market. Previously, Axon shares had rallied sharply higher (up over 5%) in morning trading after the company said it would announce a ‘game changer’ on Wednesday at noon. That announcement turned out to be that Axon is launching a new program to equip every police officer in the United States with a body camera. The company will also be offering supporting software, hardware, data storage, training and support free of cost for one year.

(Insider Monkey)

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT) shares have popped 4% after Edward Nash of SunTrust upgraded the equity to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ and set a $45 target price. Nash is more optimistic due to his expectation that the long-term pulmonary and cardiac function data presented at the MDA scientific conference on March 19-22 could potentially lead to more Exondys 51 adoption and insurance coverage. After surging sharply last year on the news of accelerated approval of Exondys 51, which would be the first drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT) shares have languished in part due to relatively low expectations for Exondys 51 sales growth.

(Insider Monkey)

The stock of Neothetics Inc (NASDAQ:NEOT) is a huge mover today! About 6.09M shares traded or 6476.89% up from the average. Neothetics Inc (NASDAQ:NEOT) has risen 44.86% since August 29, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 36.61% the S&P500.The move comes after 6 months positive chart setup for the $27.78 million company. It was reported on Apr, 5 by Barchart.com. We have $2.17 PT which if reached, will make NASDAQ:NEOT worth $2.22 million more.

(Wolcott Daily)

China Auto Logistics Inc (NASDAQ:CALI) reported its last quarter results on 03/28/2017. This Company belongs to Retail-Wholesale sector. In the last trading session, The Company traded 3.03 Million shares. The Stock Market opened sessions at 1.92 and closed at 2.85. There was a stock increase by 54.89 percent. China Auto Logistic Inc. (CALI) topped its 52-week high price target of 4.4 on Jun 7, 2016. The company reached a 52-week low at 0.99 on Apr 7, 2016.

(Newburgh Press)

Brokerage firms currently have a positive stance on shares of Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR). The majority of analysts covering the equity have either a Buy or Strong Buy recommendation on the stock, yielding a consensus score of 2.00. Those same analysts are projecting that the stock will reach $19.20 on a short term basis. Performance: At the time of writing, the stock was trading at $13.78. This represents a change from most recent open price of -0.79%. In terms of performance, year to date, the stock is -18.66%. The monthly stock performance comes in at -9.49%.

(Rives Journal)

Unilife Corp. (NASDAQ:UNIS) 62% LOWER; received notice from a key customer for wearable injectors that such customer is putting a program with the Company on hold for reasons unrelated to the Company’s products. Given the relative importance of such program, such delay may negatively impact the Company’s ability to obtain financing or the amount of financing the Company may be able to obtain. The Company issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act notice (the “Notice”) to all employees of the Company and state and local government agencies, that if the Company is not successful in obtaining financing, the Company will be forced to permanently close both its York, Pennsylvania and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania facilities.

(Street Insider)

Investors interested in stocks under $5 should take a look at Innocoll Holdings plc (NASDAQ:INNL). The stock has gained quite a bit of attention of late and here we’ll take a look at the technicals at a glance. In recent trading activity, company stock has moved 18.41% touching the price of $2.15. Moving forward, the investment community will be watching to see if shares can gain some positive momentum. Most investors are likely looking for that next stock that is ready to take off running. Maybe the focus is on finding a stock that has recently taken a turn for the worse for no real apparent reason. As we all know, as quickly as a stock can drop in price, it can bounce back just as fast.

(Morgan Leader)

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) has fallen 4.67%, or $0.48 per share, to below the psychologically important $10 level on Wednesday after The Australian reported that various bidders have offered under $1 billion for Valeant’s iNova segment. If true, the bids are under what many market participants expected — generally the Street has estimated the iNova unit to bring in around a billion dollars if sold. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) could have used the extra money raised to deleverage its balance sheet. Although management has promised $8 billion of asset sales, Valeant has only sold $2 billion so far. The slow pace of asset sales may be concerning some traders on the Street.

(Insider Monkey)

Although the broader market is in the green, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) shares are off $0.12 per share, or 0.85%, this morning likely due to today’s Amazon news. According to Recode, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has snapped up the rights to live-stream 10 NFL games next season for $50 million, or five times what Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) paid for the 10 Thursday Night games the social media giant live streamed for 2016. Amazon will stream the games to its Prime customers in hopes that more people will sign up for the service.

(Insider Monkey)

Ballard Power Systems Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BLDP) shares have rallied 9% after one of the company’s peers, Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG), reached an agreement with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Specifically, Amazon will use Plug Power fuel cells and hydrogen technology in its fulfillment network. The agreement for Plug could be worth $70 million in 2017. Although Ballard Power Systems Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BLDP) didn’t win any contracts today, some traders feel the Amazon deal further validates fuel cells and certainly improves sentiment in the sector. Like Plug Power, Ballard Power also manufactures, designs, and services fuel cell products. Shares of the stock have rallied 42% year-to-date and 72% over the last 12 months before today’s news.

(Insider Monkey)

Amazon Prime just got a little better. According to Recode, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has beaten out Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) for the NFL’s streaming package and will offer livestreams for 10 NFL games next fall to all Amazon Prime members. To win the rights, Amazon has agreed to pay $50 million, or 5x what Twitter paid for 2016’s 10 livestream rights. Amazon also doesn’t have the exclusive streaming rights — NBC and CBS can stream the games they broadcast. Despite the higher amount paid, many traders like the deal as it shows that the e-commerce giant is making a concerted push into livestreaming and sports, two potential growth markets for the everything store ahead. It also makes customers more likely to sign up for Amazon Prime. If enough new customers sign on, the NFL deal will pay for itself.

(Insider Monkey)

6. Interesting Reads

“Facebook said Wednesday that it is taking more steps to crack down on its network’s “revenge porn” problem, including a new process that prevents users from reposting intimate images shared without the subject’s consent. While Facebook’s community guidelines already forbid posting revenge porn, the social network said it will now identify and catalogue specific images reported as revenge porn, according to a blog post by Facebook’s head of global safety, Antigone Davis.”

(The Washington Post)

“Astronomers have been hunting for Planet Nine – the large, mysterious body thought to lurk at the edge of our solar system – ever since researchers at Caltech published evidence of its existence last year. Ordinary people have now joined the search. And they’ve made some intriguing finds. Participants in a citizen science campaign hosted by the crowdsourcing program Zooniverse, and the BBC pinpointed four previously unknown objects in the outer solar system that could be candidates for Planet Nine, according to researchers at the Australian National University.”

(Orlando Sentinel)

“If you have decided to move from busy city crowds and start being your own boss, or just try out developing a business at your backyard, you might try some of the most profitable horticulture businesses to start. In the age when more and more people are looking for better food quality, like the growing organic food market demand, big doors are opening for those who plan to start a horticulture business. Of course, starting any agricultural business depends on how big is the capital investment, the size and quality of the soil you have available. Also, climate and weather differences impact on what plants can thrive.”

(Insider Monkey)

“Netflix is officially rolling out its new user content review system on Wednesday, replacing its traditional star-rating system with a more personalized thumbs up/down method. The star system currently still appears on the service, but the Netflix system gods will begin adding thumbs icons today and will eventually flip the switch dimming their star field forever. They even put out a video about it, below, to brace their subscribers for the change — and to say that their star system was also a personalized system, at least to some degree, even though most users did not realize it.”

(EW.com)

“For the first time ever, Samsung will become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in about two weeks when it comes to smartphone design. Apple has always had the edge in the past thanks to the thin plastic Samsung used on its phones for the first few years after entering the market, and then the gap narrowed in 2015 when the company finally switched to glass and metal. Now, in 2017, Samsung has stolen the crown with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, which feature a design that puts Apple’s three-year-old iPhone design to shame.”

(BGR.com)