Here’s What You Need To Know About The Financial Markets Today

1. US Stock Market:

“Stocks fell on Thursday after the U.S. dropped “the mother of all bombs” in Afghanistan while bank stocks dropped despite strong earnings from JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. Stocks extended losses shortly after news of the bombing broke. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 100 points, with Chevron and Goldman Sachs contributing the most losses. The S&P 500 fell 0.45 percent, with energy and financials leading decliner. The Nasdaq composite dropped 0.23 percent.”

(CNBC)

“U.S. stocks dropped lower on Thursday to lows of the session, weighed down by financial and energy stocks following earnings reports from three of the largest U.S. banks, putting Wall Street on track for its third straight day of losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.31%  fell 88 points, or 0.4%, to 20,504, with shares of Chevron Corp. CVX, -2.16%  and Caterpillar Inc. CAT, -1.50% leading declines. The S&P 500 index SPX, -0.30% declined 9 points, or 0.4%, to 2,336, as all of 11 of the index’s sectors traded in the red with energy and financial stocks among the largest decliners. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 closed below their 50-day moving averages for the first time since early November on Wednesday, a bearish sign for near-term momentum.”

(Market Watch)

Image By Monkey Business – Adobe Stock

2. US Bond Market:

“The yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury notes recorded its steepest single-week decline since early 2016 due to safe-haven demand for longer-dated government bonds spurred by worries over potential U.S. military strikes against Syria and North Korea. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 14 basis points in a shortened trading week, which was the biggest weekly decline since the week of Jan. 8, 2016, Reuters data showed.”

(Reuters)

“Treasury prices climbed on Thursday, sending their yields, which move in the opposite direction, lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell as much as 5 basis points. United States stock market indexes were slightly lower in early afternoon trading.”

(The New York Times)

“The US dollar and Treasury yields slid on Thursday and were on track for their biggest weekly declines this year, after US President Donald Trump said that he would like to see interest rates stay low and that the greenback was too strong. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six trade-weighted peers, fell 0.6 per cent to 100.07. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield slid to a five-month low of 2.22 per cent.”

(The Hindu Business Line)

3. FX Markets:

“The U.S. dollar trimmed its early decline against most major counterparts in the European session on Thursday. The greenback rose to 1.0060 versus the franc, 1.0624 against the euro and 1.2524 against the pound, from its early 10-day low of 1.0008, weekly low of 1.0678 and more than a 2-week low of 1.2574, respectively. The greenback rebounded to 0.7574 against the Aussie, from a 9-day low of 0.7595 hit at 2:00 am ET. The greenback is likely to find resistance around 1.02 against the franc, 1.05 against the euro, 1.23 against the pound and 0.73 against the Aussie.”

(RTT News)

“The dollar recovered from a two-week low against a broad index on Thursday, having slid after U.S. President Donald Trump said the currency was getting too strong and that he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low. The greenback and U.S. Treasury yields took a heavy hit after Trump’s comments to the Wall Street Journal, in which he said the strength of the economy would hurt the dollar. But after losing 0.6 percent on Wednesday – its biggest one-day fall in over three weeks – the dollar recovered on Thursday, trading up 0.3 percent on the day by 1150 GMT. Having hit a five-month low of 108.73 in early Asian trading, the dollar steadied at 109.14 yen.”

(Reuters)

4. Commodities:

“Oil prices shed earlier losses and moved slightly higher on Thursday after an energy watchdog said the market is “very close” to a balance after years of oversupply. Crude oil for May delivery CLK7, +0.19% traded 1 cent higher at $53.12 a barrel, after having traded as low as $52.82 earlier in the day. Brent for June LCOM7, +0.07% rose 5 cents to $55.91 a barrel, recovering from an intraday low of $55.61.”

(Market Watch)

“Gold prices remain near their overnight five-month high following data that showed a drop in pipeline inflation pressures last month. Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said its Producer Price Index fell 0.1% in March, down from the 0.3% rise seen February. According to consensus forecasts, economists were expecting to see a flat reading in inflation. June gold futures last traded at $1,288.40 an ounce, up 0.81% on the day and was less than four dollars from the session highs.”

(Kitco News)

5. Market Movers:

MiMedx Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDXG) stock is experiencing unusual volume during today’s trading.  While the stock price moved along with the volume change, shares are touching $10.56.  The day’s total volume of 2518275 this morning is in contrast from the three-month daily average of 777.36K.  When we divide the current volume by the three-month average volume, we get a relative volume of 5.72.

(Hiram Herald)

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:IONS) have seen the needle move 4.83% or $1.90 in the most recent session. The NASDAQ listed company saw a recent bid of 41.25 on 383576 volume. Now let’s take a look at how the fundamentals are stacking up for W Resources Plc (WRES.L). Fundamental analysis takes into consideration market, industry and stock conditions to help determine if the shares are correctly valued. W Resources Plc currently has a yearly EPS of -0.02. 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.

(Morgan Leader)

Shares of ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN) are scrambling higher in today’s trading session. At the time of writing, the stock had reached $3.17. This represents a change from the opening price of 7.99%. The year-to-date performance of the stock is 45.10%. The monthly stock performance comes in at -23.71%. For the quarter, shares are performing at 21.81%. Weekly performance analysis shows the equity at -12.17%.Covering Sell-Side analysts have offered recommendations and price target estimates on ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN). According to First Call, the current consensus target price on shares is sitting at $3.80.

(Aiken Advocate)

Infosys Ltd ADR (NYSE:INFY) traded down 4.65% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $14.55. The company had a trading volume of 11,587,323 shares. Infosys has a 12 month low of $13.42 and a 12 month high of $20.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.90. Infosys (NYSE:INFY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 13th.

(The Cerbat Gem)

Fairmount Santrol Holdings Inc (NYSE:FMSA) has created a compelling message for traders in the most recent trading. That message has grown stronger as the technical chart setup has developed into a more composite picture for the stock. This is the breakdown as we see it. Contrary to popular belief, ignorance is not bliss. What you don’t know can actually harm you; and if you are a day trader, $1 worth of ignorance could potentially cost you $100 in real wealth. Traders that succeed know this; which is why many don’t take on any trade unless they listen intently to what the technical chart has to say.

(NY Stock News)

Shares of Apogee Enterprises Inc (NASDAQ:APOG) opened at 58.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 1.40. Apogee Enterprises Inc has a 52 week low of $39.48 and a 52 week high of $61.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.77 and a 200 day moving average of $51.86. Apogee Enterprises (NASDAQ:APOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 13th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.08. Apogee Enterprises had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 7.77%.

(Sports Perspectives)

Axovant Sciences Ltd. (NYSE:AXON) shares are seeing unusual volume mid-trading session today.  While the stock price moved along with the volume change, shares are touching $21.79.  The day’s total volume of 986637 this morning is in contrast from the three-month daily average of 580.48K.  When we divide the current volume by the three-month average volume, we get a relative volume of 3.00. Axovant Sciences Ltd. (NYSE:AXON)‘s market cap, the total dollar value of all of their outstanding shares, is 1938.82m.  Including today’s unusual volume, Axovant Sciences Ltd.‘s stock is performing at 59.42% on the year.

(Hiram Herald)

Shares of Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY) inclined 2.72%, trading last session at $10.54 with a total trading volume of 10.54 million shares. The stock has gained 19.58% in the past month, -5.16% in the previous three months, and 7.67% on an YTD basis. The Company’s shares were trading 2.81% above their 50-day moving average and -20.60% below their 200-day moving average. Moreover, Shares of AUY has an RSI of 58.29. Its sales stood at -3.80% a year on average in the period of last five years. For the same period, its EPS moved at an average growth rate of -19.30%. The company maintains price to book ratio of 0.63.

(WallStreetNews24)

SkyPeople Fruit Juice, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPU) shares are struggling to make any headway in today’s session. In early trading, the stock has dipped -45.22% on steady volume. The action so far has landed shares on the top loser list for the morning session.SkyPeople Fruit Juice, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPU) is seeing declines so far in today’s trading session.  Shares are moving -45.22% 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.  Stocks that lose the most value relative to their price at opening are called percentage losers, and the stocks that lose the greatest number of points are called net losers or, sometimes, dollar losers.

(Aiken Advocate)

Shares of Yext Inc (NYSE:YEXT) YEXT, +25.32% were trading at $13.74 Thursday morning, above the company’s $11 issue price, in the stock’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The New York-based company, which helps businesses streamline locations and other data across digital platforms, sold 10.5 million shares to raise $115.5 million at a valuation of $940 million. Underwriting banks have the option to buy an additional 1.6 million shares. Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital Markets were the lead underwriters on the offering.

(Market Watch)

Shares of Gold Fields Limited (ADR) (NYSE:GFI) inclined 1.32%, trading last session at $3.83 with a total trading volume of 7.34 million shares. The stock has gained 22.76% in the past month, 19.22% in the previous three months, and 29.12% on an YTD basis. The Company’s shares were trading 12.93% above their 50-day moving average and -7.65% below their 200-day moving average. Moreover, Shares of GFI has an RSI of 63.95. Its sales stood at -4.70% a year on average in the period of last five years. For the same period, its EPS moved at an average growth rate of -23.10%. The company maintains price to book ratio of 1.05.

(WallStreetNews24)

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL), a stock from Silver Industry, has a value of $5.64 per share, noted a price change of 0.18% in recent trade close. The P/S ratio is 3.45. It has a dividend yield of 0.18%. The performance for one month is at 21.03% and the performance for half year is 10.27%. The performance for recent week is 4.83% and the performance for three months is at -2.54%. The performance for Year to Date (YTD) is 7.69%. Its monthly volatility value of 3.44% and volatility for the week is valued at 3.46%.

(Street Updates)

Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE:PIR) stock price tumbled -0.14% to finalize at $7.25 throughout previous buying and selling session. A total of 4.77 million shares exchanged at hands and its average trading volume is standing at 2.47 million shares. The Stock has Weekly volatility of 4.25% and monthly volatility of 4.21%. Tracking most recent quarter period, Price to book (P/B) ration is at 2.18 and Price to cash per share ration is at 6.84. Beta value of the stock is marked at 1.62. A beta of less than 1 means that the security will be less volatile than the market. A beta of greater than 1 indicates that the security’s price will be more volatile than the market.

(WSNews4Investors)

Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) announced the pricing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 3,846,154 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $3.90 per share. In addition, Aehr Test Systems has granted the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase at the public offering price up to an additional 576,923 shares of its common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) shares ticked up 1.00% to $4.05 on Wednesday. All shares of common stock to be sold in the offering will be offered by Aehr Test Systems. The offering is expected to close on April 19, 2017, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

(Benchmark Monitor)

Ireland-headquartered Nexvet Biopharma Public Ltd. Co (NASDAQ:NVET) on April 13 soared midday by 64.20% in heavy trading to $6.65, after entering an acquisition deal that will place Nexvet under the mothership of Zoetis for $85 million or $6.72 per share. The company broke into a new record of a 52-week high from its previous value of $6.62. Zoetis will acquire Nexvet and take it into its pipeline of solutions for chronic pain management in dogs and cats. The deal is expected to be completed by the second half of the year. The deal valuation represents a 66% premium over Nexvet’s closing price on April 12. While the board of directors has granted approval on the deal, it is still subject to approval by Nexvet’s shareholders and the Irish High Court as well as other customary conditions.

(Insider Monkey)

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDDAQ:CTSH) rose 0.24% to $58.80 in pre-market hours on Thursday, April 13, after SunTrust upgraded his view of the company’s shares to “buy” from “hold.” Most recently, Berenberg initiated coverage on the company last March with a “hold” rating, and Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to “overweight” last January. The analyst’s rating also comes a day after the company scheduled its first-quarter 2017 earnings conference call on May 05. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDDAQ:CTSH) previously filed its year-to-date financial statement, reporting $561 million of GAAP income from operations, and $0.68 in diluted EPS for the fourth quarter of 2016, which increased from P553 million in GAAP income from operations and $0.69 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2015.

(Insider Monkey)

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) is trending today after analyst Rob Sanderson of MKM estimated that Alibaba’s cloud business has a $20 billion opportunity in five years, with an incremental two to three billion more in other Asian nations. If true, that means Alibaba’s cloud business has a lot of growth ahead. Currently, analysts estimate that Alibaba’s cloud business is at around a $1 billion a year run-rate, and that the unit is growing at a triple-digit percentage rate of around 115% year-over-year.

(Insider Monkey)

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics Inc (NASDAQ:AAOI) rallied 22% in the pre-market on Thursday after the optical networking company announced better-than-expected preliminary first quarter results. For the period, Applied Optoelectronics sees sales coming in at $96.2 million, versus the Street consensus of $89.7 million and the past guidance of $87-$91 million. Earnings per share for the three months is seen rising to $1-$1.02, easily better than the analyst average of $0.83 and the company’s previous outlook of $0.80-$0.88.

(Insider Monkey)

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is in the spotlight after CEO and founder Elon Musk responded with the following tweet to an investor group comprising of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System and several other major pension funds that had asked for a more independent board at Tesla. As it stands, five of the six current board members of Tesla have either professional or personal relationships with Musk. Elon tweeted, ‘This investor group should buy Ford stock. Their governance is amazing …’. He later followed up with the tweet, ‘Besides, I already said we’d add more independent members during SCTY merger. Will announce soon, but this group has nothing to do with it’. Although Musk isn’t exactly known for his PR skills, investors are heartened that Tesla will add more independent board members.

(Insider Monkey)

6. Interesting Reads

Android fans are about to be divided into two groups: those who buy a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+, and those who wish they had a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+. Consumers haven’t even yet had the chance to experience Samsung’s 2017 flagship phones for themselves, but they already know these phones are something special. Samsung’s nearly edgeless “Infinity Display” combines with curved sides on the front and back of the phone to create a look and feel that are as close to perfect as any company has come so far, considering current technological limitations. Samsung has already said that Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ pre-orders have outpaced last year’s Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, and now the company has offered actual pre-order figures that are impressive, to say the least.

(BGR.com)

Apple has a major advantage over Google in the world’s most populated country. The Cupertino firm is now the biggest Western software seller in China, according to an analyst note from Macquarie sent to investors this morning. Citing internal analysis and App Annie numbers, Ben Schachter, Ed Alter, and David Gibson said the company earned around $6 billion (£4.77 billion) from Chinese App Store sales in 2016. They said that could more than double to $16 billion (£13 billion) by 2020 if Apple just maintained its current share of the market.

(Business Insider)

If you are looking for a high-end smartphone that also has premium security features, then this list of best smartphones with a fingerprint sensor is all you need. These days we don’t just use smartphones for calling or texting. They have become much more. We are using them to storage personal data, access social media, bank accounts, and much more. Because of this, the security is a big issue for every smartphone user. You didn’t have much to lose with your Nokia 3310, except your messages or contacts. Now, the stakes are much higher, and the smartphone manufacturers are upgrading their game concerning the security.

(Insider Monkey)

Lucid is continuing down its path of shipping a Tesla competitor, and the Air just underwent another milestone: High-speed testing. A performance-targeted prototype version of its flagship Air car, the first it’s intending to bring to production, hit Ohio’s 7.5-mile TRC test track to check out how it holds up under high-speed use, including a (software limited) top speed of 217 mph. The performance testing is designed to help the team identify where the car is performing as expected in conditions that, while not likely to be encountered often in daily use, will still prove part of the appeal of the vehicle to its first customers.

(Tech Crunch)

A Virginia Tech paleobiologist has discovered a creature that lived more than 245 million years ago, during the Triassic Period before dinosaurs. The discovery of Teleocrater Rhadinus was unearthed in southern Tanzania. The first Teleocrater fossils were discovered in Tanzania in 1933 by paleontologist F. Rex Parrington. But since the first specimens lacked critical identifying bones, it could not be determined whether they were more closely related to crocodylians or dinosaurs. The new discovery shows up on the fossil record after a large group of reptiles known as archosaurs split into a bird branch (which led to dinosaurs and birds) and a crocodile branch (which led to today’s alligators and crocodiles.)

(WTKR.com)