These 34 Stories Can Tell You What’s Happening In The Finance World Today

1. US Stock Market:

“U.S. stocks recovered from lows of the day Friday afternoon, but were struggling to trade in positive territory, as President Donald Trump’s said a much-awaited tax-reform plan was imminent. However, anxieties centered on the first round of France’s closely watched presidential election offset optimism around the promises of potentially market-boosting tax cuts. The S&P 500 index SPX, -0.27%  was down 3 points, or 0.1%, at 2,352, after an earlier 11-point deficit. Eight of the 11 main sectors were trading lower. Telecoms and financial shares were leading losses, down 1.5% and 0.5%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.07% advanced 12 points, or less than 0.1%, to 20,5992, following a 73-point deficit earlier, with shares of General Electric Co. GE, -1.98%  and Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, -2.48%  both down more than 2%. Microsoft Corp. MSFT, +1.43%  and United Technologies Corp. UTX, +1.00%  led advancers.”

(Market Watch)

“U.S. stocks held mixed in choppy trade Friday as investors weighed comments from the Trump administration on tax reform. Wall Street also kept an eye on falling oil prices and looked ahead to the French election. The Dow Jones industrial average erased earlier losses with United Technologies contributing the most gains. The index had cut most of its losses after President Donald Trump told The Associated Press his administration will unveil a “massive tax cut” in a new reform he plans on unveiling next week. The S&P 500 declined 0.2 percent, with telecommunications falling more than 1 percent to lead decliners.”

(CNBC)

“U.S. stocks opened little-changed as investors adopted a wait-and-see approach ahead of the first round of voting in the French presidential election, which takes place Sunday. The S&P 500 index was unchanged at 2,355, The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 20,592. The Nasdaq Composite Index was little-changed at 5,915.”

(Fox Business)

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2. US Bond Market:

“The U.S. Treasuries traded flat after the country’s Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that he will unveil a tax reform plan very soon and expects it will be approved by the Congress this year whether a healthcare overhaul happens or not. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury jumped nearly 3 basis points to 2.23 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields also surged 2-1/2 basis points to 2.88 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year note traded over 1 basis point to 1.18 percent by 11:30GMT.”

(EconoTimes)

“U.S. government debt prices were mixed on Friday as investors eyed the release of existing home sales at 10:00 a.m. ET and developments in France, where the first round of the French presidential will take place on Sunday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was lower at around 2.236 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond held flat at 2.89 percent. Yields move inversely to prices.”

(CNBC)

“Treasuries showed little change on Friday as voters prepared to cast ballots this weekend in the first round of the French presidential election. Investors are also looking ahead to a spate of U.S. economic data, and speeches from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer. The yield for the 10-year Treasury note gained 0.3 basis point to 2.235%. The yield for the 2-year note edged off 0.4 basis points to 1.184%, while the 30-year bond rose 0.3 basis point to 2.887%.”

(Fox Business)

3. FX Markets:

“The dollar gained versus the euro and against most leading rivals on Friday ahead the first round on Sunday of a tight French presidential race that likely holds implications for the eurozone economy. The broad-based ICE U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.1% to 99.92. The euro was worth $1.0696, slipping from $1.0718 late Thursday in New York. Against its Japanese counterpart, however, the greenback slipped to Yen 109.12 compared with Yen 109.32 late Thursday in New York. The euro had reached a high of $1.0779 Thursday, the strongest level since March 28, according to FactSet data.”

(Fox Business)

“The pound was little changed against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of downbeat U.K. retail sales data, as news this week of a snap election in June continued to support demand for sterling and as sentiment on the greenback remained vulnerable. GBP/USD hit 1.2773 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2806.”

(Investing.com)

4. Commodities:

“Gold prices remain relatively unchanged on the day following a weaker-than-expected reading in preliminary U.S. manufacturing and service data. Friday, research firm IHS Markit, said that its flash Purchasing Managers Index for April, fell modestly to a reading of 52.8, down from March final reading of 53.3. Economists were expecting to see a modest rise, with consensus forecasts calling for a reading of 53.9. At the same time the firm’s service sector PMI showed a reading of 52.5 following March’s reading of 52.8. Economists were expecting the index to rise to 53.7. The report noted that private sector growth has eased to its lowest level in seven months. Gold prices were hovering around unchanged on the day and have remained at those level in initial reaction to the data; June Comex gold futures last traded at $1,284.40 an ounce.”

(Kitco News)

“Crude oil prices are set to close this week’s trading lower, despite key members of OPEC favoring an extension of their ongoing production cut. Technically this decline in price now has crude oil prices back below the key. $52.00 handle. This point has previously been a value of support for the commodity, but as a new short term downtrend develops, this point may now graphically be seen as resistance. Traders tracking the momentum of crude oil price, should note that the commodity is set to close beneath its 10 day EMA (exponential moving average) for the 3rd consecutive session. A move of this nature typically suggests weakness in the market in the short term. Also with today’s decline, prices are now set to test the 200 day MVA (simple moving average) at $50.27.”

(DailyFX)

5. Market Movers:

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) witnessed a loss of -1.08% in recent trading period with closing price of $ 48.41. The company’s last traded volume of 30.4 million shares was up it’s an average volume of 15.6 million shares. In the trailing 12 months period, return on assets ratio of the Company was 5.50% and return on equity ratio was 64.90% while its return on investment ratio was 15.10%. The stock as of last trading session moved 7.61% up from its 52 week low and was -11.18% behind its 52 week high. The stock’s price switched up -0.63% 20-Days Simple Moving Average, dropped -0.81% from 50-Days Simple Moving Average and fell -3.18% from 200 Days Simple Moving Average. The company has PEG ratio of 8.95 and price to cash ratio of 68.58.

(Is Stories)

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is now trading with a very clear set of technicals. Taken together they paint a very compelling picture of how investors and traders should be approaching MU. Few trading tools are as powerful, or as potentially profitable as those that are found inside the technical chart readings of a particular stock. When used efficiently, the results can be extraordinary. MU’s most recent trading session saw the stock achieve a high of $28.08 and a low of $27.50. The high in the most recent session compares poorly to the established 52-week high of $29.87 which was set by MU on 03/24/17.

(NY Stock News)

The stock of Weatherford International Plc (NYSE:WFT) is a huge mover today! About 13.45 million shares traded. Weatherford International Plc (NYSE:WFT) has declined 3.55% since September 14, 2016 and is downtrending. It has underperformed by 14.37% the S&P500.The move comes after 5 months negative chart setup for the $5.62B company. It was reported on Apr, 21 by Barchart.com. We have $5.12 PT which if reached, will make NYSE:WFT worth $393.40M less.

(Huron Report)

Following trading activity for Globus Maritime Limited (NASDAQ:GLBS), we can see that the stock has moved onto today’s list of most actives. From the opening price, the stock has seen a change of 39.65% recently clocking in with a price of $3.44. Checking some other stock price data, we can see that the recent distance from the 50 day high was noted at -60.05% and the separation from the 50 day low is presently 42.54%. Looking out over the past year, company shares have been recorded -85.44% off the 52 week high and 206.72% away from the low over the same period.

(The Hiram Herald)

Shares of Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU) is moving on volatility today -12.04% or $-0.72 rom the open. The NASDAQ listed company saw a recent bid of 5.26 on 3970170 volume. Now let’s take a look at how the fundamentals are stacking up for Immunomedics Inc (IMMU). Fundamental analysis takes into consideration market, industry and stock conditions to help determine if the shares are correctly valued. Immunomedics Inc currently has a yearly EPS of -0.72. 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. Another key indicator that can help investors determine if a stock might be a quality investment is the Return on Equity or ROE. Immunomedics Inc (IMMU) currently has Return on Equity of 1.57. ROE is a ratio that measures profits generated from the investments received from shareholders.

(Pearson News)

According to the latest stock data, investors are looking at Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ:CORT)’s short data and trying to figure out market sentiment on which way the market thinks the stock is moving. The firm has 6.07% of total shares float short, yielding a short ratio of 7.01. When investors engage in short selling or “shorting a stock”, they actually borrow shares from an existing owner, sell the borrowed shares at market price, and take the cash.  The short sellers then promise to replace the stock in the future and makes dividend payments out of their own pockets to cover the dividend income that is no longer exists on the original, now borrowed and sold, shares.

(Midway Monitor)

Analysts are predicting that Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:MANH) is going to report an earnings of $0.46 per share.  The actual earnings for Manhattan Associates, Inc. will be released on or around 2017-07-18  according to Zacks .  How will investors react to the analyst’s prediction?  What will investors look at leading up to the actual earnings release?  And how can investors do some prep work before making an important financial investment?  Before we delve into the numbers, let’s look at the surprise factor.  Investors want to know right off the bat about the surprise factor.  This helps them determine if an analyst is being overly optimistic or not.  Recently Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:MANH) recorded a surprise factor of 14.29% and an Earnings Per Share of $0.05.

(Trion Journal)

NCR Corporation (NYSE:NCR) 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. The technical chart setup gets scant attention from many traders. Yet it is perhaps, the single biggest bringer of news. News about how a stock is doing over time, and when read carefully, what a stock might do in the future. Traders that pay close attention to the charts, give themselves an edge.

(NY Stock News)

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) concluded its 2-day developer conference in California with a bomb of tech updates to its current platforms but what got the tech and science community stunned was the company’s “Building 8” projects, which include a system that will “let people type with their brains” and a project which will allow people to “hear with their skin.” The projects are related to the company’s silent speech communications project of Building 8, the product dev and research team that Mark Zuckerberg created in Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) that focused on creating and shipping new, category-defining consumer products that are social first, and that advance Facebook’s mission.

(Insider Monkey)

Shares of Fairmount Santrol Holdings Inc (NYSE:FMSA) traded down 8.559% on Friday, hitting $5.075. The stock had a trading volume of 5,997,139 shares. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.31 and a 200 day moving average of $9.55. The company’s market capitalization is $1.14 billion. Fairmount Santrol Holdings has a 1-year low of $3.20 and a 1-year high of $13.12. Fairmount Santrol Holdings (NYSE:FMSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 9th. The industrial products company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.02.

(The Cerbat Gem)

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) MAT, -11.62% shares dropped in the extended session Thursday after the toy maker’s quarterly results fell short of Wall Street estimates. Mattel shares fell 6.8% to $23.50 after hours. The company reported an adjusted first-quarter loss of 32 cents a share on revenue of $735.6 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss of 17 cents a share on revenue of $793.8 million. The company said sales of Barbie products fell 13% worldwide, while other brands of its toys for girls dropped 34%.

(MarketWatch)

JP Morgan Upgrades Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX)’s stock to Overweight with the price target of $8. This rating was issued on 4/07/17. The stock recently closed its previous session at $4.17 by showing a percentage change of -7.74% from its previous day closing price of $4.52. Price Target is basically a projection of future price of a company’s stock by the expert analysis of investment analysts or investment firms. There may be various price targets for a stock. These analysts and investment firms use various valuation methods to decide a price target for a stock.

(Hugo Press)

Schlumberger Limited. (NYSE:SLB) share price jumped at US$77.34 before falling back to end the trade at US$76.51 a share. The dividend stock is -12.37% off a 52-week high stock price of US$87.84 but is up 8.93% since hitting the US$72. After a 0.04% rise from previous close of US$76.48, Schlumberger Limited (SLB) has a US$106.66 Billion market cap. The company pays a US$0.5-cent-per-share quarterly dividend, giving it a 2.61% yield.

(The Wellesleys News)

The stock of Pernix Therapeutics Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PTX) is a huge mover today! About 4.28 million shares traded or 1753.09% up from the average. Pernix Therapeutics Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PTX) has declined 37.74% since September 14, 2016 and is downtrending. It has underperformed by 48.56% the S&P500.The move comes after 8 months positive chart setup for the $38.45M company. It was reported on Apr, 21 by Barchart.com. We have $4.21 PT which if reached, will make NASDAQ:PTX worth $2.69 million more.

(Wolcott Daily)

ON Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:ON), after opening at $14.60, closed at $14.83 by scoring 2.28%. The overall volume in the last trading session was 5.17 million shares, versus the average volume of 7.27 million shares. Analysts gives ON Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:ON) a mean recommendation of 1.90. The company has grown 13.12% in past 3 months and in the last five trades has moved up 4.14%. The stock has earnings growth of 100.20% yoy and showed a high EPS growth of 76.40% over the past five years. Shares are trading -1.44% below their 50-day moving average, and 19.57% below their 200-day moving average.

(WallStreetNews24)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX) is in the spotlight after the company’s Indonesian division received a permit to export around 1.11 million tonnes of copper concentrate until February 16, 2018. Indonesia had previously halted Freeport’s exports of copper concentrate from the giant Grasberg mine in January due to the nation wanting to renegotiate contracts to benefit the country. Uncertainty over the Grasberg mine has hurt sentiment around Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX), whose shares have arguably lagged behind some other potential ‘Trump infrastructure plays’.

(Insider Monkey)

XBiotech Inc. (NASDAQ:XBIT) rolled off 40.04% or $6.82 to $10.20 per share on April 21, after announcing that its marketing authorization application (MAA) related to its candidate antibody for treating colorectal cancer received a negative “trend” vote from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). “We are disappointed by the outcome of the meeting. We believe that the data speak in a clear and resounding voice to clinical relevance of a new antibody therapy in advanced colorectal cancer, XBiotech Inc. (NASDAQ:XBIT) President and CEO John Simard said.

(Insider Monkey)

Although the broader indexes are relatively unchanged, shares of Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp (NASDAQ:ADMP) are down 19% after the company priced a spot secondary offering of 4.3 million shares at $3.50 a piece. Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp (NASDAQ:ADMP), which focused on developing and commercializing products in the therapeutic areas of respiratory disease and allergy, plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, which may include, without limitation, expenditures relating to research, development and clinical trials relating to the company’s products and product candidates, capital expenditures, hiring additional personnel, acquisitions of new technologies or products, the repayment, refinancing, redemption or repurchase of existing or future indebtedness or capital stock and working capital.

(Insider Monkey)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) is in the spotlight today after Reuters reported that the company’s CEO, Doug McMillon, received a 13% bump in total compensation for the previous fiscal year, to $22.4 million. In addition, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Wal-Mart is ‘investing heavily to lower prices in its U.S. stores’ with a major emphasize on lowering food costs. Wal-Mart’s move to trim food costs could be a defensive move to prevent Amazon from gaining market share in that category. The news of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) being more aggressive in terms of discounting follows an earlier Recode report that stated the company plans to provide discounts of 3-5% on a variety of merchandise consumers order through Wal-Mart.com but pick up at a nearby store.

(Insider Monkey)