What Is Going On In The Financial Markets Today?

 1. US Stock Market:

“U.S. stocks pared losses to come off intraday lows on Tuesday but investors remained cautious over assets perceived as risky such as equities on rising geopolitical tensions. The S&P 500 index SPX, -0.25% fell 6 points, or 0.3%, to 2,350. Technology, financials and energy shares led the losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.11% slid 24 points, or 0.1%, to 20,634. The blue-chip gauge was off as much as 146 points at its intraday nadir.”

(Market Watch)

“U.S. stocks came off session lows on Tuesday, but the S&P 500 was still on track for its worst day in three weeks amid mounting geopolitical tensions. At 12:27 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 47.11 points, or 0.23 percent, at 20,610.91, the S&P 500 .SPX was down 9.88 points, or 0.42 percent, at 2,347.28 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 28.49 points, or 0.48 percent, at 5,852.44.”

(Reuters)

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2. US Bond Market:

“The U.S. Treasuries rebounded Tuesday, following sharp rise in global demand for safe-haven assets. Also, investors are curiously eyeing the 10-year auction scheduled to be held on April 12 for further direction in the debt market. 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)

“The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury notes, which moves inversely to price, was lower at around 2.327 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also lower at 2.958 percent. On the data front, Friday will see the auction of $55 billion 4-week bills and $20 billion 10-year notes.”

(CNBC)

3. FX Markets:

“The dollar softened on Tuesday as escalating geopolitical tensions lured investors away from risky assets like stocks in favor of safety plays like the Japanese yen, gold and U.S. government debt. The dollar USDJPY, -0.71% weakened to ¥110.48, compared with ¥110.94 late Monday in New York. The euro EURUSD, +0.2831% strengthened to $1.0609, compared with $1.0595. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.25% a measure of the greenback’s strength against a basket of six key rivals, was off 0.2% at 100.79. The WSJ Dollar Index BUXX, -0.25% which measures the buck’s strength against a broader basket, was also off 0.2% at 90.67. The pound GBPUSD, +0.3544% traded at $1.2431, compared with $1.2415 late Monday in New York.”

(Market Watch)

“The Euro was seen outperforming the Pound and US Dollar following the release of better-than-expected data out of the Eurozone on Tuesday, April 11. The ZEW Sentiment survey, which asks 300 financial experts for their views on the outlook for the Eurozone economy, showed a rise in the balance of positive responses versus negative responses, to plus 26.6 in April from +25.6 in March.”

(PoundSterling Live)

4. Commodities:

“Safe-haven gold is sporting solid price gains in morning U.S. trading Tuesday. Keener risk aversion is seen in the marketplace early this week. U.S.-North Korea tensions are on the rise as U.S. warships steam toward waters off the Korean peninsula. U.S. and Russian government officials are also meeting early this week, after the U.S. sent 59 Tomahawk missiles into Syria last week. World stock markets have become a bit more wobbly in recent sessions, and that’s also benefitting the gold market bulls. The near-term chart posture for gold remains bullish, and that’s inviting the technical buyers into the market, too. June Comex gold was last up $13.70 an ounce at $1,267.50.”

(Kitco News)

“Crude oil edged back from a five-week high on April 11, as rising U.S. shale oil production weighed against support from tensions in the Middle East and production cuts in OPEC and other states. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, was down 8 cents from its previous close at $55.90 per barrel (bbl) at 7:25 a.m. CT (12:25 GMT). Earlier in the session, Brent had climbed to its highest since March 7 at $56.16/bbl. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by 9 cents to $52.99/bbl, after touching a five-week high of $53.23/bbl.”

(Oil and Gas Investor)

5. Market Movers:

Session activity on Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) shares bumps the stock on today’s most active list. After a recent spot-check, the stock has touched $4.78 which represents a change from the open of 2.25%. Company shares have been seen trading -45.55% off of the 52 week high and 15.06% away from the 52 week low. Narrowing in, the stock is at a distance of -22.36% from the 50 day high and 15.06% off of the 50 day low. Analyst Recap: Covering sell-side analysts have recently weighed in on shares of Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD). At the time of writing, the First Call consensus price target for the company is $6.29. The current consensus recommendation provided by covering analysts is 2.60.

(Hiram Herald)

Shares in Barrick Gold Corp (USA) (NYSE:ABX) inclined 2.95%, trading current session at $20.05 with a total trading volume of 7.02 million shares. The stock has gained 6.98% in the past month, 14.91% in the previous three months, and 22.03% on an YTD basis. The Company’s shares are trading 4.94% above their 50-day moving average and 9.87% above their 200-day moving average. Moreover, Shares of ABX has an RSI of 60.95. Its sales stood at -9.70% a year on average in the period of last five years. For the same period, its EPS moved at an average growth rate of -34.00%. The company maintains price to book ratio of 2.86.

(WallStreetNews24)

Windtree Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:WINT) shares added over 24% in New York as it posted positive clinical trial timeline news. The firm, which is developing therapies for respiratory diseases, said an independent data safety monitoring board had completed its second and final interim safety review on the AEROSURF phase 2b trial. The board has recommended continuing the trial without modifying it. Windtree also revealed today it plan to announce top-line results from the trial in mid-year 2017.

(Proactive Investors USA and Canada)

Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE:CDE) has reached the top gainers list today as the stock has jumped 4.57% from the open, touching $9.57 on a recent bid. The year-to-date performance of the stock is -1.54%. The monthly stock performance comes in at 18.39%. For the quarter, shares are performing at -15.41%. Weekly performance analysis shows the equity at 6.93%.Covering Sell-Side analysts have offered recommendations and price target estimates on Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE:CDE). According to First Call, the current consensus target price on shares is sitting at $12.33. Analysts have also given a consensus recommendation on the stock of 2.30. This number lands on a scale from 1 to 5. A rating of 4 or 5 would indicate a Sell. A rating of 1 or 2 would represent a Buy, and a 3 rating would signify a Hold on the stock.

(Aiken Advocate)

Naked Brand Group Inc (NASDAQ:NAKD) NAKD 11.37% shares were down 12.18 to $2.17. The company announced that it had 2,189,052 shares of common stock at an average price of $2.51 to raise ~$5.3 million in net proceeds under the “At The Market Offering Agreement” with Maxim Group.

(Benzinga)

In company news, Avinger Inc (NASDAQ:AVGR) plunged to a record low on Tuesday after the medical device manufacturer last night reported preliminary Q1 revenue lagging Wall Street expectations by a wide margin in addition to disclosing plans to idle one-third of its current workforce.

Total revenue for the three months ended March 31 was $3.5 million, falling 22% compared with the first three months of 2016 and also trailing the two-analyst consensus expecting $4.95 million. Disposable device sales declined about 12% from year-ago levels to $2.9 million while Lightbox imaging consoles contributed about $600,000 in revenue – a 50% retreat from the same quarter last year.

(Nasdaq.com)

Hub Group Inc (NASDAQ:HUBG) shares have sunk 14% in afternoon trading after the company announced somewhat disappointing Q1 earnings expectations. For the time period, Hub Group management expects diluted EPS of $0.30-$0.32 when factoring a one time cost of $1.5 million for due diligence and severance expenses, versus the Street consensus of $0.45 per share. EPS was disappointing due to soft pricing caused by excess truck capacity and extraordinarily aggressive intermodal pricing.

(Insider Monkey)

Sequans Communications SA ADR (NYSE:SQNS) shares are seeing unusual volume mid-trading session today. While the stock price moved along with the volume change, shares are touching $3.18. The day’s total volume of 1548232 this morning is in contrast from the three-month daily average of 221.92K. When we divide the current volume by the three-month average volume, we get a relative volume of 12.32. Sequans Communications SA ADR (NYSE:SQNS)‘s market cap, the total dollar value of all of their outstanding shares, is 205.61m. Including today’s unusual volume, Sequans Communications S.A.‘s stock is performing at 46.52% on the year.

(The Hiram Herald)

Shares of Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) on April 11 dropped 2.60% to $55.05, while Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 1.53% to $140.98 in midday trading after Qualcomm filed a counter-suit against the iPhone and iPad creator. Qualcomm, a company with an $81.3 billion market cap that pioneered the 3G and 4G technologies, filed its Answer and Counterclaims in response to Apple’s lawsuit filed in January. Qualcomm said the counter-suit states, “Apple’s failure to engage in good faith negotiations for a license to Qualcomm’s 3G and 4G standard essential patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.”

(Insider Monkey)

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CNAT) traded at a yearly high level of $6.90 during the last trading session. The last session’s volume of 2.88 million shares was lower than its average volume of 569,991 shares. The stock, after opening at $6.38, closed at $6.10 by scoring -3.17%. The total market capitalization remained at $179.59 million. The stock showed weekly upbeat performance of 4.63%, which was maintained for the month at 29.51%. Likewise, the positive performance for the quarter was recorded as 19.37% and for the year was 112.54%, while the YTD performance remained at 15.75%.

(WallStreetNews24)

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS) traded at a yearly high level of $2,227.20 during the last trading session. The last session’s volume of 33.46 million shares was lower than its average volume of 38.83 million shares. The stock, after opening at $0.64, closed at $2.48 by scoring 254.29%. The total market capitalization remained at $256.28 million. DryShips Inc. ( NASDAQ : DRYS ), a diversified owner of ocean going cargo vessels, announced today that it has reached an agreement with Sifnos Shareholders Inc. (“Sifnos”), an entity controlled by the Company’s Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. George Economou, to amend the Revolving Facility Agreement with Sifnos (the “Sifnos Facility”).

(WallStreetNews24)

ON Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:ON) ON 6.06% shares are trading lower by $0.87 (6 percent) at $14.23 in Tuesday’s session. The lightly followed issue is suffering from a downgrade at Credit Suisse. Before the open, the firm downgraded the stock from Outperform to Underperform and lowered their price target from $17.50 to $13.50. Its lower opening print of $14.70 has turned out to be the high for the session. It has continued to make lows for the session, with the current one standing at $14.12.

(Benzinga)

AmTrust Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ:AFSI) 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 AFSI. Traders who rely only on fundamentals do themselves a great disservice, often missing out on the better upside inherent in a stock. This is why technical charts are important. AFSI’s most recent trading session saw the stock achieve a high of $19.18 and a low of $18.62. The high in the most recent session compares poorly to the established 52-week high of $28.05 which was set by AFSI on 12/19/16.

(NY Stock News)

The stock of Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:TNXP) is a huge mover today! About 4.64M shares traded or 220.00% up from the average. Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:TNXP) has risen 97.25% since September 2, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 89.12% the S&P500.The move comes after 7 months positive chart setup for the $25.63M company. It was reported on Apr, 11 by Barchart.com. We have $5.35 PT which if reached, will make NASDAQ:TNXP worth $2.31 million more.

(Norman Observer)

Shares of SUPERVALU Inc. (NYSE:SVU) are climbing higher mid-day as the stock reaches today’s top winners list. At the time of writing, the stock had reached $4.14. This represents a change from the opening price of 2.35%. The year-to-date performance of the stock is -18.84%. The monthly stock performance comes in at 14.50%. For the quarter, shares are performing at -19.02%. Weekly performance analysis shows the equity at -0.26%.Covering Sell-Side analysts have offered recommendations and price target estimates on SUPERVALU Inc. (NYSE:SVU). According to First Call, the current consensus target price on shares is sitting at $5.16. Analysts have also given a consensus recommendation on the stock of 2.50.

(Aiken Advocate)

Seadrill Ltd. (NYSE:SDRL) on April 11 rose 9.31% to $0.89 to open the markets in green, after oil giant ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS granted a Seadrill subsidiary an estimated $1.4 billion of additional backlog orders in a 10-year contract. The news sent the stocks higher at opening bell as Seadrill Ltd. (NYSE:SDRL) majority-owned subsidiary North Atlantic Drilling Ltd. was awarded the contract for the West Elara and West Linus orders. As part of the agreement, the subsidiary has agreed to a dayrate adjustment on the existing West Linus contract effective from April 2017, resulting in a $58 million reduction in current backlog.

(Insider Monkey)

Cytori Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CYTX) tumbled by 36.05% to $1.10 on pre-market trading on April 11, after pricing a public offering of 8,600,000 shares of common stock at $1.10 per share. The company expects to raise approximately $9.5 million in gross proceeds. The underwritten public offering grants a 45-day option for the underwriters to purchase up to 15% of additional shares of its common stock. The offering is expected to close on or about April 17.

(Insider Monkey)

Traders are keenly watching United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) today after the a video of airport security personnel forcibly removing a doctor of Asian ethnicity from an overbooked United flight went viral overnight. Apparently the airline had asked four passengers randomly selected through a computer program to make room for employees so that the airplane could take off, and the doctor refused, saying that he had to see patients next morning. Airport security personnel then followed procedure and forcibly removed the passenger.

(Insider Monkey)

6. Interesting Reads

“Microsoft is bidding farewell to Windows Vista, more than 10 years after it first debuted. Support for Windows Vista ends today, meaning users will have to move to a more recent version of Windows to remain secure. It’s the end of an era for an operating system that arrived late to the market with widespread criticisms. Codenamed Longhorn, Windows Vista was originally supposed to revolutionize Windows with a new file system and user interface. Microsoft’s development of Longhorn spiraled out of control, and the company was forced to reset its plans and focus on shipping a stable version of Windows in the middle of its development phase.”

(The Verge)

“The luxury electric-car company Tesla has yet to turn a profit, losing hundreds of millions of dollars last year alone. But on Monday, the darling of Silicon Valley became the most valuable American car company, surpassing General Motors, the Detroit granddaddy with $10 billion in sales on nearly 10 million vehicles. Shares of Tesla, run by high-profile chief executive Elon Musk, put the company’s value at $51.5 billion, above GM’s $50.2 billion. Tesla blew by Ford ($44.6 billion) last week. Musk’s company produced just 84,000 cars last year, with starting prices of $68,000.”

(Chicago Tribune)

“10 best products or services to sell during a recession will help you know what profitable businesses to start, and also may help you realize what products and services you consider necessary. We compiled many articles about recession proof products and services (from US News, An Acclaimed Affiliate, Profitable Venture, and Investopedia) and used Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to rank their lists. If you only faintly remember something about the Hierarchy of Needs from Psychology class, we’ll happily refresh your memory. The Hierarchy of Needs is a pyramid (much like the food pyramid).”

(Insider Monkey)

“Google Maps is perfect for getting directions from point A to point B, or for finding a nearby restaurant, but it also has a bunch of interesting hidden features of which most people are unaware. I use Google Maps every day and I didn’t even know about some of these until Google pointed them out. I guess that’s the very definition of hiding in plain view, right? Anyway, here are some Google Maps secrets that might help you get more out of the app, and you might not have known they were even there.”

(CNBC)

“NASA will hold a press conference on Thursday, starting at 2 PM ET, at which it will discuss new discoveries related to ocean worlds found within our solar system. The fresh findings come from the Cassini spacecraft, which was launched in 1997 and arrived at its destination orbiting Saturn in 2004, and the Hubble Space Telescope. The briefing includes “new discoveries” that “will help inform future ocean world exploration,” according to NASA’s press release. The results of the findings will help with future efforts to locate life outside of Earth – but we should stress here that there’s essentially zero chance this announcement will be at all about the discovery of alien life, as a way of heading off the recurrent frenzy of hype before it happens.”

(Tech Crunch)