What Is Happening In Financial Markets Today?

1. US Stock Market:

“U.S. stocks remained modestly higher Thursday as a meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping was set to get under way, with investors looking for clues to how the leaders of the world’s economic powerhouses will tackle trade and geopolitical issues. The mood in the market, however, remained cautious as investors awaited nonfarm-payrolls data due on Friday.”

(Market Watch)

“U.S. equities alternated between gains and losses on Thursday as Wall Street turned its eyes to a key meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 20 points, with Caterpillar contributing the most gains. The 30-stock index briefly traded lower.”

(CNBC)

“U.S. stocks opened little changed on Thursday, as gains in energy shares were offset by declines in financial companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 4.32 points, or 0.02 percent, at 20,643.83, the S&P 500 .SPX was down 0.34 points, or 0.01 percent, at 2,352.61, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 6.33 points, or 0.11 percent, at 5,870.81.”

(Reuters)

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2. US Bond Market:

“U.S. government debt prices were mixed on Thursday after the Federal Reserve said it is ready to unwind its $4.5 trillion balance sheet. Investors will be watching the release of jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET and President Donald Trump’s meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was lower at around 2.353 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was higher at 3.007 percent. The two-year note yield, meanwhile, slipped to 1.242 percent. Yields move inversely to prices.”

(CNBC)

“The Standard & Poor’s 500 index edged up 1 point to 2,354. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 14 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,662. The Nasdaq composite rose 12 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,876. Bond prices rose slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.33 percent.”

 (NYDailyNews)

3. FX Markets:

“USD/JPY found support below the 110.50 level in Asian trading on Thursday and overall risk conditions stabilised during the session. Overall, EUR/USD dipped to lows near 1.0630 before finding support and edging back above 1.0650.”

(Economic Calendar)

“At the time of writing this article, the British Pound to US Dollar exchange rate trended in the region of 1.2470. GBP/USD has fluctuated within a relatively narrow region on Thursday morning. GBP/USD began the week trading at the level of 1.2546 and fell to a low of 1.2426 earlier in the week. While the pair began to recover on Wednesday due to UK data, it has been unable to break through psychological resistance at 1.25.”

(ExchangeRates.org.uk)

4. Commodities:

“Gold gained Thursday, its fourth advance in the past five sessions, buttressed by anxiety ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, which could shed light on future currency and trade interactions between the two powerful nations. June gold GCM7, +0.50% rose $5.30, or 0.4%, to $1,253.80 an ounce. Silver for May delivery SIK7, +0.29% rose 4 cents, or 0.2%, to $18.23 an ounce.”

(Market Watch)

“As USD/JPY dipped below 110.50 and US equities moved into negative territory, gold prices moved to highs around $1,258 per ounce.”

(Economic Calendar)

“Crude oil prices posted steady gains once again as traders moved past data on steady oil storage levels in the United States, but the rally might not last. The price for Brent crude oil was up 0.64 percent about a half hour before the start of trading in New York to $54.71 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, was up 0.65 percent to $51.48 per barrel.”
(UPI.com)

5. Market Movers:

On Thursday, Banco Santander Brasil SA (ADR) (NYSE:BSBR)’s stock is trading -4.31% lower at $8.00 with a total trading volume of 39.47 million shares. The 52-week range of the stock is $4.41 to $11.75. Shares of the Company are trading above their 50-day moving average by -22.29%. The stock has a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 24.25. Banco Santander Brasil’s consensus price target is around $5.80 a share. The stock’s price-to-book ratio is 1.17 and the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 13.38. In the last five years, the company’s full-year sales growth remained over 8.30% a year on average and the company’s earnings per share moved up by an average rate of 0.50%.

(WallStreetNews24)

AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) 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)

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) headed higher on Thursday after the company beat expectations for its fourth-quarter earnings. However, today’s rally in BBBY stock feels like a dead-cat bounce back to where shares traded just a week ago. While the headline numbers beat, the trend is down, and Bed Bath’s current attractive multiple will go nowhere but up. I think the right move is to fade the rally here.

(Investor Place)

HTG Molecular Diagnostics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTGM) closed at $5.50 a share in the latest session and the stock value rose almost 145.54% since the beginning of this year. The company has managed to keep price to sales ratio of 8.82 against an industry average of 2.53. The price to sales ratio is the ratio of the market value of equity to the sales. This ratio is internally not steady, since the market value of equity is divided by the total revenues of the firm. Following last close company’s stock, is 84.61% above their SMA 50 and -58.49% below the 52-week high.

(Stock News Journal)

The stock of FibroGen Inc (NASDAQ:FGEN) gapped up by $0.65 today and has $26.63 target or 3.00% above today’s $25.85 share price. The 8 months technical chart setup indicates low risk for the $1.59B company. The gap was reported on Apr, 6 by Barchart.com. If the $26.63 price target is reached, the company will be worth $47.70 million more. About 1.41M shares traded or 218.68% up from the average. FibroGen Inc (NASDAQ:FGEN) has risen 29.81% since August 30, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 21.68% the S&P500.

(Herald KS)

Shares of Fred’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRED) have soared today, up by 12% as of 1 p.m. EDT, after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. So what: The discount retailer and pharmacy operator generated $529.7 million in revenue during the quarter, which was just a hair shy of the $530.7 million that analysts were expecting. That translated into an adjusted net loss of $0.11 per share, which was notably better than the $0.19-per-share loss that analysts were modeling for.

(The Motley Fool)

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF) 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)

Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) shares have surged by 6% in afternoon trading as sentiment surrounding retailers has, at least for the moment, turned bullish. Although there is no fundamental news concerning Kohl’s today, the company’s peer,  L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB), reported March sales data that may have been better than some investor expectations. In particular, L Brands’ net sales for the five months ended April 1 fell 7% year-over-year and its comparable sales fell 10% (with around 2% to 3% due to a later Easter in 2017).

(Insider Monkey)

In contrast to previous sessions, J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) has surged 6% this afternoon as retailers rally on improved sentiment and on the back of today’s L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB)’s March sales data. Although L Brands’ net sales for the period fell 7% year-over-year and its comparable sales fell 10% (with perhaps 2-3% due to the later Easter in 2017), the company’s overall results may have been better than some bearish expectations. Due to how beaten-up the sector has been in recent weeks (many long term investors fear the secular rise of Amazon.com, particularly now with emerging technologies such as virtual reality/augmented reality that could eventually deliver a more authentic shopping experience online, and drones that could eventually deliver products within several hours of an order), today’s somewhat better-than-expected L Brands data may have triggered some short covering in the broader sector and J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) is a beneficiary of that.

(Insider Monkey)

The stock of Nova Lifestyle Inc (NASDAQ:NVFY) is a huge mover today! About 2.95M shares traded or 418.16% up from the average. Nova Lifestyle Inc (NASDAQ:NVFY) has risen 59.79% since August 30, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 51.67% the S&P500.The move comes after 6 months positive chart setup for the $63.32 million company. It was reported on Apr, 6 by Barchart.com. We have $2.54 PT which if reached, will make NASDAQ:NVFY worth $2.53M more.

(Huron Report)

Superconductor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SCON) reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2016. STI’s fourth quarter 2016 net revenues were $9,000, compared to $22,000 in the third quarter of 2016 and $27,000 in the fourth quarter of 2015. Revenue for all periods was primarily from legacy wireless products. Net loss for the fourth quarter 2016 was $2.5 million, or a loss of $0.61 per basic and diluted share, compared to a net loss of $2.9 million, or a loss of $0.93 per basic and diluted share, in the third quarter of 2016, and a net loss of $2.4 million, or a loss of $1.23 per basic and diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2015. Superconductor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SCON) shares ticked up 14.06% to $1.46 on Wednesday.

(Benchmark Monitor)

Yum China Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:YUMC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Yum China Holdings (NASDAQ:YUMC) opened at 28.18 on Thursday. Yum China Holdings has a 52-week low of $23.79 and a 52-week high of $30.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.63 and its 200-day moving average is $26.76.

(The Cerbat Gem)

L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) LB 10.35% shares are trading higher by $4.30 (10 percent) at $47.40 in Thursday’s session. Despite reporting a March sales decline of 7 percent to $951.4 million, the stock is trading sharply higher. The company is attributing the decline to the fact that the Easter holiday is much later this year. After a higher open, L Brands had a brief decline of $0.08 to $45.67 before continuing its move higher. So far, the continuation rally has taken the stock to $48.00 and it’s not far off that level. If the rally continues, there may be additional resistance at the pair of highs from March 30 ($48.31) and March 31 ($48.21).

(Benzinga)

The stock of Akari Therapeutics PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:AKTX) is a huge mover today! About 1.64 million shares traded or 105.17% up from the average. Akari Therapeutics PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:AKTX) has risen 23.03% since August 30, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 14.90% the S&P500.The move comes after 9 months positive chart setup for the $183.44 million company. It was reported on Apr, 6 by Barchart.com. We have $16.71 PT which if reached, will make NASDAQ:AKTX worth $14.68 million more.

(Herald KS)

At the movement Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) is under coverage by number of analysts. Buy rating has been given by 1 analysts to the company stock whereas no analyst given UNDERPERFORM rating to stock and 6 analysts given HOLD rating. The consensus recommendation by Thomson Reuters analysts is Hold and their mean rating for the stock is 2.62 on scale of 1-5. Analysts mean target price for Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) is $3.29 while their mean recommendation is 2.60 (1=Buy, 5=sell). If we look at stock performance in last active day trading, we see that stock has moved fell -11.21% to end the day at $1.03. The current share price indicate that stock is -87.87% away from its one year high and is moving -11.21% ahead of its 52-week low.

(Benchmark Monitor)

Shares of Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ:STMP) plunged more than 5% in morning trading before recovering somewhat after noted short-seller Marc Cohodes tweeted the following, ‘STMP is a scheme and I think the Insider Selling is the Frosting on the Cheesecake’. Although he was/is a chicken farmer, Cohodes has some major pull on Wall Street due to his past experience in the hedge fund business, particularly on the short side where he has exposed various suspect accounting practices. Cohodes might not be alone in his bearish sentiment either. According to the latest numbers, around 23.61% of Stamps.com shares are short.

(Insider Monkey)

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) shares have fallen over 8.5% this morning courtesy of an analyst downgrade. In particular, Toshiya Hari of Goldman Sachs initiated a ‘Sell’ rating and a $11 per share price target, opining that in his view, AMD’s current valuation suggests ‘very bullish’ expectations for 2018, which might not occur given the potential competition from Nvidia and Intel. Furthermore, the analyst believes much of the company’s future improvement/good news has already been priced in. Given Goldman’s substantial pull on the Street as generally the smartest people in the room and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)’s massive gains (up 400% over the last four quarters), some traders are apparently choosing to take some money off the table and play with house money.

(Insider Monkey)

Despite Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)‘s better than expected delivery numbers for the first quarter, some on Wall Street are still not that impressed with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). Count Brian Johnson of Barclays as one of the doubters, as the analyst recently reiterated his $165 price target and ‘Underweight’ rating. In particular, Johnson thinks Tesla’s recent strong price action is disconnected with the company’s fundamental realities, including the strong likelihood of substantial electric vehicle and electric storage competition in the future. Johnson also thinks that investors are looking at Tesla through a very optimistic point of view that might not pan out, especially given Tesla’s rather steep valuation.

(Insider Monkey)

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) shares have popped around 9% in the pre-market the company announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to divest the majority of its convenience stores to 7-Eleven for $3.3 billion in cash. In terms of specific assets being sold, Sunoco has agreed to sell around 1,100 convenience stores in 19 separate geographic regions and has also entered into a 15-year take-or-pay fuel supply agreement with a 7-Eleven subsidiary under which Sunoco will supply approximately 2.2 billion gallons of fuel annually. Sunoco will sell around 200 convenience stores presumably to another buyer in a separate process.

(Insider Monkey)

6. Interesting Reads

“While Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro struggles to hit 4K resolution in many games, Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox is shaping up to be an utter beast of a console. On Thursday, Microsoft revealed the hardware specifications for its Xbox “Project Scorpio” console via Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry—some of the most demanding technical reviewers around. Significant upgrades abound in all areas, and AMD’s managed to achieve borderline wondrous results with Scorpio’s new APU.”

(PC World)

“After years of discussion, Comcast is finally getting ready to launch its wireless phone service. The service will be called Xfinity Mobile, and it’s supposed to launch sometime in the near future. It isn’t going to be widely available, however. Xfinity Mobile will only be available to Comcast’s existing customers — the company’s goal here is to build an even bigger bundle for existing TV, landline, and internet subscribers.”

(The Verge)

“The 11 most expensive makeup brands in the world bring you a touch of cashmere with the smoothness of silk, all bundled up in one product. One of the most important characteristics of these makeup brands is that they bring you great value for your money. Sure, they’re expensive, but you can rest assured that you are investing in a high quality product. Of course, these expensive products are mostly reserved for the rich at any rate, who can afford to live such a luxurious lifestyle.”

 (Insider Monkey)

“Amazon announced Thursday it plans to add 30,000 part-time positions in the U.S. over the next year, part of a massive hiring binge by the online retailing giant. The part-time hiring includes 5,000 jobs in Virtual Customer Service, which would allow employees to work as a customer service agent from home. The remaining 25,000 would be at Amazon warehouses. Any part-time employees who work 20 hours or more a week are also eligible for benefits.”

(USA Today)

“A major new study in the medical journal Lancet found that, in 2015, 11.5% of global deaths (approximately 6.4 million people) were attributable to smoking worldwide, of which 52.2% took place in four countries: China, India, Russia and the U.S. The study used over 2,818 pieces of research identified through several sources, including the Global Health Data Exchange, World Health Organization, and International Smoking Statistics Database.”

 (Market Watch)