Market News: Facebook Inc (FB), Pandora Media (P), Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO)

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After several days of losses due to the ongoing Government shutdown, the stock market gained as investors gained confidence that lawmakers will finally reach an agreement to end the budget standstill and raise debt ceiling.

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On Thursday, Republican House Speaker John Boehner stated that he might be able to find a way to reopen the Government and raise the debt ceiling in a bid to seek a broader budget deal with the Democrats in the Senate and the White House, according to the Wall Street Journal.

On the other hand, a group of Democrats in the lower chamber are seeking steps to pressure their leaders in the party to end the Government shutdown by repealing a provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) related to tax on medical devices. However, the leaders of the Democratic Party rejected the idea. President Barack Obama repeatedly stated that he will not negotiate the terms of raising the debt ceiling. Today, Speaker Boehner emphasized his position the he will not allow the United States to default on its obligations.

Mackintosh Pulsifer, vice chairman and chief investment officer of Fiduciary Trust International commented, “There’s a working presumption that this is fundamentally theater and it’s going to work itself out favorably,” Mackintosh Pulsifer, vice There will not be a default, we’ll find some way to raise the debt ceiling, and government workers will go back to work. In a few weeks it’s not going to have any impact.” 

U.S. Markets

  • Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)- 15,072.58 (+0.51%)
  • S&P 500- 1,690.50 (+0.71%)
  • NASDAQ- 3,807.75 (+0.89%)
  • Russell 2000- 1,078.74 (+0.73%)

European Markets

  • EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 2, 928.31 (+0.90%)
  • FTSE 100 Index- 6,453.88 (+0.08%)
  • Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 8,622.97 (+0.29%)

Asia Pacific Markets

  • Nikkei 225- 14, 024.31 (-0.94%)
  • Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 23,138.54 (-0.33%)
  • Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 2, 409.04 (+0.59%)

Stocks In Focus

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) gained almost 4% rising to as much as $51.15 per share, after the social network giant revealed its plan to sell advertising space on Instagram over the next two month.  In a blog post the social network giant wrote, “In the next couple months, you may begin seeing an occasional ad in your Instagram feed if you’re in the United States.We’ll focus on delivering a small number of beautiful, high-quality photos and videos from a handful of brands that are already great members of the Instagram community.” Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia raised his price target for the stock to $58 per share.

Shares of Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) surged by over 4% after the internet-radio service provider announced that its monthly active users increased 25% from 58.3 million to 72.7 million, and that its total radio listening market share in the United States surged to 7.7%. Separately, Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital also disclosed a 5.3% stake in Pandora.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) gained nearly 3% rising to $34.87 per share, after analysts at Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) raised their price target for the shares of the company to $38 per share citing the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of Alibaba.com Ltd. (OTCMKTS:ALBIY) (HKG:1688).

Meanwhile, Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) surged by 2.14% to $34.79 per share after the energy company moved a rig out of the path of a coming storm, evacuating all of its workers from its Ewing Bank Platform in the Gulf. Argus analysts upgraded their rating for the stock from hold to buy with a new $42 price target.

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