Post Market Update
Stocks that traded actively in U.S. markets on Wednesday include: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG), Mead Johnson Nutrition CO (NYSE:MJN), Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCYC).
Market Levels:
US: Dow: 15291.70 (-0.06%), S&P 500: 1652.11 (-0.01%), NASDAQ: 3520.76 (0.47%)
Europe: CAC: 3840.53 (-0.08%), DAX: 8066.48 (0.22%), FTSE: 6504.96 (-0.12%)
Asia-Pacific: Australia: 4881.70 (1.50%), China: 1965.45 (0.37%), Hong Kong: 20683.01 (0.49%), Japan: 14472.90 (2.51%).
Metals: Gold: 1247.40 (0.12%), Silver: 19.16 (0.14%), Copper: 3.09 (0.86%)
Energy: Crude Oil: 106.52 (2.89%), Natural Gas: 3.68 (0.63%)
Commodities: Corn: 5.21 (-0.05%), Soya Bean: 12.84 (0.67%), Wheat: 6.79 (0.22%)
Currency: EUR/USD: 1.2884 (0.81%), GBP/USD: 1.4923 (0.38%), USD/JPY: 100.120 (-1.02%)
10-year US Treasury: 2.680% (0.046)
U.S. markets end largely unchanged: Stocks closed flat in a lackluster session of trade on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed that a number of members were looking for more improvement in the labor market before scaling back the bond purchases. In other economic news, wholesale inventories fell 0.5 percent in May, according to the Commerce Department. Economists had forecast inventories to increase 0.3 percent compared to a rise of 0.2 percent in April. Meanwhile, weekly mortgage applications declined last week as borrowing costs jumped to their highest level in two years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) snapped a four-day winning streak, to end at 15,291.66, while the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) eked out a gain of 0.30 points, to finish at 1,652.62. The NASDAQ (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) rose 16.50 points, to close at 3,520.76.
Stocks in News:
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares edged lower after a federal judge ruled that the iPhone maker colluded with major book publishers to raise the retail price of e-books, costing consumers millions of dollars. The ruling is significant because it exposes Apple to hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The major publishers, including News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA)’s HarperCollins Publishers LLC, Pearson plc (LON:PSON)’s Penguin Group (USA) Inc, CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS)’s Simon & Schuster Inc and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH’s Macmillan, had previously settled with the government.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) posted second-quarter earnings excluding one-time items of 56 cents a share on revenue $2.90 billion, compared to analysts’ expectations for earnings excluding items of 54 cents a share on $2.93 billion in sales. Same-store sales slumped 20 percent in China, and were up 1 percent in the U.S.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, in an effort to block Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) founder Michael Dell’s $24.4 billion buyout offer, has urged shareholders to seek a higher price for their shares in court. In an open letter released today, Icahn asked shareholders to exercise their appraisal rights to determine whether the company is worth more than the $13.65 per share that Michael Dell and buyout partner Silver Lake Management LLC have agreed to pay.
Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG)
The drugstore chain raised its quarterly dividend by 15 percent to 31.5 cents a share from 27.5 cents a share. The dividend is payable September 12 to stockholders of record on August 20. The additional payout will cost the company $37.8 million per quarter. Shares are up in after-hours trading following the announcement.
Mead Johnson Nutrition CO (NYSE:MJN)
Mead Johnson Nutrition CO (NYSE:MJN) will lower the price of its infant milk formula in China by 7 percent to 15 percent after the country’s top economic planning agency began an investigation into suspected price-fixing and anti-competitive behavior in the sector. Danone SA (EPA:BN), Nestle SA and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) have already said they will cut prices of their key products in China.
Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCYC)
Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCYC) shares soared in trade after the biopharmaceutical company filed for U.S. approval of a blood cancer drug that is being developed with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). The company wants to use the drug, ibrutinib, for treatment on two types of lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration assigned the drug “breakthrough” status for mantle cell lymphoma.
