Wall Street climbs on higher oil prices, quarterly earnings' reports

US stocks rose on Thursday with a broad-based rally across sectors as speculation over China halting US bond purchases eased and investors focused on quarterly earnings reports and higher oil prices.

US crude futures rose to $63.82 a barrel, its highest since December 2014, boosted by a surprise drop in US production and lower crude inventories.

Positive brokerage recommendations on oil majors Exxon and Chevron lifted their shares, helping the S&P energy index climb 0.62 percent.

"It's back to a generally positive mode," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.

At 9:34 a.m. ET (1434 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 46.19 points, or 0.18 percent, at 25,415.32 and the S&P 500 was up 5.29 points, or 0.19 percent, at 2,753.52.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 12.79 points, or 0.18 percent, at 7,166.36.

The S&P and the Nasdaq snapped their six-day rally on Wednesday after Bloomberg News reported Chinese officials had recommended halting its U. S. bond purchases, which China dismissed later.

Also weighing on the dour sentiment was a Reuters report on Wednesday that Canada is increasingly convinced U. S. President Donald Trump would soon announce an exit from the North American Free Trade Agreement.
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Wall Street slips after report says China may slow US bond purchases

Wall Street's major indexes slipped on Wednesday, stalling the rally that marked the start of 2018, after a report that China is considering slowing or halting purchases of US government debt.

Apple, Microsoft and Amazon were among the biggest drags on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, while a 0.7 percent drop in Boeing and Caterpillar weighed on the Dow.

The S&P and the Nasdaq have closed at record highs on every single day in 2018, buoyed by optimism over global economic growth and expectations of strong quarterly earnings.

"For a market that was probably looking for reason to take a pause, it's not unreasonable to use today's rise in yield as a catalyst," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley FBR in Boston.

The dollar dropped 0.4 percent against a basket of currencies, while long-dated Treasury yields hit fresh 10-month highs after Bloomberg reported the US bond market was becoming less attractive for Beijing.

The CBOE Volatility index, a widely followed measure of market anxiety, rose to its highest level in more than a week at 10.41.

At 9:46 a.m. ET (1446 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 67.02 points, or 0.26 percent, at 25,318.78 and the S&P 500 was down 7.64 points, or 0.27 percent, at 2,743.65. The Nasdaq Composite was down 25.48 points, or 0.36 percent, at 7,138.09.
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Wall Street climbs as tax reform enters last lap; bank stocks recover

U.S. stocks climbed higher on Thursday, boosted by gains in technology and banking shares and aided by news that the Republicans' tax code overhaul should face final votes in Congress before the year-end.

A final bill could be formally unveiled on Friday, with decisive votes expected next week in both chambers.

On Wednesday, Republicans in the Senate and the House reached a deal on final tax legislation that would slash the corporate tax rate to 21 percent.

"We have a pretty positive background, investors are focused on the tax deal that they are closed to an agreement between the House and the Senate," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.

"It will take some time to go through the details, what that means for specific companies but it's consistent with the general positive tone."

At 9:40 a.m. ET (1440 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29 percent to 24,655.57, on track to post six days of gains in a row.

The S&P 500 was up 3.14 points, or 0.12 percent, at 2,665.99 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 9.26 points, or 0.13 percent, at 6,885.06.

Walt Disney Co struck a deal to buy film, television and international businesses from Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox for $52.4 billion in stock. Disney's shares rose 1.77 percent and Fox shares were up marginally.
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Wall St pauses on downbeat earnings; Boeing slips 1% after results

Wall Street was slightly lower on Wednesday after a barrage of lacklustre earnings reports from companies, including AT&T, and Dow component Boeing weighed after revealing a surprise charge in the latest quarter.

AT&T fell 2.12 per cent and was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 index after the US No 2 wireless carrier's quarterly results missed estimates.

Boeing fell about 1 per cent after it booked a charge related to its troubled KC-46 aerial refuelling tanker.

The declines come after the Dow closed at another record high on Tuesday led by gains in industrial giants Caterpillar and 3M.

The earnings season has been largely positive, with more than 70 per cent of the S&P 500 companies that have reported so far beating profit expectations.

"The market is looking for additional fuel to continue the drive higher, whether it comes in the form of earnings or tax reform," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

Investors were also keeping an eye on the nomination of the next Federal Reserve chief.

The dollar got a lift from a report that Republican senators were favouring Stanford University economist John Taylor over current Fed Governor Jerome Powell.
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How Islamic financial markets are safe haven in conventional market crisis

Islamic finance is enjoying a surge in popularity, with 14% annual growth in recent years. And the interest in sharia-compliant stocks and bonds is growing across the non-Muslim as well as Muslim world.

My recent research shows that there is good reason for this growth. In fact, Islamic markets were not rocked by the 2007-08 financial as much as conventional markets and can be considered a new safe haven for investors.

The popularity of Islamic financial instruments among Muslims is not surprising. Islamic law prohibits any forms of interest (riba) or gambling (qimar). Transactions that lack transparency (gharar) are also banned. In finance, this means that the vast majority of assets and popular trading strategies (such as short-selling and speculation) are prohibited according to Islam.

To circumvent this problem Islamic banks issue sharia compliant bonds known as sukuk. Conventional bonds involve a contractual obligation to pay bondholders interest and principle on a certain date. When sukuk bonds are sold to investors the money is used to invest in an asset, of which the bondholders have partial ownership. Payments to sukuk bondholders them comes from whatever after-tax profit is made on the asset. When they reach maturity, the issuer is contractually obliged to buy the bond back at the value it was bought for.
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Wall Street opens flat as investment banks fail to fuel optimism

Wall Street opened flat on Tuesday as upbeat earnings from big investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley failed to fuel the optimism that has led the major indexes to record highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.01 points, or 0.07 percent, to 22,971.97. The S&P 500 lost 0.5 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,557.14. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.44 points, or 0.05 percent, to 6,620.57.
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Technology stocks boost Wall Street to hit fresh records

Major Wall Street indexes hit fresh records at the open on Monday on gains in financial and technology stocks even as investors awaited a barrage of earnings reports this week.

Apple gained 1.05 percent, providing the biggest boost to the Nasdaq and the S&P after KeyBanc upgraded the stock to "overweight".

Financial stocks gained for the first time in four days, led by bank stocks. Reactions to bank results last week were muted on concerns about credit card losses at JPMorgan and Citigroup and weak trading activity across the sector.

Investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley report before markets open on Tuesday. Insurer Travelers jumped 2 percent, providing the biggest boost to the Dow.

Video-streaming pioneer Netflix reports third-quarter results after market.

"The market still wants to be optimistic, it wants to continue to move higher from here," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth.
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Dow, Nasdaq eke out record highs over Trump's proposed tax reforms

US stocks inched higher on Monday, with the Dow and the Nasdaq hitting fresh records, on rising optimism over President Donald Trump's proposed tax overhaul.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.43 points, or 0.03 percent, to 22,781.1. The S&P 500 gained 2.06 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,551.39. The Nasdaq Composite added 7.26 points, or 0.11 percent, to 6,597.44.
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Nasdaq, S&P slip; Dow ticks above 22,647 level, hits new record high

The Nasdaq and the S&P fell on Wednesday as investors likely took profits on tech stocks, the best performing sector in the recent rally, while the Dow touched a record high.

Seven of 11 major S&P indexes were down, led by the information technology and Industrials.
The S&P information technology index, up about 26 per cent this year, was on pace to post its first losses in seven sessions.

"The market has been on a slow drift upward, in anticipation of the earnings season coming and the hopes about tax reform," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City.

"I think you're just seeing some small profit taking in the absence of new news."

The dollar was off seven-week highs on speculation that US President Donald Trump's choice for the next head of the Federal Reserve could be a less hawkish candidate than had previously been expected.

US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to address the Community Banking in the 21st Century Research and Policy Conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis.
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Wall Street climbs as North Korea tension eases, S&P tops with 1.12% rise

Wall Street opened higher on Monday, with broad gains across sectors, as investor sentiment was lifted by easing tensions in the Korean peninsula after key US officials played down the risk of an imminent war with North Korea.

All the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with S&P financial's 1.12 per cent rise leading the gainers.

Global stocks lost nearly $1 trillion last week after President Donald Trump warned North Korea that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States, leading to a war of words between Pyongyang and Washington.

However, US officials including National Security Adviser H R McMaster and CIA Director Mike Pompeo played down the risk on Sunday, while South Korea's president said resolving Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions must be done peacefully.

"Feels as though the North Korean tension seems to be abating a bit, with commentary coming out of China and the United States. But the situation seems to have de-escalated in the near term", said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich
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Snap shares wither more as filings show some investors bailing

Snap Inc stock rebounded on Monday from a record low hit earlier in a choppy trading session as big investors report their latest stakes in the beleaguered social media company and as a wave of employees became eligible to sell their shares.

The shares were up 5.2 per cent at $12.44 in morning trading after falling as much as 4.7 per cent to $11.28 shortly after the market opened, their lowest point since their March debut.

Within just 45 minutes of regular trading, volume had already reached half of the stock's daily average for the past 10 days.

Starting on Monday, employees for the first time are allowed to sell their stock following the Snapchat parent's blockbuster initial public offering, potentially increasing the supply of shares in the market and their volatility.

Monday is also the deadline for hedge funds and other institutional investors to report their quarter-end holdings of U.S. equities.
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Dow hits record high again on back of robust July jobs data

The Dow hit another record high and the Nasdaq opened slightly higher on Monday, while the S&P was little changed.

The Dow closed at a record high for the eighth straight session on Friday, powered by a robust July employment report that showed US employers added more jobs than expected in the month.

The report is likely to clear the way for the Federal Reserve to announce a plan to start shrinking its $4.2 trillion bond portfolio in September, and could strengthen its case to raise rates for the third time this year in December.

"The jobs report was quite well-received on Friday despite suffering the same pitfall that has plagued the US recovery for years, inadequate wage growth," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at online forex broker Oanda.

At 9:36 a.m. ET (1336 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 8.3 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 22,084.51, the S&P 500 was down 0.42 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 2,476.41.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 9.36 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 6,360.92.

Six of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the energy index's 0.49 per cent fall leading the decliners.
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Wall Street flat as consumer stocks, weak earnings weigh

The US stocks traded little changed in late morning session on Thursday, struggling to hold on to the record highs on the S&P and the Nasdaq, weighed by a drop in consumer discretionary stocks and disappointing earnings by some big names.

Home Depot fell 4.1 percent, shaving off 45 points off the Dow and weighing the most on the S&P 500.

Sears soared 20 percent after the retailer said it would sell its Kenmore home appliances on Amazon.com and integrate the brand's smart gadgets with the online giant's Alexa digital assistant.

The news, however, dragged down the shares of fellow retailer Best Buy by 4 percent.

Cigarette maker Philip Morris was down 2.8 percent after its quarterly profit missed expectations and was among the top drags on the S&P.

Qualcomm fell 4.7 percent after the chipmaker's forecast missed estimates.

Still, overall earnings continue to beat expectations which, along with a rally in technology shares, helped all three major indexes to close at a record high on Wednesday.

Analysts are estimating an 8.7 percent rise in second-quarter earnings and a 4.6 percent increase in revenue for the S&P 500 companies from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
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Nasdaq, S&P hit record highs as tech, health stocks rise

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 opened at record highs on Wednesday, powered by technology and healthcare stocks, while the Dow was weighed down by a fall in IBM's shares.

IBM fell 3.9 percent after the company's quarterly revenue came in below expectations.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at a record high on Tuesday, helped by a jump in Netflix, with the index posting its longest streak of gains since February 2015.

The S&P tech sector has been the best performing sector this year despite concerns about stretched valuations as investors look for growth sectors immune to policy uncertainties.

"Netflix's strong results has caused money to move to tech stocks in anticipation of stronger earnings," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive officer at 50 Park Investments.

"If the big names such as Alphabet, Facebook, Amazon are able to show growth in an otherwise low-growth environment, then investors will pay for these stocks."

All three big tech names will report results next week.

Microsoft, which reports results on Thursday, was up 0.6 percent and was among the biggest boosts to the S&P and the Nasdaq.

At 9:45 a.m. ET (1345 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 4.76 points, or 0.02 percent, at 21,579.49, the S&P 500 was up 6.35 points, or 0.25 percent, at 2,466.96.
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Wall Street records fresh highs on Yellen's rate hike views at testimony

US stocks opened higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said interest rates hikes would be gradual and will not have to rise much further to reach neutral rate.

Yellen, in a prepared testimony to be delivered to Congress at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT), said the economy is healthy enough to absorb further gradual rate increases and the slow wind down of the Federal Reserve's massive bond portfolio.

The testimony depicted an economy that, while growing slowly, continued to add jobs, benefited from steady household consumption and a recent jump in business investment.

Investors and some Fed officials, concerned with the recent dip in inflation, have been wanting to see a surer progress toward the central bank's goal of 2 percent inflation.

Yellen ascribed the inflation drop to "a few unusual reductions in certain categories of prices" and said it would eventually drop out of the calculation.

"I'm not very surprised by Yellen's comments. She's been pretty steadfast that we're raising rates... The market is liking the fact that she's seeing economic growth," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago.

"What the Fed's doing and she's doing is continuing the case for raising rates."

The U.S central bank will also issue its Beige Book at 2 p.m. ET, a compendium of anecdotes on the health of the economy. The Fed's next policy meeting is on July 25-26.

At 9:38 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 133.61 points, or 0.62 percent, at 21,542.68, the S&P 500 was up 16.18 points, or 0.66 percent, at 2,441.71.
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Trump owes lenders at least $315 mn, discloses latest financial report

US President Donald Trump has reported hundreds of millions of dollars in income in a financial disclosure form, the media reported.

The numbers were reported in a 98-page disclosure form signed by Trump this week and made public by the Office of Government Ethics late Friday. The report covers January 2016 through April 15, 2017, reports CNN.

Trump reported $37.2 million in income in the past year from Mar-a-Lago, the private Florida resort where the President hosted his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The club has doubled its membership fee in the past year.

The Mar-a-Lago income figure was $7.4 million higher than on his previous financial disclosure filing, in May 2016.

At his golf courses alone, Trump reported $288 million in income which includes $19.8 million from his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he has spent some weekends as President.

He also reported $19.7 million in income through mid-April at his luxury Washington hotel that opened last September, reports CNN.

Up to $7 million was reported in book royalties, including $1 million to $5 million from his book "Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America".

Nearly $11 million came from the Miss Universe pageant and an $84,000 pension from the Screen Actors Guild.

Trump brought in approximately $600 million to $650 million in employment assets and income.

However, the documents have it impossible to calculate precise totals, according to the Office of Government Ethics.
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Wall Street flat as James Comey's testimony underway

US stocks were little changed in choppy late morning trading on Thursday as former FBI Director James Comey's testimony got underway.

Comey is being grilled by Washington politicians over his claims that President Donald Trump asked him to drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of a probe into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Comey said he had no doubt that Russia interfered with the election but was confident that no votes had been altered.

"Today is about Washington and the drama surrounding Comey's testimony. But the talk about the demise of President Trump's presidency or growth agenda seems premature, short of a smoking gun," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at US Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.

"I expect equities to generally tend sideways today, short of any new revelations coming out of the testimony."

Earlier on Thursday, the European Central Bank signalled no further interest rate cuts as euro zone prospects improved but said subdued inflation meant it would continue to pump more stimulus into the region's economy.

Investors are also keeping an eye on the outcome of the UK general election, with opinion polls showing Theresa May's Conservative Party leading between 5 and 12 percentage points over the main opposition Labour Party, suggesting she would increase her majority.

At 10:35 am ET (1435 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5.62 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 21,179.31, the S&P 500 was down 1.51 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 2,431.63.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.56 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 6,296.82.

Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the defensive utilities index's 1.08 per cent loss topping the decliners.

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding were up 9.5 per cent at $137.55 after the company said it expects revenue growth of 45-49 per cent in the 2018 financial year.

Yahoo, which owns a 15.5 per cent stake in Alibaba also rose 7.2 per cent to $54.18.

Nordstrom jumped 11.4 per cent to $45.09 after the department store operator said that some members of the controlling Nordstrom family have formed a group to consider taking the company private.

Among other retailers, Macy's was up 2.1 per cent, and JC Penney 1.2 per cent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,410 to 1,252. On the Nasdaq, 1,408 issues rose and 1,162 fell.
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Amazon shares break $1,000; accounts for 17% market cap of the S&P 500

Amazon.com on Tuesday became the second of the current S&P 500 components to hit the $1,000 price mark, beating Google parent Alphabet to the punch and underscoring a massive rally in large-cap technology-related stocks.

Shares of Amazon have risen 33 percent so far in 2017 alone, adding roughly $120 billion to its market value. Priceline was the first S&P 500 stock to hit $1,000, doing so in September 2013. Analysts on average expect Amazon to rise another 10 percent according to the median price target of $1,100.

"The world is becoming more and more aware of how unstoppable the business plan is," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in New York. He said Amazon accounts for 3.5 percent to 5 percent of the firm's portfolios.

"The $1,000 is a bit of a psychological barrier for any stock, but it is just another number and we're still big believers in it."

Among the other four largest U.S. companies by market cap, Apple and Facebook share prices have also risen nearly 33 percent this year while Alphabet has gained 26 percent and Microsoft has added 13 percent.

The combined market cap of the top five is near $3 trillion, or more than 13 percent of the S&P 500 index stocks' capitalization.

Amazon, the only one of the top five not in the technology sector, accounts for 17 percent of the market cap of the S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector.

In terms of stock prices, Amazon's high of $1,001.20 is second among the S&P 500 behind Priceline, which recently hit $1,850.50. Priceline's near $92 billion market cap is, however, runs far below Amazon's $476 billion.

Apple dominates that metric with a capitalization of more than $800 billion.

Amazon beat Alphabet, which recently hit $994.32, in a race to $1,000. The other S&P component above $900 per share is Intuitive Surgical, at $912.80.

Apple three years ago split its stock in seven. If it had not, its current stock price would be about $1,080.11.

Amazon is ahead of Facebook in the race to become the fourth U.S. company with a market cap of more than half a trillion dollars, joining Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft.
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Dollar slides on Donald Trump concern, but stocks rise

The U.S. dollar fell on Friday and was set to close its worst week in more than a year, with losses steepening after reports an investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Donald Trump's presidential campaign now include a person close to the President.

Stocks pared gains on Wall Street and Treasury yields hit session lows after the report from the Washington Post. Separately, the New York Times reported more details on Trump's recent meeting with Russian diplomats in the Oval Office.

A senior White House adviser is a significant person of interest in the investigation of possible ties between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia, the Post reported citing people familiar with the matter.

It was the most eventful week of the year so far for financial markets, with many major equity markets scaling record highs and then plunging mid-week in one of the sharpest cross-asset routs in years.

Triggering the move was uproar over Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey and allegations he pressed Comey to stop investigating his former national security chief's alleged ties with Russia.

Stocks on Wall Street pared gains of as much as 1 per cent on the S&P 500. The Friday reports out of Washington came after European markets had closed.

"I'm sure some of (the move in markets) is related to that, and the fact that Trump is going to be out of the country and nobody's quite sure what he's going to do," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago, speaking of the latest headlines from Washington.

"We've got two days now to wring our hands about what might happen," he said, adding that the stock market didn't seem too concerned at this point.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 141.82 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 20,804.84, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 16.01 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 2,381.73 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 28.57 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 6,083.70.
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Wall Street opens higher as Donald Trump slump eases

US stocks opened higher on Friday, led by technology stocks, as a sense of calm prevailed over Wall Street in a week that was dominated by political uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump's presidency.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 34.11 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 20,697.13, the S&P 500 was up 6.46 points, or 0.273067 per cent, at 2,372.18 and the Nasdaq composite was up 19.85 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 6,074.98.
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