On The Fly: Top stock stories at midday - InvestingChannel

On The Fly: Top stock stories at midday

Stocks on Wall Street were higher at midday as investors await the last rate decision of the year from the Federal Reserve. While it is widely expected that the Fed will make its third rate hike of 2017, what the central bank signals about its tightening plans next year may be of greater interest to the market. With that decision coming at 2 pm, to be followed by Janet Yellen’s last FOMC press conference before she hands the reins to incoming Chair Jerome Powell, the major averages are holding in the green but trading quietly. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in November compared to the prior month, matching the consensus estimate. The core rate, excluding food and energy, was 0.1% higher, which was below the consensus 0.2% growth estimate. The day’s big economic event is upcoming, with the Federal Reserve widely expected to raise the key interest rate by 25 basis points. There is less consensus around whether the central bank will also up its 2018 rate guidance to four hikes from three. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Finisar (FNSR) surged 28% after Apple (AAPL) awarded the chipmaker $390M from its $1B fund set up to drive advanced manufacturing capabilities. Apple said that the award will “enable Finisar to exponentially increase its R&D spending and high-volume production of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers,” which are central to some of the newest features of the iPhone X… Target (TGT) shares are up 1.5% near midday after the retail giant agreed to acquire online same-day delivery platform Shipt, Inc. for $550M in cash. As a result of the deal, Target said it plans to bring same-day delivery services to half of its stores by early 2018. Meanwhile, e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) said that customers can shop “all the way up to Christmas Eve” with Prime Free Same-Day Delivery and Prime Now… Separately, Eli Lilly (LLY) shares rose nearly 1.5% after the company reaffirmed its fiscal 2017 adjusted earnings per share and revenue outlook and provided fiscal 2018 EPS and revenue guidance. The company noted in a conference call about the guidance that it assumes no major healthcare reform changes in 2018 and that it plans to continue to work to reduce costs… Meanwhile, T-Mobile (TMUS) shares were up about 1% after the company said it will acquire TV technology company Layer3 TV and that it plans to launch a “disruptive” new TV service in 2018. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Overstock.com (OSTK), which rallied 6% after the Financial Times reported that the online retailer is reviewing options to sell the company in order to use the capital to form a digital global property registry. Also higher was Honeywell (HON), which gained 1.5% after it updated its outlook for Q4 and FY17 and provided FY18 EPS and revenue guidance. Among the notable losers was Oasis Petroleum (OAS), which slipped another 3% after Guggenheim downgraded the stock to Neutral following yesterday’s slide on the heels of an acreage purchase agreement. Also lower was Teva (TEVA), which fell over 5% following a report that the company will unveil a new restructuring plan that will include layoffs. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 135.23, or 0.55%, to 24,640.03, the Nasdaq was up 21.66, or 0.32%, to 6,883.98, and the S&P 500 was up 4.39, or 0.16%, to 2,668.50.

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