The market opened in positive territory and the averages tacked on gains during morning trading. The Nasdaq has been the strongest of the major stock averages over the past week and began the day in record territory, but the Dow has been the market’s leader so far today. Oil prices are lower following the weekly Department of Energy inventory report. Analysts had expected a drawdown of supply, but instead saw a big build, pushing the price of oil down about 1%. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the trade deficit narrowed 2.1% in April to $46.2B from a revised $47.2B in March. Imports fell 0.2% after dropping 1.4% previously, while exports were up 0.3% after March’s 2.2% gain. Productivity growth for the first quarter was revised to a 0.4% growth rate, suffering a downward revision from the previously estimated growth rate of 0.7%. NYMEX crude slid following the EIA inventory data, which showed a 2.1M barrel rise in crude stocks. The Street had been expecting a roughly 2M barrel decrease during the week ended June 1. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Tesla (TSLA) advanced over 7% following the company’s annual meeting, which was held last night. At the meeting, shareholders rejected two proposals, including one that would have separated the roles of chairman and chief executive officer. Additionally, Elon Musk said the company will likely reach its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 sedans “by the end of this month”… Athenahealth (ATHN), which has been in the crosshairs of activist investor Elliott Management, announced that its board has initiated a process to explore strategic alternatives and that founder Jonathan Bush has stepped down as President, CEO and as a member of the Athenahealth board. Afterward, Elliott told Bloomberg in an emailed statement that Athenahealth made the right decision for shareholders, employees and customers. Elliott added that it looks forward to “participating as a bidder” in the company’s process to explore strategic options… Facebook (FB) disclosed data sharing partnerships with at least four Chinese companies, including the world’s third largest smartphone maker Huawei, which has come under scrutiny from U.S. intelligence agencies over security concerns, said Reuters. On a separate note, The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook’s photo and video sharing app Instagram is planning to launch a new feature that will allow users to post long-form videos after the platform previously only allowed videos under one minute long. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Manitowoc (MTW), which gained 15% after SunTrust upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. In addition, Signet Jewelers (SIG) was 19% higher after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was Delta (DAL), which fell about 1.5% after it cut its second quarter guidance in a presentation at the Deutsche Bank Global Industrials and Materials Summit. Also lower was Ambarella (AMBA), which fell 13% after reporting quarterly results and issuing weaker than expected guidance. Additionally, First Solar (FSLR) slid 9% after JMP Securities downgraded the stock two notches to Underperform from Outperform. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 219.47, or 0.88%, to 25,019.45, the Nasdaq was up 15.05, or 0.20%, to 7,652.91, and the S&P 500 was up 10.25, or 0.37%, to 2,759.05.
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