US equities ended Friday in the green, with the Dow pushed higher by gains in the basic materials, consumer cyclicals and financial sectors.
The Dow closed up 1%, or 269 points higher. The S&P 500 ended Friday’s session up 0.7%, topping 2,900 points. The Nasdaq closed 0.5% higher.
On the week, the Dow logged a loss after two weeks of gains. The S&P and Nasdaq both recorded a third week of gains in a row.
Disney (DIS) was the best performing Dow stock with a nearly 12% jump, trading higher following the announcement of its Disney+ streaming channel. Disney logged its best one-day percentage gain in nearly a decade.
Financial stocks were led higher by JPMorgan (JPM), which reported better-than-expected earnings before the bell.
Anadarko Petroleum (APC), the biggest gainer in the S&P, rose 32% after Chevron (CVX) said it is paying $33 billion to acquire the oil and gas exploration and production company.
Campbell (CPB) is selling Bolthouse Farms, the juice, salad dressing and carrot line that marked the company’s ill-fated foray into fresh food.
The soup maker decided to sell Bolthouse in May after conducting an operational review to figure out how to turn the business around. At the time, Campbell also decided to sell its international business, which includes Arnott’s cookies, in order to focus on its core brands.
Bolthouse presented a particular problem: Poor weather hurt carrot crops, which hit sales and profits in 2017. Last year Keith McLoughlin, then interim CEO, said the company aggressively pursued the health “megatrend” without considering what differentiated Campbell from rivals doing the same exact thing.
The $510 million sale to Butterfly, a private equity firm focusing on the food sector, is expected to close this summer. Bolthouse’s former CEO Jeff Dunn, operating partner at Butterfly, will be reinstated as chief executive.
General Electric has moved a step closer to putting its disastrous adventure into subprime mortgages behind it.
The Justice Department announced on Friday a $1.5 billion penalty on GE over WMC Mortgage, the subprime lender it shut down a decade ago.
The settlement puts to rest allegations that WMC, like other subprime lenders before the mortgage meltdown, misrepresented the quality of subprime mortgages.
Those low-quality loans were then sold to investment banks, which packaged them into securities that were sold to invest investors who suffered billions of dollars in losses when the housing market collapsed.
GE (GE) had previously announced in January a preliminary agreement with the DOJ over WMC, which was acquired in 2004 under former CEO Jeff Immelt.
Between 2004 and 2007, WMC made more than $65 billion of mortgage loans. The DOJ alleged that the majority of the subprime loans WMC originated and sold into securities “did not comply” with the lender’s representations about the loans.
GE said in a statement that the settlement contains “no admission of any allegations” and marks a step towards de-risking GE Capital, the company’s financial arm.
“We are pleased to put this matter behind us,” GE said.
US stocks are trending higher halfway through Friday’s trading session. The Dow is leading the way, buoyed by Walt Disney (DIS) and JPMorgan (JPM).
JPMorgan and Wells Fargo (WFC) kicked off reports for financial institutions before the bell, putting bank earnings in focus. JPMorgan is up 5%, while Wells Fargo fell 3%.
Investors are also looking at Disney and its competitor Netflix (NFLX) after Disney announced the price of its streaming service. Disney is up 10%, making it the top gainer in the Dow. Netflix is down 4%.
Anadarko Petroleum (APC) is the best performer in the S&P 500. It rallied 33% after Chevron (CVX) said it is paying $33 billion to acquire the oil and gas exploration and production company.
Disney (DIS) investors are having a wonderful day following the announcement of the Disney+ streaming service. The stock gave back some of its earlier gains, but it’s still up nearly 10%.
Netflix (NFLX) investors are bummed out. The stock is down 3% because of its new, cheaper competitor.
Netflix (NFLX) might be more expensive than the upcoming Disney+ service, but one analyst says Netflix has a big advantage: It’s producing more original content.
That’s what Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger told clients in a note. Here are some highlights:
Juenger said there will be only a “little more than one new thing per week” by the time Disney+ hits its production peak by 2024:
Juenger also doubts that parents would automatically want to buy Disney+ (DIS), despite the brand’s reputation for family friendly content.
The roll out for Lyft (LYFT) continues to hit potholes: Shares are down more than 4% in early trading. The stock is down more than 25% since it went public.
On Thursday, its largest rival Uber filed paperwork to go public in what is likely to be one of the biggest public offerings ever for a technology company.
Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said he expects “continued pressure” on Lyft’s stock:
Disney and JPMorgan Chase catapulted the Dow 200 points higher on Friday as Wall Street flirts with record territory.
Disney (DIS) led the Dow higher, soaring 11% after unveiling a new streaming service that will only cost $6.99 per month. Disney is on track for its best day since May 2009. Netflix (NFLX), the streaming leader, fell 2%.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) jumped 3% on record profit and revenue that exceeded expectations.
Anadarko Petroleum (APC) surged 34% after Chevron agreed to buy the oil exploration company for $33 billion. Chevron (CVX), which is paying cash and stock for Anadarko, declined 5%.
Investors are apparently excited Disney’s new streaming service because the stock is up 10% in early trading.
Disney (DIS) yesterday unveiled Disney+, its long-awaited Netflix-killer:
Rivals’ shares are moving lower in premarket trading: Netflix (NFLX) is down 2%, CNN and DirecTV Now-owner AT&T (T) is flat as is Amazon (AMZN).
Here’s a preview of what Disney+ looks like:
JPMorgan’s (JPM) stock bounced more than 2% higher in premarket trading after the largest US bank reported better-than-expected revenues of $29.9 billion, up 5%.
JPMorgan’s investment banking revenue grew 10%, driven by debt underwriting and advisory, which rose 21% and 12%, respectively.
Earnings per share were $2.65, compared with consensus estimates of $2.35.
Shares of Anadarko Petroleum soared after the announcement that it would be purchased by Chevron for $33 billion.
The deal, which still needs the approval of regulators and shareholders, would value Anadarko at $65 a share based on Thursday’s closing price of Chevron. The purchase is being done 75% with Chevron stock and 25% with cash.
Shares of Anadarko (APC), which had previously been up 7% for the year, were up above $62. Shares of Chevron (CVX) slipped on the news, despite its estimate that the deal would add to earnings per share a year after it closes, assuming the price of a Brent crude stays above $60 a barrel.
Tesla (TSLA) just made several changes to its model offerings and pricing:
ICYMI: The company endured a tough 2018 after months of manufacturing hangups and delays in rolling out the Model 3. But it surprised investors by posting back-to-back quarterly profits at the end of last year.
Shares are up more than 1% in premarket trading.
Uber on Thursday filed paperwork for an IPO that is likely to be one of the biggest public offerings ever for a technology company.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi admitted to the company making “missteps” on its road to go public. The startup has faced a long list of scandals, including allegations of sexism and harassment.
The transportation company lost $1.8 billion in 2018, an unprecedented sum for a company about to go public.
Documents filed by Uber revealed that its revenue was up 42% in 2018 to $11.3 billion.
In its fourth quarter, Uber had 3.9 million drivers on its platform and users took 1.5 billion trips.
Here’s what investors are watching:
