Yahoo Finance Stocks bounce back, Citi increases odds of Trump presidency
Wall Street is kicking off the day with a rally after a bout of volatility last week. All three major averages (^GPSC, ^DJI, ^IXIC) were higher across the board as investors gear up for central bank meetings in the US and Japan.
A rise in oil is helping lend support to the stocks. Crude futures (CL=F) rose in early trading following last week’s slide after Venezuela said oil producers were close to a deal to stabilize the market and as military clashes in Libya put the country’s crude exports in jeopardy.
Stocks to watch
Merck (MRK) shares are in focus after French rival Sanofi filed a lawsuit claiming the US drug company infringed as many as 10 of its patents, including ones for its blockbuster diabetes treatment Lantus and its insulin delivery device soloSTAR. US-listed shares of Sanofi (SNY) rose on the news.
General Motors (GM) shares were higher in early trading after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal-weight and raised the price target by $8 to $37 a share. Separately, the head of Canada’s auto workers union says thousands of factory workers will strike at two General Motors plants if the two sides are not able to negotiate a new contract by the Monday night deadline. A strike would disrupt supply of engines that go into GM’s sport utility vehicles, including the Chevrolet Suburban and Cadillac Escalade.
Google’s parent company Alphabet (GOOGL) could be hit with a tax bill of more than $400 million for last year alone if the Indonesian government finds it avoided tax payments, according to Reuters.
Avnet (AVT) shares were higher in early trading following news that it’s selling its IT business to Tech Data (TECD) for about $2.6 billion in cash and stock.
Trust your gut
New research shows that financial traders who trust their guts have more success and last longer in their careers. A Cambridge-led study of 18 high-frequency traders reveals that the better a trader was at sensing his own heart rate, the more successful he was at high-frequency trading. But should you trust your gut?
Samsung’s troubles spread
Samsung says that batteries are not to blame for phones that caught fire in China. It’s the latest development in the recall of millions of Samsung’s Note 7 smartphones with faulty batteries. Reports on social media over the weekend said two phones caught fire in China. How can Samsung recover?
Cutting Clinton’s chances
Analysts at Citicorp say Donald Trump’s chances of winning the White House are rising. Citi cut the probability of Hillary Clinton winning to 60%, down from 65%. That, of course, puts Trump’s shot at victory at 40%. What does this mean for investors?
