Stocks fall again, Trump victory
Wall Street is on track for a second straight day of losses. All three major averages (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) are sharply lower across the board as investors continue to keep close tabs on the moves in the dollar after the recent yen-driven selloff (USDJPY=X), weigh a fresh batch of earnings and economic data.
Employment in the private sector slowed in April to the lowest level in three years. Payroll processor ADP reported that private sector payrolls increased by 156,000 last month. That was well below the 196,000 jobs economists were expecting.
BHP Billiton's (BHP) U.S.-listed shares fell after federal prosecutors in Brazil filed a $44 billion civil lawsuit against BHP and Brazil's Vale (VALE) over the deadly dam disaster at their joint-venture Samarco mine last year. Shares of Vale are also down sharply on the news.
A bidding war may be brewing for Medivation (MDVN) following a Reuters report that Pfizer (PFE) approached the cancer drug maker about a potential takeover. This comes after Medivation rejected a
$9.3 billion offer from rival Sanofi last Friday saying it undervalued the company.
Etsy (ETSY) shares soared in early trading. The online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods delivered its first profit since going public last year. The company earned $1.2 million or a penny a share for the first quarter as its user base grew and revenue soared nearly 40% from a year ago.
Tesla (TSLA) is set to report first-quarter results after the close of trading today. Analysts are looking for the luxury electric car maker's loss to widen to $0.58 a share from a loss of $0.36 a share a year earlier, but revenue is expected to rise by nearly 50% to $1.6 billion. Shares of Tesla have outperformed the S&P 500 since the beginning of the year. The stock got a nice boost in early April when CEO Elon Musk announced it received 325,000 preorders for its new Model 3 sedan in the first week.
Presumptive GOP nominee
Donald Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee for president. Trump clobbered his opponents in Indiana, knocking Texas Senator Ted Cruz out of the race. The business mogul also had to defeat many super PACs aimed directly at him.
Target cracks down on vendors
Target (TGT) wants to speed up its supply chain in order to compete better against Walmart (WMT) and Amazon.com (AMZN). According to Reuters, Target wants faster deliveries to its warehouses and plans to hike fines for late deliveries and issue $10,000 penalties for inaccurate product descriptions.
McDonald’s tests garlic fries
McDonald's (MCD) is offering ‘Gilroy Garlic Fries’ in four San Francisco locations. The fries will then be available in about 250 restaurants across the Bay Area if successful.
