USA stock index futures were marginally lower on Wednesday as crude oil gave up Tuesday’s gains after forecasts suggested winter in Europe and the United States would be short-lived.
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‘Force Awakens’ crosses 0M globally in record opening
What’s the Star Wars draw? It was also the first film to ever make more than 0 million on any given day. The film previously broke the record for the biggest opening day in the territory on Thursday.
Dow Jones Industrial Average YMH6, -0.45% futures dropped 84 points, or 0.5%, to 17,365, while those for the S&P 500 index ESH6, -0.44% eased 9.95 points, or 0.5%, to 2,041.25.
Delivery and ride-hailing app company Sidecar stops services
After years of trying to catch up to competitors Uber and Lyft, lesser-known ride-hailing startup Sidecar is ceasing operations. But with significant funding failing to come through, Sidecar’s founders have decided a new year means a completely new start.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 192.71 points, or 1.10 percent, to 17,720.98.
Bill Cosby arrested for raping woman in 2004; Twitter reacts
It’s the first criminal charges against Cosby over his conduct with women, which has received new scrutiny in the past year. Steele says that after seeing the deposition material “reopening this case was not a question, rather it was our duty”.
All 10 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, led by the 0.63 percent fall in the energy sector.
The S&P 500 was up 0.78% for the year, while the Nasdaq Composite extended gains and was up 7.56%. The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower and the Nasdaq was off 0.4%.
The S&P is up 19.46 points, or 1 percent. Cypress Semiconductor Corp. jumped 5.7 percent, while Qualcomm Inc. added 2.9 percent after the company announced new Chinese patent license agreements.
The financial sector is up more than 6% this Quarter, with participants expecting the to be the main beneficiaries of the 1st interest rate hike by the Fed last week.
The Nasdaq Internet Index rallied 1.4 percent to take its 2015 climb to 22 percent.
But if you had done the same exercise a year ago, you would also have had a list dominated by energy stocks, most of which have performed terribly this year.
Among oil stocks, Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search are adding more than 1 percent each, while Santos is up 0.2 percent following the rebound in crude oil prices.
The mining sector lost ground on Tuesday as the price of copper touched its lowest in more than a week and aluminium fell on concerns about demand from China, which is the world’s biggest consumer of metals. “Volumes have been very light at the moment, but that has seemingly been positive news for markets across the region”.
European stock markets ended lower on Monday as falling oil prices dragged lower energy stocks. The trade gap narrowed 1.3% in November to $60.5bn from a revised $61.3bn in October. Statistics Korea also said retail sales declined 1.1% over the same period.
Shares in Pep Boys – Manny Moe & Jack (PBY) fell 3% following news that activist investor Carl Icahn would buy the Philadelphia-based auto-parts chain, ending the bidding war with Japanese tire company Bridgestone Corp (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/icahn-wins-pep-boys-bidding-as-bridgestone-steps-aside-2015-12-29).
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The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence rose to 96.5 in December from 92.6 the prior month.
