US stocks close higher
Big hitter Mueller to lead Trump's Russia ties inquiry
Trump administration to renegotiate NAFTA
GAP shares surge after hours
Wall Street shares closed higher on Thursday as fashion firm GAP Inc (NYSE:GAP) shares were surging over 5% in after hours earnings after posting first quarter earnings.
The Dow Jones closed up 56 at 20,663, while the S&P500 added over eight points to finish at 2,365. It was another day of twists and turns from the White House with the Trump government triggering the process to renegotaite NAFTA.
The tech heavy Nasdaq gained 43 at 6, 055.
US crude (West Texas Intermediate) was up 0.51% to $49.32 a barrel.
GAP reported that first-quarter earnings rose to US$143 million compared to $127 million in the same period last year.
Reports are also emerging that one person is dead and 22 injured after a car collided with pedestrians in Times Square, NY
MID-SESSION..
Wall Street shares were powering ahead at mid-session.
The Dow Jones is up 123 at 20,730, while the S&P500 surged 16 points at 2,373.
The Nasdaq is up 56 at 6,068. The FTSE 100 in London earlier closed around 67 lower at 7,436.
2.26pm - Trump gov't triggers NAFTA renegotiation
The Trump government has began its long-promised renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
It wants to start talks with Mexico and Canada over Nafta "as soon as practicable", it said.
The letter to congressional leaders provided formal notice of the administration's intent and begins a 90-day waiting period before negotiators can sit down with counterparts from the two countries
Movers at mid-session...
Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) shred over 8% to $31.06 as the market was disappointed by third quarter earnings.
The company said it expected revenue for its fourth quarter to fall between 4-6% from a year earlier, implying a range of $11.88 billion-$12.13 billion.
Analysts on average had expected revenue of $12.51 bn.
It also said it would cut 1,100 more jobs.
GlycoMimetics Inc (NASDAQ: GLYC ) added over 96% as it reported that its candidate GMI-1271 has received the FDA Breakthrough therapy designation for adult relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia.
L Brands Inc (NYSE: LB) gained 3.04% to $49.87 as it reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter and raised its FY17 outlook.
On S&P 500 Incyte Corporation (NYSE:INCY) added over 7% to $128.93 and was top gainer. The biggest loser was Zions Bancorporation (NYSE:ZION) down almost 90% to $39.54.
Walmart Stores (NYSE:WMT) was the top dog on Dow Jones, adding 3.06% to $77.42 after it reported booming online sales, which lifted the first quarter.
The e-commerce arm saw a 63% rise in sales, driven by demand at Walmart.com as the retail giant has invested heavily to counter the rapid growth of Amazon and others.
OPEN
US shares went higher at the open despite the massive sell-off yesterday as the market settled amid the Trump turmoil.
The Dow Jones is up 19 at the time of writing, at 20,626.
The S&P500 is up 6.86 to 2,363, while the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite Index is up over 40 at 6,051.
In Toronto, the TSX index was down over 81 at 15,192.
In companies, tech giant Alibaba Holding Ltd (NASDAQ:BABA) is down over 3% to $116.91 as the group company reported in its fourth quarter report an EPS (earnings per share) miss of $0.02 with a sales beat of $380 million.
Also crashing was Zions Bancorporation (NYSE:ZION) down almost 90% to $39.30.
PREVIEW..
US futures trading is indicating another poor start on Thursday after yesterday's big sell-off.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones fell an eye-watering 372 points, or 1.78%, to close at 20,606 as further turmoil hit the Trump adminstration sending traders into a selling frenzy.
The S&P 500 shed 43 at 2,357, while the Nasdaq lost 158 points, or 2.57%, to finish at 6,011.
In futures today, the Dow is down 66 points; the S&P500 is over five points lower, while the Nasdaq is off 11 points.
City Index analyst Kathleen Brooks says futures point to a 'hefty' sell-off but there could be a harbour from this storm, she suggests, in the form of the ex-FBI chief Robert Mueller who has been named as the lead investigator into President Trump’s ties with Russia.
The Washington heavyweight is reportedly widely respected by Democrats and Republicans after two decades' at the forefront of law enforcement.
First thing to watch from Mueller: does he give Congress the Comey memos. If not, a sign of their potential importance to what he's probing.
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) May 18, 2017
European indices have also started the day very cautiously, with FTSE 100 down just over 1% at 7,426. The German Dax and French CAC 40 are also lower.
In company news, shares of software gear giant Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) have tumbled over 7% in pre-market deals to $31.31 after the firm posted disappointing revenue figures. It forecast current-quarter revenue that were below analysts' estimates and said it planned to cut an additional 1,100 staff.
Also in the news, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has been fined €110mln by the EU for providing "incorrect or misleading" information during its purchase of WhatsApp in 2014. The social network group shares are down a tad - 0.10% in pre-market.
Stocks to look out for today are Alibaba (NASDAQ:BABA) and fashion brand Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) and retailer Walmart (NYSE: WMT), which are releasing earnings before the open.