December 18, 2015 Financial News – Business News – Stock Exchange – NYSE – Market News CLICK HERE➡ ➡ http://FinancialBuzz.com Business News – Financial News – Stock News — New York Stock Exchange — Market News 2015 Business News – Financial News – Stock Exchange — Wall Street — Market News – New York Stock Exchange 2015
Monday didn’t have much economic news, however, traders anxiously awaited the results of the Federal Reserve meeting this Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the consumer price index for November was unchanged and the Empire State manufacturing survey for December declined for the fifth straight month in a row, however, it did show signs of improvement coming in at -4.59, compared to the prior month’s -10.7.
On Wednesday, markets finally got their long-awaited increase in interest rates, courtesy of the Fed. The hike was gentle, with the fed funds rate increasing only ¼ of a point. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a press conference that the economic recovery has come a long way, but it is not complete, and that the Fed expects gradual further adjustments to monetary policy which will allow the economy to continue its expansion and for the labor market to continue to strengthen. This was the first increase in the funds rate since June of 2006. Markets rallied sharply on the news with the Dow Industrials closing up 224 points. Also on Wednesday, housing starts for November were strong, up 10.5% to 1.17 million annualized units, and industrial production for November fell .6%.
On Thursday, jobless claims for the week ending December 12th were down 11,000 to 271,000. The dollar gained strength and commodities sold off, prompting the Dow Industrials to close down 253 points.
On Friday, markets opened sharply lower as oil prices remained low and investors waited for volatility brought on by the expiration of various options and futures contracts.
Now let’s take a look at some stocks.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) revealed lowered revenue forecasts for 2015 and ‘16, largely because its relationship with a mail-order pharmacy has ended. However, the company also said that a new distribution deal with Walgreens Boots Alliance will help the company to recover quickly. Shares of Valeant were up about 18% this week.
SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ:SCTY) shares surged more than 34% on Wednesday after Congress drafted a spending bill which would approve an extension for renewable energy tax credits. The bill is awaiting final vote in Congress and will extend the credits five more years, after they expire next year. Shares of other companies in the solar energy sector have also increased, including SunEdison (NYSE:SUNE), First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR), and SunRun (NASDAQ:RUN) .
3M Company (NYSE:MMM) shares were down 6% Tuesday. The diversified technology and industrial company announced that slowing demand for consumer electronics and industrial supplies will affect the company’s operations. 3M has reduced its forecasts for earnings and sales growth for 2016.
Shares of Pandora Media (NYSE:P) surged more than 13% Thursday after a U.S. copyright board raised music royalty rates that Pandora and Internet radio stations will pay going forward. The new prices are higher than Pandora asked for, but are much lower than what the music industry wanted.