On Friday, Financial stocks were among those that priced better, logging the smallest loss in the S&P 500 index.
Higher interest rates are normally good for financial companies such as banks because they can loan at higher rates. Banks also climbed a day after the Federal Reserve declared that major U.S. lenders had all passed the Fed’s annual “stress tests,” which are designed to gauge whether lenders are strong enough to withstand severe disruptions to the financial system. Bank of America climbed 22 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $16.22, one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500.
Insights about U.S. Stocks that landed in the Active-Zone during Friday’s trade, are depicted underneath:
Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG)’s declined -2.33%, and traded at $82.66. The Stock is active as 11.34M shares changed hands versus its average volume of 8.57M shares.
The Procter & Gamble Company, (PG), Fabric Care category comprises brands such as Tide®, Downy®, Gain®, and Bounce®.
HE Washing Machines are among the most sophisticated appliances in the home, designed to make more than 100 decisions per hour, with more technology than that which fueled the first lunar landing. While many consumers purchase new HE appliances with the intention of saving time, water and energy, many don’t realize that using the wrong detergent and incorrect dose is actually counterproductive, adding noteworthy time to their wash cycle and influencing cleaning results.
While it is ordinary belief that all detergents labeled with “HE” are safe for an HE machine, not all HE detergents are created equal. This is why P&G Fabric Care is introducing a new standard in HE Detergents, HE Turbo Clean™, to deliver the best clean from HE machines. A first-of-its-kind, the HE Turbo Clean™ formula is now accessible in Tide liquid detergent, Tide Pods pacs and Tide powder formula and is the #1 recommended detergent by leading HE washer manufacturers.
P&G serves nearly five billion people around the world with its brands. The Corporation has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, counting Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, Wella® and Whisper®.
SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD), dipped -2.73%, and traded at $111.86. The Stock is active as 2.67M shares.
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD): Precious metals were felled by the promise of rising interest rates and the surging greenback. Gold is often a haven asset, and one that pays investors zero interest. Rising rates (and the potential for them) make yield-bearing assets more attractive by comparison. When the dollar rises, precious metal become costlier for overseas buyers. Gold dropped down 2.7% to $1,164.30 an ounce, the biggest one-day decline since late 2013.
The investment seeks to replicate the performance, net of expenses, of the price of gold bullion. The trust holds gold, and is predictable to issue baskets in exchange for deposits of gold, and to distribute gold in connection with redemption of baskets. The gold held by the trust will only be sold on an as-needed basis to pay trust expenses, in the event the trust terminates and liquidates its assets, or as otherwise required by law or regulation.
Merck & Co., Inc (NYSE:MRK), dropped-1.97%, and traded at $56.84. The Stock is active as 11.06M shares changed hands versus its average volume of 10.05M shares.
The highly lucrative immuno-oncology space continues to attract attention and shows no signs of slowing down with another deal being declared. Earlier this week, Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK), reached a partnership with Eisai Co., Ltd. ESALY for the evaluation of the safety, tolerability and efficacy of Merck’s Keytruda (anti-PD-1 therapy) in combination with Eisai’s oncology compounds, counting Lenvima (a multi-targeting RTK inhibitor) and Halaven (a microtubule dynamics inhibitor) across multiple studies.
The studies will comprise a multicenter, open-label phase Ib/II study on Lenvima plus Keytruda in select solid tumors and an open-label, single-arm, multicenter phase Ib/II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Halaven plus Keytruda in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. While the financial details of the contract were not revealed, the studies are predictable to commence in the second half of 2015.
Merck presently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the health care sector is Horizon Pharma plc HZNP carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Merck & Co., Inc. provides health care solutions worldwide. The corporation offer therapeutic and preventive agents to treat cardiovascular, type 2 diabetes, asthma, nasal allergy symptoms, allergic rhinitis, chronic hepatitis C virus, HIV-1 infection, fungal infections, intra-abdominal infections, hypertension, arthritis and pain, inflammatory, osteoporosis, male pattern hair loss, and fertility diseases.
Staples, Inc (NASDAQ:SPLS), dwindled -2.73%, and traded at $16.05. The Stock is active as 10.82M shares changed hands versus its average volume of 13.08M shares.
Staples, Inc. (SPLS), declared the results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 31, 2015. Total corporation sales for the fourth quarter of 2014 were $5.7 billion, a decrease of four percent contrast to the fourth quarter of 2013. On a GAAP basis, the corporation stated a net loss of $260 million, or $0.41 per share, contrast to net revenue of $212 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, achieved in the fourth quarter of 2013. Fourth quarter 2014 results on a GAAP basis comprise $410 million of pre-tax charges for the impairment of goodwill in the corporation’s Australia, China, and South America businesses, as well as $74 million of pre-tax restructuring and other charges.
Total corporation sales grew one percent during the fourth quarter, not including the influence of store closures in North America during the past year and changes in foreign exchange rates. Not including the influence of charges taken during the fourth quarter of 2014, the corporation stated non-GAAP net revenue of $198 million, or $0.31 per diluted share.
Staples makes it easy to make more happen with more products and more ways to shop. Through its world-class retail, online and delivery capabilities, Staples lets customers shop however and whenever they want, whether it’s in-store, online or on mobile devices.
