Yahoo Finance US Stock Market Overview – Stocks Slip on Weak CAT Guidance; Facebook and Microsoft Beat
Stock prices edged lower on Wednesday consolidating the all-time highs seen on Tuesday. Most sectors were lower, led down by Energy, while defensive names in the Utility sector bucked the trend. After the closing bell, Microsoft and Facebook announced better than expected financial results. Soft guidance from Catepillar put downward pressure on the stock. Occidental Petroleum generated a rival bid for Anadarko following Chevrons bid early in the month.
Occidental Petroleum Generates Rival Bid for Anadarko
Occidental Petroleum generated a counter bid and offered to buy Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for $38 billion, outbidding rival Chevron Corp. who earlier this month made a bid for about $33 billion. The competition for Anadarko, which is poised to generate huge profits in the shale, is creating a bidding war. Anadarko said in a statement Wednesday that its board hasn’t determined whether it views Occidental’s offer as better than Chevron’s.
Catepillar Shares Tumbled
Catepillar shares dropped 3% on Wednesday despite better than expected financial results as the CFO told investors that the company could lose market share in China. The company reported ESP of $2.94 per share versus expectations that the company would earn $2.85 per share. Revenue came in at $13.47 billion versus expectations of $13.40 billion.
Crude Oil Inventories Came in Stronger than Expected
Rising gasoline demand was not enough to buoy crude oil prices which lost ground following a larger than expected increase in crude oil inventories. According to the Energy Information administration, crude oil inventories increased by 5.5 million barrels from the previous week. Additionally, gasoline inventories decreased by 2.1 million barrels last week and are about 2% below the five year average for this time of year. Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 0.7 million barrels last week. Total commercial petroleum inventories increased last week by 8.8 million barrels last week.
Demand was mixed. Total products demand over the past month averaged 20.2 million barrels per day, down by 1.0% from the same period last year. Over the past month, gasoline demand averaged 9.4 million barrels per day, up by 0.9% from the same period last year. Distillate fuel demand averaged 3.8 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, down by 6.7% from the same period last year.
Both Microsoft and Facebook Beat
After the closing bell, Microsoft reported better than expected earnings, which pushed the stock price up 2% in the aftermarket. The company reported Azure revenue growth of 73% in the Q3, which was much better than expected. The company reported a bottom line of $1.14 per share compared to estimates that the company would earn $1 per share.
Facebook reported better than expected top and bottom line but also announced that it would be taking a 3 billion dollar legal expense. Earning per share came in at $0.85 and revenue came in at 15.08 billion compared to revenue of 14.98. Daily active users came in better than expected along with monthly active users. The stock price surge 5% in the aftermarket.
This article was originally posted on FX Empire
