STOCK MARKET NEWS: STOCK MARKET NEWS: S&P, Nasdaq slip, Disney lifts Dow, oil jumps to $94 level

A bottle of Johnson and Johnson Baby Powder taken in New York, February 24, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Illustration

Johnson & Johnson is discontinuing talc-based baby powder next year.

"As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, we have made the commercial decision to transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio."

J&J says the transition will simplify product offerings, deliver sustainable innovation, and meet the needs of consumers, customers and evolving global trends.

The company created a spinoff company in October 2021 to isolate lawsuits from consumers who claimed Johnson's baby powder was contaminated with asbestos. The spinoff, LTL Management, then filed for bankruptcy.

Shares of The New York Times Company added 10% in Thursday trading. A regulatory filing showed activist investor ValueAct holds 11 million shares, or 6.7% of the company that owns The New York Times, The Athletic, Wirecutter and other media properties.

ValueAct said it has, and anticipates having more discussions, about its investment. The topics include management, board composition and operations.

Shares were purchased between June and August for prices between $28.76 and $32.10 per share.

Stock trading platform Robinhood Markets must face market manipulation claims over restrictions it placed on trading during last year's "meme stock" rally, a U.S. judge ruled on Thursday.

U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga in Miami said in the ruling that investors in GameStop, AMC Entertainment Holdings and seven other stocks can proceed with a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the restrictions artificially depressed share prices.

The lawsuit was one of several cases brought against the retail trading platform after it temporarily barred customers from buying certain hot stocks in January 2021, including GameStop and AMC.

Robinhood had removed its users' ability to buy certain stocks for a day when its clearinghouse requirements ballooned to a $3 billion demand for cash — an obligation set by the National Securities Clearing Corporation. The brokerage also temporarily limited the number of shares users could buy in some hot stocks.

In the ruling published Thursday, the judge denied Robinhood's motion to dismiss separate allegations that it engaged in market manipulation to artificially depress the prices of the nine stocks by canceling purchase orders, liquidating its customers’ shares and closing out options.

In a statement, Robinhood's associate general counsel of litigation and regulatory enforcement, Cheryl Crumpton, said the company continues to stand by its actions, which it believes were "appropriate and necessary to support our customers."

Toast is rising is after hours trading. The digital technology platform purpose-built for restaurants topped Wall Street estimates for revenue and profit.

Second quarter revenue rose 58% year-over year to $675 million. Analysts expected $651.2 million.

The net loss narrowed to $54 million, or 11 cents per share, from $135 million, or $1.35 per share. The Wall Street estimate was 12 cents.

Total locations increased over 40% year-over-year to approximately 68,000.The company also raised its full year outlook. Toast now sees revenue of $2.62 to $2.66 billion (up from $2.50 to $2.55 billion).

ENERGY

Shell says oil output halted at three Gulf of Mexico platforms on pipeline outage

A leak shut pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico, causing Shell to halt production at three of its deepwater platforms.

A leaking pipeline has halted production at three offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell shares are up on the day, as is the price of oil and natural gas.

Mortgage rates spiked as home prices crossed a fresh record creating more headwinds for the housing market.

MARKETS

Mortgage rates spike as home prices hit new record

Mortgage rates jumped, crossing back above the 5% level for a 30-year fixed rate but don't expect higher costs to make housing more affordable.

POLITICS

Whole Foods founder says socialists are 'taking over' the US, threatening liberties

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey says Americans' rights are "under threat" from socialists who are taking over major institutions like education, the military and corporations.

Whole Foods founder and CEO John Mackey has a warning about rising socialist sentiment in the U.S.

Amazon owns the grocery chain. Amazon shares are little changed.

Warby Parker spiked as much as 30% in Thursday morning trading before giving back some gains. The online retailer of prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses topped Wall Street revenue and profit estimates.

Second quarter net revenue rose 13.7%, to $149.6 million. The analyst estimate was $149.5 million.

The net loss was $32.2 million, or 28 cents. The adjusted diluted loss per share was 1 cent. The estimate was for a 2 cent loss.

The company also lowered its full year outlook. Warby Parker now expects net revenue of $584 to $595 million, representing growth of 8% to 10% versus full year 2021. The company previously expected net revenue of $650 to $660 million, representing growth of 20% to 22%.

CNN reported Warby Parker also cut 63 corporate jobs—2% of its total workforce and 15% of its corporate staff.

Six Flags Entertainment fell more than 20% after reporting revenue and profit below Wall Street expectations.

Second quarter revenue dropped 5% to $435 million. Analysts expected $518 million.

Profit plunged 36% to $45 million, or 53 cents per diluted share. The estimate was $1.01.The operator of 27 theme parks across the U.S., Mexico and Canada blamed lower attendance, higher operating costs and pandemic-related closures and operating restrictions.

Attendance fell 16% to 8.3 million guests, though spending per guest did rise 26%.

Veru jumped more than 50% in early trading Thursday despite missing Wall Street estimates for revenue and profit.

Fiscal third quarter revenue fell 46% to $9.6 million. Analysts were expecting $16.67 million.

The net loss was $22.2 million, or 28 cents per share, compared to $2.7 million, or 3 cents. The estimate was for a 16 cent per share loss.

The company said the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency will provide an expedited review of its marketing authorization application for its COVID-19 treatment sabizabulin.

The European Medicines Agency’s Emergency Task Force also initiated a review.

“COVID-19 new cases and hospitalizations are on the rise again with both summer and fall-winter surges expected,” said Dr. Mitchell Steiner, Chair and CEO.

Gas Prices (AAA)

The national average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the U.S. dropped to just below $4 a gallon on Wednesday, for the first time since March.

While the $3.99 per gallon national average is a sizable decline from its highest — a $5.02 per gallon national average that consumers saw in June — the dip is caused by record-high inflation that has crippled travelers' wills to go anywhere, experts said.

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Stock traders (AP)

U.S. equity futures were trading higher ahead of the release of another report on inflation.

The major futures indexes suggest a gain of 0.3% when the opening bell rings on Wall Street.

Oil prices gained Thursday, adding to the rise in the previous session on supply concerns.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded at $92.00 per barrel. Brent crude futures were at $98.00 a barrel.

The average prices for a gallon of gasoline slipped below $4 for the first time since March.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will report wholesale inflation data for July. The producer price index is expected to rise 0.2% month-over-month according to Refinitiv forecasts.

Year-over-year, prices paid by wholesalers are anticipated to jump 10.4% in July. 

The Labor Department will release its tally of new claims for unemployment benefits for last week, expected to show a tight jobs market that is cooling off. Expectations are for 263,000, up slightly from the previous week.

Shares of Walt Disney were 7% higher in premarket trading after the company said it edged past Netflix with a total of 221 million streaming subscribers at the end of the most recent quarter. Prices for Disney+ and Hulu will rise for both platforms in December.

Disney added 14.4 million Disney+ customers, beating the consensus of 10 million expected by analysts  Disney posted adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.09, up 36% from a year earlier.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 2.4% and China's Shanghai Composite index gained 1.6%. Tokyo was closed for a holiday.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 87.77 points Wednesday to 4,210.24, hitting its highest levels since early May. It is now nearly 15% above its mid-June low.

The Nasdaq composite, whose many high-growth and expensive-looking stocks have been particularly vulnerable to interest rates, jumped 2.9% to 12,854.80. It's up more than 20% from June.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6% to 33,309.51.

Oil rigs at sunrise (iStock)

Oil prices gained Thursday, adding to the rise from the previous session as supply disruption concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded at $92.00 per barrel. Brent crude futures were at $98.00 a barrel.

U.S. crude oil stocks rose by 5.5 million barrels in the most recent week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, topping expectations for an increase of 73,000 barrels.

Gasoline product supplied rose in the most recent week to 9.1 million barrels per day.

Bitcoin was trading around $24,000, gaining in five of the last six days. In the past week, bitcoin has gained more than 4%. For the month, the cryptocurrency was higher by 0.3%. For the year, bitcoin is down more than 48%.

Ethereum was trading at approximately $1,800, up 14% in the past week. Dogecoin was trading at 7 cents, gaining 7% in the past week.