US OPEN: FED is not considering negative interest rates

US indices are trading mixed on Wednesday after Fed Chair Powell announced that the coronavirus crisis poses significant threat to the economy and that the Fed is not willing to introducing negative interest rates. Chairman Jerome Powell said that additional fiscal and monetary policy measures may be needed to support the US economy.  Following  Powell's speech the dollar index continued to trade below 100 against and the yield on US 10-year Treasury notes touched a session low of 0.6428%. Both Dow Jones and S&P 500 are trading lower while Nasdaq rose over 0.30%.

US producer prices dropped 1.3 percent  in April, which is the biggest decline on record and well below analysts’ expectations of a 0.5 percent drop. Over 80 percent of the decrease can be traced to a 3.3 percent drop in prices for final demand goods, namely a 56.6 percent plunge in gasoline cost after international crude prices turned negative during the month for the first time in history amid storage concerns. The indexes for jet fuel, diesel fuel, basic organic chemicals, home heating oil, and corn also moved lower. In contrast, prices for beef and veal rose 12.6 percent. The indexes for distilled and bottled liquor (excluding brandy) and for electric power also increased. Prices for final demand services moved down 0.2 percent. Year-on-year, producer prices declined 1.2 percent, the largest decrease since November of 2015.

CyberArk Software (CYBR.US) –  posted quarterly profit of 50 cents per share, well above analysts’ expectations of 36 cents a share. Revenue also came in above estimates. The cybersecurity company said that due to the pandemic, it expected customers to make “more cautious” purchasing decisions. Company has withdrawn its full-year guidance. Also CyberArk will buy ID security company Idaptive for $70 million.

CyberArk Software (CYBR.US) opened with a bearish gap and price is moving toward support at $94.80. Source: xStation5
Facebook (FB.US) shares dropped 1% in extended trading. Law companies Burns Charest announced Tuesday that it was seeking approval of a $ 52 million class-action settlement by the California Superior Court, San Mateo County. The settlement would go to content moderators who suffered psychological trauma while working for the social media giant . "We are grateful to the people who do this important work to make Facebook a safe environment for everyone," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC. "We've committed to providing them additional support through this settlement and in the future."

Tesla (TSLA.US) stock fell 1% after the closing bell. The automaker’s workers went returned to work this week at the company’s manufacturing plant in Fremont, California. CEO Elon Musk decided to reopen the factory against local health orders prohibiting manufacturing there. President Donald Trump also provided his support for the company. Employees at the newly reopened plant described new safety precautions such as wearing masks and staggered shift times.

Gilead Sciences (GILD.US)   announced that it had struck a licensing agreement to produce the antiviral drug remdesivir in 127 countries, not including the United States. The company’s will work with five generic drugmakers to produce the potential drug for coronavirus. Among them is Mylan (MYL.US), which is the world's largest producer of generic drugs.

According to CNBC - Uber (UBER.US) and Grubhub (GRUB.US) quarrel over price in a possible takeover deal. Uber is said to be in talks to acquire Grubhub and combine the food delivery service with its own "Uber Eats" business. Separately, Uber filed to offer $ 750 million in senior notes that would be due in 2025.

Roku (ROKU.US) – The video streaming device maker revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it made a deal with JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup to sell up to 4 million Class A shares “from time to time.” Incomes from these operations would be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.