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 Schlumberger Ltd. shares rose 2% in premarket trade Friday, after the energy giant posted better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. The company had net income of $299 million, or 21 cents a share, in the quarter, down from $374 million, or 27 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue fell to $5.223 billion from $5.532 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 19 cents and revenue of $5.089 billion. Revenue was reduced by the divestiture of certain North America businesses in the fourth quarter of 2020, which generated $285 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020 and $659 million in the first quarter of 2020. Excluding those divestitures, revenue was flat sequentially and down 23% year-on-year. "Looking ahead, we continue to be encouraged by constructive macroeconomic drivers. While the world is still grappling with COVID-19 infection rates, vaccination programs and fiscal stimulus packages are expected to support a rebound of economic activity and oil demand recovery through the year," Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch said in a statement. Shares have gained 16% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 10%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness rose above 144.8 million on Friday, as the death toll increased to 3.07 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. continues to lead the world in cases and deaths by wide margins, with 31.9 million cases, or 22.1% of the global total, and 570,346 deaths, or 18.6% of the worldwide total. The U.S. added at least 61,901 cases on Thursday, while new deaths rose to at least 719, according to a New York Times Tracker. But the U.S. also leads the world in vaccines administered, with 27% of the poplation now fully vaccinated and 41% receiving at least one dose of two-dose vaccines.
India is second to the U.S. by cases at 16.3 million after adding a record of more than 330,000 cases in a 24-hour period, setting a global record for a second day, the Times reported. India has suffered 186,920 deaths, according to its official numbers, or fourth-highest in the world. Brazil is third with 14.3 million cases and second by fatalities at 383,502. Mexico has the third-highest death toll at 214,095 and 2.3 million cases, or 15th highest tally. The U.K. has 4.4 million cases and 127,597 deaths, the fifth-highest in the world and highest in Europe.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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 Gold futures edge higher Friday, on track for a weekly rise.
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Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. climbed 1.2% in premarket trading Friday, after analyst Savanthi Syth at Raymond James said she was no longer bearish on the air carrier, as the recent selloff has provided to a more-balanced risk-reward profile. Syth raised her rating to market perform, after being at underperform since November. The stock fell 4.5% on Thursday after American reported first-quarter results, to mark the 12th decline in the past 13 sessions, a stretch in which the stock tumbled 17.2%. Over the same time, the U.S. Global Jets ETF had lost 8.3% while the S&P 500 gained 1.4%. "The healthy domestic/near-international recovery (particularly in markets where American is strong), funds from PSP2 and PSP3, as well as pension relief
included with PSP3 have lowered risks in the near- to medium-term relative to our late-November downgrade of AAL," Syth wrote in a note to clients.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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The stocks making the biggest moves in premarket trading include Kimberly-Clark, Boston Beer, Mattel, and more.
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Upbeat economic data failed to give U.K. stocks a boost on Friday, with the pound surging and shares of heavily weighted AstraZeneca, Diageo and Unilever leading the way south.
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U.S. stocks trade modestly higher as investors dig through a heavy round of corporate earnings reports and the latest weekly data on jobless claims.
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