Wall Street opened modestly higher today as the most recent offers in ongoing budget negotiations provided signs of hopes for a deal, while technology stocks advanced after strong results from Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL). The stock has topped 52-week high after reporting 18% earnings growth for the second-Quarter on software growth.
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is another active stock today that has marked new high, after a plan to repurchase 200M government shares. The Treasury unveiled a plan to sell its outstanding shares in General Motors over the coming 15 months, enabling the automaker to shed the stigma of being partly owned by the U.S. government.[article_detail_ad_1]
GM disclosed that it will spend $5.5 billion to repurchase 200 million shares of its stock from the Treasury by the end of 2012. The Treasury, in turn, intends to sell its remaining stake of 300 million shares on the open market over the coming 12 to 15 months.
Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:KCG) gained more than 5% after decision to sign a $1.4B deal to merge with GETCO Holding.
On the flip side, Oncothyreon Inc (USA) (NASDAQ:ONTY) lost more than 50% after Reuters reported that L-BLP25 (Stimuvax®) failed to meet primary endpoint of improvement in overall survival in pivotal phase 3 trial in patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.
Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) moved down after losing its crown as the world’s largest mobile handset maker in 2012 to Samsung, according to a survey. IHS iSuppli released a research report today that for the first time in 14 years, Nokia has lost its dominance in mobile phones on an annual basis. Samsung’s market share is projected to have advanced to 29% this year as compared to 24% a year earlier, while Nokia’s share of the mobile phone market likely declined to 24% versus 30% in the last year, the report said.