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Stocks make modest progress; bitcoin nudges higher

Last updated: 17:10 27 Dec 2017 EST, First published: 12:10 27 Dec 2017 EST

Rising market
  • S&P 500 up 2 at 2,683

  • Dow Jones up 28 at 24,774

  • Energous Corp shoots up after FCC green light 

After an indifferent start, US indexes closed in positive territory.

The Dow rose 28 points to 24,774 and the S&P 500 advanced 2 points to 2,683.

In Canada, the S&P TSX Composite index closed at 16,203, up 38 points.

In the volatile world of cryptocurrencies, it was a relatively sedate day, with the value of Bitcoin hardening 1.4% to US$15,341.

Stocks open hesitantly

US stocks opened mixed, with the Dow slightly in retreat and the S&P 500 modestly her.

The Dow Jones 30-share was down 10 at 24,736 in light trading while the S&P 500 was up 1.4 at 2,682.

Shares in Energous Corp (NASDAQ:WATT), which were up 100% in pre-market trading, were 82% higher at US$16.11 after half-an-hour of trading. The wireless charging technology company said the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had certified its over-the-air remote charging technology.

“As the first FCC certification for power-at-a-distance wireless charging under Part 18 of the FCC's rules, this development represents a new era of wireless charging, and opens up a tremendous opportunity for the electronics industry,” the company said.

Also on the rise was DarioHealth Corp (LON:DRIO) after the US Patent and Trademark Office issued the company patent #9832301 titled "Systems and Methods for Adjusting Power Levels on a Monitoring Device."

The stock rose 29.4% to US$2.07.

Pre-market

Shares in Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) were slightly off the pace in pre-market, as KeyBanc slashed its forecast of Model 3 deliveries for this year.

“Based on our conversations last week with salespeople at 18 Tesla stores around the United States, we believe Model 3 deliveries are tracking to roughly 5,000 in the quarter, below our previous estimate of 15,000,” said analyst Brad Erickson in a research note to clients.

Erickson forecast 2018 revenues for Tesla of US$16.21bn, well below the consensus forecast of US$20bn.

Yesterday, Tesla's founder and boss, Elon Musk, pledged that a Tesla pick-up truck would be next off the production line after the model Y.

Tesla shares were down 0.2% at US$316.53 in pre-market trading.

Discount store Dollar General Corp (NYSE:DG) was up 0.4% at US$92.85 after it revealed it was planning to open a distribution center in Longview, Texas, creating around 400 jobs in the process.

UK bank Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) and oil super-major Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE:RDS.B) expect to take a one-off hit from the recently announced reforms to the US tax, although both agree the changes will be “favorable” in the long run.

The corporate tax overhaul was unveiled by President Donald Trump last week, and will see the rate slashed from 35% to 21% as he looks to attract more investment in the US from the world’s biggest firms; however, the changes also require companies to recalculate deferred tax assets that have accumulated on their balance sheets.

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