Late Market Roundup (CAL, LCC, FIS, MS, DDAIF.PK)
Despite a rise in jobless claims, US airline stocks moved up today. The crude’s benchmark price dipped below $75 a barrel. The NYSE Arca Airline Index (XAL) gained 1%. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index was nearly flat at 1,030.71 points. The top gainers among the airline stocks were US Airways (NYSE: LCC) and Continental (NYSE: CAL). Crude for August delivery fell $0.91 to $74.72 a barrel in electronic trading.
Shares of Fidelity National Information Services Inc (NYSE: FIS) fell 0.75% after Standard & Poor's lowered its ratings from “BB+” to “BB.” The downgrade was the result of the company issuing debt in order to buy back its stock. The outlook for the company remained stable. According to Philip Schrank, an S&P credit analyst, "The downgrade follows FIS' decision to pursue a leveraged recapitalization, issuing $2.6 billion of incremental debt to repurchase its common stock through a Dutch auction tender offer."
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has appointed Francis Barron as its new chief legal officer. Barron will succeed Gary Lynch, who will continue to be based in London as a vice chairman of MS. Eric Grossman, the company’s general counsel of the Americas and worldwide head of litigation, will also join the management committee of MS.
Daimler AG (OTC: DDAIF.PK) has reported its US sales for the month of June at 19,574 vehicles, up 20.3% from 16,271 in the same period last year. While sales of Mercedes-Benz’s passenger cars and light truck vehicles jumped 20.5% to 18,269 units, those of the newly released Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner Sprinter Vans came in at 728 vehicles for the month.
Read more from Benzinga's Markets.
