Closing Bell: MP Materials Rallies, Levi, Venture Global

On this episode of Stock Movers:

Listen for comprehensive cross-platform coverage of the US market close as heard on Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, and YouTube with Romaine Bostick, Katie Greifeld, Tim Stenovec and Emily Graffeo.

- MP Materials (MP) saw shares rise on a day where stocks fell sharply across sectors following President Donald Trump threat of a “massive increase” in China tariffs shook Wall Street at the end of an already-volatile week. The trade jitters sent investors rushing into companies like the rare Earth producer. MP Materials saw shares rise to its highest levels since August 11.

- Levi Strauss & Co. raised its full-year outlook, but warned that tariffs are starting to bite. "We have started feeling the impact of tariffs” in the third quarter, Chief Financial Officer Harmit Singh said in an interview. Despite this, Levi’s profitability, as measured by gross margin, improved. The company said that gross margin was bolstered by higher prices and a larger volume of sales through more profitable channels. Levi continues to expect tariffs of 30% in China, but increased its expectation to 20% for the rest of the world, up from the 10% it projected a quarter earlier.  Levi fell in New York on Friday. The stock has climbed 42% this year through Thursday’s close. 

- Venture Global shares fell as much as 23% on Friday, the most since March, after the liquefied natural gas company lost a dispute with BP Plc involving the sale of LNG cargoes from a Louisiana facility on the spot market rather than to customers with long-term contracts. Analysts were surprised by the result and view it as a negative with a potential impact of over $1 billion for Venture Global.

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